TNAG-0538-FCO40-633-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 191

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3RD DRAFT

account for about 15 per cent of the money to be spent on

research and development in 1975-76.

9.

Collaborative development is possible only when it becomes

apparent that the defence equipment needs of two or more

nations run in parallel.

The aim in the longer term should be

to identify these needs so far in advance that national planning

can evolve on a collaborative basis. To that end, the United

Kingdom is an active member of all the Allied organisations

which seek to promote equipment collaboration and maintains

numerous direct bilateral and multilateral relationships for

this purpose with our NATO and Commonwealth partners. The effort

to reconcile different military, economic and industrial require-

ments and timescales is substantial, and for the most part

tangible results on further projects are more likely to appear

in the 1980s and 1990s than in this decade.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES 1975-76

10. The management of the development programmes is the respon-

sibility of the appropriate Systems Controller in the Procurement

Executive the Controller of the Navy, the Master-General of

the Ordnance, or the Controller of Aircraft. The principal

projects now in progress are set out in the following sections.

AIRCRAFT AND AIRCRAFT WEAPONS

The Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA)

11. The strike/attack/reconnaissance version of the MRCA has

high priority in the aircraft programme.

The swing-wing design

will give the aircraft great operational flexibility. Its

advanced electronic equipment will enable it to deliver weapons

VII-4

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