DEFENSE BILL FUNDS PALMDALE PROJECTS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Two fighter jet programs that employ several hundred Antelope Valley workers have received backing in a defense appropriations bill approved by Congress.

The Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2006 provides $3.2 billion for 25 Lockheed Martin F-22A aircraft and $4.8 billion for the F-35 joint strike fighter, both of which involve parts production in Palmdale and flight testing work at Edwards Air Force Base.

The bill also includes $332.1 million for production of Northrop Grumman's unmanned Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft, assembled in Palmdale, and more than $12 million in new equipment and research funding for Edwards.

``This legislation continues our military's effort in developing cutting-edge technology for our men and women in uniform as they protect our nation's security and fight the War on Terrorism,'' said U.S. Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, whose district includes Edwards Air Force Base.

Although the F-22A fighters are assembled in Georgia, parts of the aircraft are assembled by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Palmdale. About 400 workers in Palmdale manufacture parts for the jets.

The center fuselage sections of the F-35 are being assembled by Northrop Grumman in Palmdale, and flight testing is planned for Edwards Air Force Base. The planes will be put together at a Lockheed Martin plant in Texas.

Northrop Grumman employs several hundred people on the F-35 program in Palmdale.

The Global Hawk aircraft are being built by a small cadre of Northrop Grumman workers in Palmdale.

The defense bill also included $1 million for computer equipment to support flight test programs at Edwards, $4.3 million for propulsion system technologies, $1 million for research on upper stage rocket engine technologies, $4.3 million to improve engineering modeling and simulation tools, and $1.5 million for solid rocket propulsion technology research.

Previously, Congress voted to provide funds to start a new $103 million runway at Edwards to replace its aging main runway and to provide $59.6 million to continue replacing aging homes for military personnel.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com