US - UK Sign Defence Treaty
 

Will this get through Congress? Or be defeated by those suspicious of sharing technology?

Britain and the U.S. sign deal to improve sharing of defense technology

LONDON: Britain and the United States signed an agreement Thursday to cut red tape on arms deals and improve the compatibility of military equipment, Prime Minister Tony Blair and defense officials said.

Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush authorized a Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty to allow their armed forces to share technology, information and expertise more easily, a Downing Street statement said......

Defense officials said Britain has faced delays of up to three months when buying U.S. produced military equipment, because of the need for export licenses to be authorized. That requirement will be dropped under the deal, a defense ministry spokeswoman said, speeding the passage of equipment — such as U.S. made UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) — to British troops in Afghanistan...........

The deal will allow military leaders to scrap "current barriers to communication and collaboration between, and among, our armed forces," the Downing Street statement said.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Thursday that the deal "allows the sharing of defense contractor personnel and defense technology between the U.S. and U.K. It foregoes the licensing process that has been in place."

McCormack said the Bush administration was working with U.S. lawmakers to get the treaty ratified.

Suspiciously Sensible
 

This sounds far too sensible to be for real...I always wondered how NATO would really have got on in a conventional WW3, when we couldn't even agree common ammo' sizes...:8

How about we turn tables on the U.S. & pay back what they did with the Harrier, and start marketing the Improved Brit' JSF in direct competition with them ??!!

Damn I've let slip the grand plan...

Didn't we used to have an agreement to share technology in the early days of supersonic flight.....

With an IOC of 2050-ish?

So does that mean Mr Brown can order some P-8's .... :)

The agreement was Miles aircraft passed all their plans, drawings and technical info too the US...the US say thanks very much and disappear into the sunset! :hmm:

If it means less Bue on Blue incidents it's got my vote.

No doubt the US will uphold their end of the agreement every time they want something out of the UK, but then find some reason not to reciprocate when the UK wants anything in return.

:hmm:

Hobie. With his grasp of all matters relating to defence, Brown the humourless may very well do that. I expect that he would want to lease them, though.