§ 79. Mr. John Hallasked the Minister of Defence what progress has been made in the last year in standardising the arms and equipment of the forces of the North Atlantic Allies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WatkinsonAs I informed the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Kershaw) on 20th November, 1959, the feasibility of increasing standardisation is under continuous study in both Western European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
In the past year, twenty-one agreements on the standardisation of equipment have been promulgated in N.A.T.O. These all related to components. In order to promote standardisation on major items, we are co-operating with Our Allies in defining the military characteristics of new weapons, and in related research and development.