17 November 1997
(US working in support of acquisition of core AGS capability) (550) Washington -- The Defense Department said that a meeting of the NATO Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) November 6 resulted in a decision "to initiate an intensive search for fresh concepts and acquisition options" for acquisition of Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS). A U.S. proposal that "would have provided the NATO Alliance with an AGS capability as early as the year 2000" was withdrawn after consensus could not be reached. "The United States continues to believe that the Alliance must move expeditiously to procure a core AGS capability and to achieve the benefits of a learning curve of application in peace and during hostilities," DOD said. "The United States plans to continue to work closely with the Alliance and believes that its on-going Joint STARS experiences will contribute substantively to the acquisition of an AGS capability to meet NATO commanders' requirements." Following is the text of the DOD statement. (Begin text) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MEMORANDUM FOR CORRESPONDENTS November 17, 1997 Statement Regarding U.S. Alliance Ground Surveillance The NATO Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) met in its biannual plenary session in Brussels, Belgium on Nov. 6, 1997. The United States was represented by then Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology R. Noel Longuemare. The principal issue addressed by the CNAD was the acquisition strategy for Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS). The CNAD considered a report by a steering committee and the completed NATO staff requirement for AGS and reaffirmed the intention of the nations to find a successful way to support an earlier decision made by the NATO Ministers of Defense. That decision was to pursue a minimum essential NATO-owned and operated core AGS capability supplemented by national assets. The United States had proposed an early payer offer which would have fully funded the program in 1998 and would have provided the preponderance of the 1999 funding. This would have provided the NATO Alliance with an AGS capability as early as the year 2000. The CNAD was unable to reach a consensus on this offer -- largely due to economic considerations -- and the United States therefore withdrew its proposal. Consequently, the CNAD has decided to initiate an intensive search for fresh concepts and acquisition options, to be considered at its Spring 1998 meeting. Experience with the U.S. AGS candidate program, Joint STARS, in the Gulf War, in Bosnia and in recent exercises, validates the essential nature of this military system. Recent exercises in the Korean Peninsula have demonstrated new applications for this revolutionary capability. These exercises demonstrate the ingenuity of the AGS operators to formulate methods of employment not previously anticipated when the system was developed and the concept of operations defined. The United States continues to believe that the Alliance must move expeditiously to procure a core AGS capability and to achieve the benefits of a learning curve of application in peace and during hostilities. The United States plans to continue to work closely with the Alliance and believes that its on-going Joint STARS experiences will contribute substantively to the acquisition of an AGS capability to meet NATO commanders' requirements. (End text)
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