ABSTRACT
The members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have acknowledged that military, political, and economic advantages would accrue from cooperation in armaments development, production, and support. Since the initiative evoked some response from NATO's European members and engendered expectations, there is considerable pressure to translate the renewed interest into practical measures. Ideas that seem to entail institutionalizing interdependence are viewed with suspicion and approached with caution throughout Western Europe, notwithstanding the lip service most governments pay to the desirability of collaborative ventures. The allied interest in promoting cooperation in arms procurement has been animated by an awareness of the need to get more for the money put into defense. Perspective in relation to objectives is important on the armaments cooperation issue. Although the basic imperatives and incentives for increased efficiency in the use of the alliance's resources are not in dispute, that greater collaborative procurement would actually confer significant military benefits or yield substantial budgetary savings has not been proved.
