B-2 UPGRADES, ADDITIONS UP FOR REVIEW.

PALMDALE - Congress is considering defense legislation that provides $289.9 million to continue upgrades to the B-2 stealth bomber and asks for a study on whether more of the bat-winged aircraft are needed.

The 2002 Defense Authorization bill provides more than $123 million above what the president had requested for improvements to the 21-plane B-2 fleet. The bill includes $44.9 million for a satellite communications upgrade and $245 million for improvements that will give air crews better information about targets and other aircraft in the sky and that will allow the aircraft to carry a satellite-guided 5,000-pound bomb.

``The Air Force's plan for a future 'global strike task force' depends heavily upon the B-2 fleet,'' the House Armed Services Committee said in its report accompanying the bill. ``As such, the committee believes that procurement of additional B-2s may become necessary, and directs the Secretary of the Air Force to report to Congress on the number and type of aircraft necessary for the Global Strike Task Force concept and an acquisition for procuring them.''

The Global Strike Task Force concept envisions B-2 bombers, escorted by F-22 fighters, taking out critical targets, such as chemical, nuclear or biological warheads, early in a conflict.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill this month. The Senate began hearings this week to form its version of the bill. The House version of the bill must be reconciled with the Senate's version before funding is approved.

Northrop Grumman submitted a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld this summer indicating 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 Defense Department has yet to indicate an interest in the B-2Cs.

The trade publication Aviation Week and Space Technology reported in its Aug. 27 edition that Northrop Grumman officials were confident that the Defense Department would soon sign up to buy at least eight B-2Cs.

A Northrop Grumman spokesman declined to comment on the report and said the company had no comment beyond the fact that it had submitted a letter offering to build more B-2s.

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.

The funding also includes improvements to the aircraft to allow it to carry a 5,000-pound satellite-guided bomb.

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.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

A B-2 stealth bomber takes off from Plant 42 in 1999 from Palmdale. Congress is mulling a defense bill that would fund B-2 upgrades and a study on adding to the fleet.