§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are NATO's current definitions of (i) main battle tanks, and (ii) combat aircraft currently being discussed at the conventional forces in Europe talks in Vienna; and how these differ from NATO's previous definitions.
§ Mr. WaldegraveCopies of the NATO texts tabled on 8 February for a new definition of tanks/armoured combat vehicles and for a revised proposal on combat aircraft are being placed in the Library of the House.
The new texts reflect western efforts to meet Warsaw pact concerns. On tanks the weight limit has been reduced to capture more vehicles (13 tonnes for tracked tanks; 20 tonnes for wheeled) and a limit of 1,500 has been introduced on heavy armoured combat vehicles (the category into which less heavy but comparably armed vehicles would fall). On combat aircraft a new ceiling of 4,700 has been set (to include medium bombers and land-based naval aircraft); aircraft whose primary function is training have been excluded and an additional 500 limit is set on air defence interceptors. The 30 per cent. sufficiency rule will still apply.