BID TO RETIRE U-2S HALTED LAWMAKERS OK F-117A REQUEST.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- The House Armed Services Committee rejected a Pentagon bid to begin retiring the U-2 reconnaissance planes in 2007, but did agree to allow the retirement of up to 10 F-117A stealth fighters.

In its version of the 2007 defense authorization bill, the committee said the Pentagon was attempting to retire the U-2 fleet as a cost savings measure, but without identifying an adequate replacement.

The bill's language prohibits the retirement next year of any of the U-2 aircraft and blocks retirement in following years until the Pentagon certifies there would not be a gap in intelligence capabilities.

U.S. Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, whose district includes the Palmdale facilities where work is done on the U-2, supported the retirement prohibition.

``He absolutely thinks it's the right thing,'' said James Geoffrey, the congressman's spokesman. ``There is a technology gap there.''

In their 2007 budget request, Pentagon officials said they were seeking to speed up the retirement of the aircraft in a move to save about $2 billion.

The Pentagon proposal calls for starting the retirement of the U-2s in fiscal year 2007 and completing it in fiscal year 2011, even though the aircraft is capable of flying decades more. The unmanned Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft, assembled in Palmdale by Northrop Grumman workers, can take over the U-2's role of providing reconnaissance images to battlefield commanders, according to a Pentagon budget document.

Critics of the proposal point out that the U-2 can carry more intelligence and reconnaissance equipment than the Global Hawk and, in some cases, has more powerful sensors.

About 28 U-2s and five trainers are believed to remain in military service. All were built during the 1980s, though the design dates to the 1950s.

The Global Hawk has provided more than 15,000 images of targets in the Middle East in the War on Terror over the past year, according to the Pentagon budget document. A larger version now in production is able to carry additional gear for listening to enemy radio transmissions and identifying radar sites, as the U-2 can do.

The committee bill includes language to allow the Pentagon to retire up to 10 of the 52 F-117A stealth fighters in 2007. The bill requires the Pentagon to keep the aircraft in storage in a condition that would allow them to be re-activated if needed.

Congress has blocked the retirement of any of the fighters during the past two years.

The Pentagon wants to retire the F-117A, stating that missiles and other aircraft -- including the B-2 bomber and the new F-22 -- can provide stealthly, precision strike capability.

Lockheed Martin has modification and support functions for the F-117 and U-2 aircraft in Palmdale. Work on the U-2s in Palmdale includes updating the aircraft's cockpit displays and controls.

The company provides technical, maintenance and modernization support for the F-117 Nighthawk in Palmdale for the Air Force's 49th Fighter Wing.

james.skeen(at)dailynews

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