During the initial physics phase of the development of a first wall (FW) for NET, an extensive plasma side protection of the steel FW structure was adopted in order to avoid damage by disruptions. Several novel protection concepts have been studied utilizing mechanically attached tiles in carbon based materials, which have demonstrated good performance in the present tokamaks. The FW structure in austenitic stainless steel is manufactured by electron beam welding and cooled by doubly contained low pressure water in order to achieve a reliable minimum leakage solution.For FW concepts with radiation cooled tiles, the permitted peak surface heat fluxes are limited by the tile temperatures to about 1 and 0.5 MW/m2 for the physics and later technology phases, respectively. These heat fluxes are 2–6 times higher than the fatigue limits of other FW concepts with or even without protection. Hence, radiative tiles appear to provide robust protection against both disruptions and high normal heat loads. In order to demonstrate a credible FW design by 1990, emphasis is now being given to the manufacture and thermo-mechanical testing of prototypical FW test sections.