Keep the French in the dark: Thatcher's secret push for US military technology
Keep the French “in the dark” and raise “three cheers!” to our American allies emerge as recurrent themes in top secret documents debating how to secure advanced military technology during the 1980s.
Files released to the National Archives in Kew on Friday show how UK ministers favoured the US shuttle launch system for military satellites over Ariane rockets.
A 1983 memo from the Ministry of Defence to the prime minister warns there is “French pressure on us to be ‘European’ and go for Ariane”.
Margaret Thatcher agreed that it was better to go with the American shuttle, which was cheaper and had a better safety record.
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