CLINTON TO LET B-2 ALLOCATIONS RIDE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

President Clinton will not try to rescind $493 million Congress added to this year's defense budget for the B-2 stealth bomber program, but he still maintains additional bombers are not needed, officials said Thursday.

No money for additional B-2s will be included in the President's proposed 1997 budget, White House officials said.

However, the Clinton administration has ordered a study to examine the nation's mix of weapons intended to strike deep into an enemy's territory to determine what additional weapons might be needed.

"The President concluded that the B-2 is a highly capable, long-range and stealthy bomber that will make important strategic and conventional contributions well into the 21st century. But additional B-2s would be too costly, particularly relative to other procurement activities," a White House statement said.

The President decided to spend the money as Congress directed at a meeting Wednesday that included Vice President Al Gore, Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary William Perry, and Deputy Defense Secretary John White.

The President's statement was another case of the president changing his mind, said Armando Azarloza, spokesman for Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, the Republican whip on the B-2 issue.

McKeon "feels this is a senseless decision. It betrays tens of thousands of workers in California in the aerospace industry, it defies Congress, and it jeopardizes the ability to project U.S. air power around the globe," Azarloza said. "He (Clinton) flips and flops more than Flipper the dolphin."

The 1996 defense bill allocated $493 million to begin manufacturing parts for two more bombers. It also lifted a Congressional cap that limited production to 20 aircraft.

Northrop Grumman, the B-2's manufacturer, estimates it can build another 20 B-2s for about $13 billion. The 20 aircraft already approved by Congress will cost $44 billion - including research and development costs.

"It's disappointing for the thousands of people who worked hard on the program," Northrop Grumman spokesman Jim Hart said of the White House announcement.

Production of the B-2 program employs about 3,000 workers at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale. The first 20 aircraft are scheduled to be completed in 1998.