A.V. WORK FUNDED IN HOUSE BILL PANEL OKS DEFENSE SPENDING.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - A $317 billion defense appropriation bill contains funding for key Antelope Valley projects, including the B-2 bomber, the Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and the F-22 fighter.

The bill approved unanimously Wednesday by the House Appropriations Committee contains $222 million for continued modifications of the nation's 21 B-2 bombers, more than $55 million over the president's budget request.

The bill also looks to expedite the production of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, such as the Global Hawk built in Palmdale by Northrop Grumman, and the Predator, which is tested at an airfield east of Lake Los Angeles.

The bill adds $200 million over last year's total of $141 million for both aircraft.

The bill also includes $26 billion for the production of 13 F-22 fighters. Although the fighters are built in Georgia, Lockheed Martin's Palmdale plant produces parts for the aircraft, including the leading edges of wings and specialized antennas.

Details of the bill were sparse Wednesday in part because the closure of House offices has scattered congressional staffers throughout Washington, D.C.

``Our problem is we don't know where anybody is,'' said Bob Cochran, chief of staff for Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita.

It is anticipated that the bill will come to a floor vote on the House of Representatives early next week.

One of the key upgrades planned for the B-2 bomber is the development and installation of a system called Link-16. The system is expected to improve ``situational awareness'' for bomber crews by providing information such as changes in targets and locations of other aircraft in the sky.

The system would link the B-2 with command centers on the ground, orbiting satellites and other airplanes.

Other improvements planned for the bomber include software and cockpit display upgrades.

Once the development work is done, much of the actual improvements could be done at U.S. Air Force Plant 42, where the 21 stealth bombers were assembled.

Supporters of the B-2 have yet to hear from the Pentagon whether there is interest in restarting the production line for a new variant of the aircraft.

Northrop Grumman submitted a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld this summer indicating that the company could build 40 new B-2s for approximately $28 billion, compared with $44.4 billion spent on the existing 21-plane fleet.

The new aircraft, dubbed B-2C, can be built cheaper by using updated manufacturing techniques and lower-cost components, officials say.

The B-2s are seeing action over Afghanistan, flying 44-hour missions from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri before landing at Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. Fresh pilots get onto the planes at Diego Garcia and the bombers fly back to the United States.

Defense officials also have not provided details about their plans to expedite the production of the Global Hawk. Northrop Grumman essentially hand-builds the aircraft in Palmdale at a rate of about two a year.