Polaris Sales Agreement 1982
Although the Trident II issue has been resolved, negotiations with Washington on the deployment of GLCM to Royal Greenham Commons Air Force Base under the TNF program have not been completed. The deployment was scheduled to begin in November 1982, but the issue was politically explosive due to the resurgence of anti-nuclear activism in the UK. In addition, members of the parliamentary opposition lobbied for information on the control provisions and advocated for a dual-key system, as it had been used for Thor IRBMs. Thatcher and his advisers wanted to update the 1958 Murphy-Dean Agreement (see Part I of this article, document 5) to reflect glcm operations by containing language that the use of missiles outside the base and their launch would require a “joint decision” by US and British authorities. Diplomats feared that the language of the “joint decision” would lead to pressure from Italy and other governments for similar wording, the Thatcher government said a “joint decision” was needed to reduce pressure from opposition MPs seeking explicit “double key” agreements. For Thatcher and her colleagues, the “double key” could have “adverse effects” on relations with Washington, implying that the British felt it was necessary to “hold back” the US “rather than make sure it was ready to defend its allies”. U.S. negotiators agreed with the British that the main problem in the Trident II negotiations was to arrive at a price that both sides could accept. The cost of the system would be $3.75 billion, but there would be additional costs: about $700 to $900 million for R&D costs. Foreign Secretary Alexander Haig and Assistant Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci found it in the United States. Interest in giving up part of the cost, which President Reagan could do at his discretion. They expected the British to offer about $275 million, including “compensations” (or quids) that the US could respond to with a proposal close to the Trident I deal a few years earlier. This could include new compensations that would include measures the British could take that would both save money for the US and “strengthen Western defences”.
The polaris sales agreement was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom that launched the British Polaris program. The agreement formally provided that the Polaris missile system would be made available to the UK to maintain its independent nuclear deterrent. [1] The agreement was concluded in principle by the Nassau Agreement. The agreement was amended in 1982 to supply the Trident missile system to the UK. The Polaris Purchase Agreement was a treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom that launched Britain`s Polaris program. The agreement was signed on April 6, 1963. It officially established the conditions under which the Polaris missile system was made available to the United Kingdom. Polaris Sales AgreementSolar purchase agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America Biological Polaris Missile at the Imperial War Museum in LondonSigned6.
April 1963 (1963-04-06)LocationWashington, D.C.Effective6. April 1963 (1963-04-06)SignatoriesDean Rusk (US)David Ormsby-Gore (UK)The United Kingdom had planned to purchase the skybolt airborne missile to cover the duration of the British V-bombers, but the United States decided to cancel the Skybolt program in 1962, as it no longer needed the missile. The crisis caused by the cancellation led to an emergency meeting between US President John F. Kennedy and UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, which led to the Nassau Agreement, in which the US agreed to supply Polaris missiles to the UK instead. Polaris` distribution agreement provided for the implementation of the Nassau Agreement. The United States would supply the United Kingdom with Polaris missiles, launch tubes and the fire control system. The United Kingdom would manufacture the warheads and submarines. In return, the United States received some assurances from the United Kingdom regarding the use of the missile, but no veto on the use of British nuclear weapons. Britain`s Resolution-class Polaris submarines were built on time and under budget and were seen as a credible deterrent that improved Britain`s international status. With the 1958 Mutual Defense Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, the Polaris Sales Agreement became a pillar of the special nuclear relationship between Britain and the United States. The agreement was amended in 1982 to provide for the sale of the Trident missile system.
Content 1Receive 2Contracts 3 Result 4Trident 5Notes 6References 7External link Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC, Country File: United Kingdom (25/01/1982-02/11/1982 (Too late to File) [sic] With the 1958 Mutual Defense Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, the Polaris Sales Agreement became a pillar of the special nuclear relationship between Britain and the United States. . . .
