REP OOUCEO AT THE NAT11 r- L ARCHIVES ' 1- 0DIS REVIEW TOP SECRET ADRC To The Deputy Secr Yj' - From P l a Ronald I Spiers Date -----it-- -UK Nuclear Cooperation Letter from Deputy Secretary of Defense Rush During the broad US-UK review of the entire range of Anglo-American cooperation in the nuclear field which was held in London in February the British participants informed the US team composed of senior DOD and AEC officials that their continuing studies of the Project Definition stage of the Super Antelope POLARIS moderniza'- tion program had indicated a requirement for research results that could be obtained only from additional underground effects tests as well as for a limited number of underground tests of the nuclear device itself AEC Chairman Schlesinger mentioned the tentative and informal British request in the report he prepared for Dr Kissinger on the US-UK talks '1 The British technicians working on the Super Antelope program raised the question of post-Project Definition Phase assistance on subsequent occasions with their American scientific counterparts citing the need for continuity in the planning and execution of the overall project The US representatives made it clear that the US would expect to have a UK Ministerial level commitment to carry out Super Antelope before the US would be prepared to make a firm decision on actual support The Chief Scientific Advisor of the British Ministry of Defense acting on the authorization of his Minister has now presented a formal request for post-Project Definition assistance to DOD and AEC The request notes that while a final Cabinet level decision to proceed on Super Antelope is not expected until late in 1973 the British Cabinet has authorized the bureaucracy to proceed r ·N ·•i r r u ·-· •· ' t·ii TOP SECRET NODIS K I L 4 - ••••••••••••••••••••••••• •• ' EXE rv' P·TI- J CAl'£ JR·t AUTOM ATICALL Y DECLJtsSIFLED ON 6 l L DECLASSIFIED 9h 9 OS 7 _ f t D2te1 AuL ori · By 6 9 with and has provided the funding for certain selected long lead time actions in order to insure adherence to the research and development schedule The British request has become a matter of urgency at this point because several of the underground tests of interest to the UK have been accelerated by us in order to move forward more quickly with our own TRIDENT program At present the projected schedule calls for the first effects test in which the British wish to participate to be detonated in mid-1973 The first test of a British device is presently scheduled for the end of 1973 or very early 1974 The last test of a British device was carried out in 1965 The AEC has established a sensible set of guidelines to govern the execution of the British device tests Among them are the UK will provide the device the UK will pay all the costs 9f the test the US will conduct the test collect the research data and transmit the results to the UK there will be no publicity about the testing of a British device but HMG will acknowledge its role if this becomes necessary The Department of Defense believes that despite the fact that the long lead time items go beyond the Project Definition stage of the Super Antelope program into the Engineering Development stage proceeding with the limited additional assistance involved is in accord with the President's policy of cooperating as fully as possible with the UK in the military nuclear field EUR and PM reviewed the letter Mr Rush proposed to send to Dr Kissi ger and concurred in it Attachment Letter to Mr Kissinger from Mr Rush r i TOP SECRET NODIS Drafted PM AE HGHandyside dl 7 25 72 x21835 Clearance EUR NE - Mr George In Draf Jl__ • ' • ' • • ·• ' • • -· _ · - ••••-•·•--h---•••-•••-• ' --••••••-•• _ • ---- -- --- DECLASSIFIED AuL orit 9 -9 O 7 - - •• ·--- · -- 1i·i J -• ·v a i- 1 l I - _ • • l•-i · · ·· -- '· A5H i D z · lOl j 2-t 1 - - __ i 1 JUL 197 ---- - - 7Z124CO - -J l 6 19 8'y ___-_NAAA Date __ r_ _ _ Honorable Henry Ao Kissinger As ist o nt te th€' P1·csident for NRtional S Cinity Atfai r 1 Ex· cutivc OJ Fee of t hJ P resi dent Washington D C 20500 I L Dear Hcm y You will 'c· an that in my lcd t er c 18 May I noted t e expectf tion that the UJ Z Vonld ask us fol assi - nce in iuiti'a tion of e Jo r t t hi s sum1ne1· in selected areas to h urP- c·ontinuity of their S·dpcr Antelope pJ og1·arn beyond Project D i ti_on We no v have receh cd such a request cov·ering long iead tfr ne n 1atters related to undc1·groun d test participation flight test on F S ranges and u se of U S simulator faciliti_e s for vcapon effects r nd reentry system separation tests They note thc • t oth e r simil r arc t 5 1nay becon-1 apparent soon Ve have been advised tha t 1vfi n ste da1 level 2 pprov2 l has been obta irH cl for this request including pruvi - ·- m o r·equisi te funLl i 1 ig 1 t i 1 l lg i fu1·ther v1inisterial decision at t 1 end ·of this year-to proceed VJi th full scale Engineering Devrlop 1 ent unds would be provided and expended through the sc 1 1ne chan els· as the Project Definition effort to date There is a considerabl_e degree c time urgency in this request deriving from the fact thlt the schcc· ile for underground tests - in v hich the UK wishes to partitipate - h s been accelerated recently because of our TRIDENT program j In view of thj s a11d trH fact tl a t i ' oceeding with this limited aclditi0112 l assistanc1 - 2 ppr ars to rn fully i1 consonance v rith the Pre 3ident' s polic y of cooperation vith the UK I inte ·1d to authorize the ncccsr- ar r steps for implen1entation unless you ad·vise me to t c c_ontrary within ter days I shall continue to keep you info r 1 ed of developments This has been coo1·cinatcd infor --r dly vtith St te and I am sending n copy of this h tte r to John Irvvin ic' _ DDRf- E I j - Signed E tt - tidlfj b t 1 ii -- · KENNETH RUSH r -- ··· • - - • - · ' ·• -- _ t ·· - - t - ' · Sec De·f Cont Nr • l-- 3-6 5-