A.V. HAS FIGHTING CHANCE BILL GIVES PALMDALE SHOT AT JET PROGRAM.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - The House Armed Services Committee has approved a defense bill that requires the Pentagon to study possible assembly sites for the joint strike fighter, giving Palmdale a chance to be reconsidered for the multibillion-dollar program.

Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, was able to get language requiring the study inserted into the 2001 Defense Authorization Act, the bill that authorizes all defense spending.

The study would look at the cost effectiveness of potential production sites for the jet fighter. The location of the assembly work - and the 10,000 jobs it would generate - would still be up to the company that ultimately wins the contract.

In addition to the production jobs, the program is expected to generate as many as 40,000 positions for subcontractors.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin are vying for the contract, which could ultimately be worth as much as $750 billion to $1 trillion over the life of the program. The companies are building their JSF prototypes in Palmdale, but both have said they plan to go elsewhere for the production work.

``It should be remembered that this is still very much an uphill fight,'' McKeon said. ``Lockheed and Boeing have not changed their positions, and the final decision on JSF assembly will be up to them no matter what.

``But I am hopeful that if the Pentagon study confirms that the cost of the JSF will be cut by billions of dollars by building it in California, the contractors will realize it is in their interests to do do.''

Lockheed Martin plans to produce the planes in Fort Worth, Texas, if it wins the competition. Boeing is planning to build the planes in St. Louis.

Antelope Valley officials believe that Site 4 at Air Force Plant 42, where B-2 stealth bombers were built, would be a better choice as the production site.

A consultant's report, financed by the city of Palmdale and the California Trade and Commerce Agency, says contractors can save $2.2 billion by assembling the aircraft in Palmdale. Those savings include $932 million from a state tax credit program for research and development and $576.6 million from using a plant already configured for assembling stealth aircraft.