B-2 RENOVATIONS PROPOSED LINKS BETWEEN AIRCRAFT WOULD BE ENHANCED.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Northrop Grumman is proposing an initiative - expected to cost $500 million to $700 million over the first seven years - to give B-2 stealth bomber pilots more ability to share information from other planes and forces on the ground.

Called the Global Strike Capability Initiative, the effort would lead to bomber crews being able to network with other friendly forces, increasing their ability to go after time-sensitive targets. Money to start the initiative, $98 million, is included in the 2005 defense authorization bill being considered by the House of Representatives.

Company officials said the initiative fits in with Air Force and Pentagon efforts to make the American military more agile and better able to meet ever-changing threats.

``It's an incremental plan to provide a series of upgrades to the B-2 to unlock its inherent potential,'' said Duke Defresne, Northrop Grumman vice president and B-2 program manager.

Of the $98 million, $51 million would go toward updating electronics, including computer processors. The bomber fleet is flying with 1980s technology, and, although the processors can handle today's requirements, there's going to be increased demand for systems to be able to share and process information, Defresne said.

An additional $24 million is earmarked for the development of extremely high frequency satellite communications, a secure data link referred to by defense officials as ``Internet in the sky.''

Other improvements planned under the first phase of the initiative include equipping the bombers to carry more precision-guided bombs and allowing a single aircraft to go after dozens of targets in a single mission.

In supporting the initiative, the House Armed Services Committee noted that the B-2 is the only bomber that can strike deep into enemy territory, carrying a large amount of bombs, and avoid detection by radar.

``I'm very pleased that the committee agreed with my recommendation to update our existing fleet of B-2s with the global strike capabilities initiative,'' said Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita. ``Now more than ever, our nation needs the long-range, deep strike capabilities of the B-2 to fight the nation's ongoing war on terror.''

McKeon's district includes Northrop Grumman's B-2 plant in Palmdale, where the bombers were assembled and where they now return for modifications.

Most of the work would be conducted at Northrop Grumman's Palmdale site, which has about 1,100 people working on B-2 modifications. Smaller portions of the work would be done at Edwards Air Force Base, where one B-2 test aircraft is based, and at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, where software work for the bomber program is done.

The initiative would help sustain the existing work force and would not involve a big influx of new hires, company officials said.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) The half-billion-dollar program proposed by Northrop Grumman would replace some computer equipment aboard the B-2, much of which is based on 1980s technology.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer