BILL WOULD FUND AIR DEFENSE PROJECTS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE- The B-2 stealth bomber and an aircraft defense system - both based in Palmdale - will receive additional funding under the Defense Appropriations Act approved by a key House committee, officials said Friday.

The bill includes $97 million in additional money for the B-2 bomber fleet and $3 million for an air-launched decoy system aimed at protecting aircraft. The bill also includes $12 million to purchase sensors for the Global Hawk, an unmanned spy plane that is being built in Palmdale.

The Palmdale projects were approved by the House Appropriations Committee, where all of the government's spending bills originate.

The bill allocates $288.5 billion for the Defense Department - $19.8 billion more than the fiscal 2000 defense budget and nearly $4 billion more than the Clinton administration had requested in its proposed 2001 budget.

The additional money for the B-2 program will be spent to improve instrument displays and mission planning equipment and to develop technologies that will allow the bomber to carry more weapons.

Improvements include the development of a bomb rack to handle 500-pound bombs that will be guided to their targets by global positioning satellite systems.

The bill also includes $3 million for the Miniature Air-Launched Decoy. The MALD is a small jet that uses an electronic device to fool radar systems into thinking it's a full-size aircraft.

The system is intended to divert an enemy's air defense resources away from real attack aircraft.