DEFENSE BILL INCLUDES B-2, HOUSING FUNDS.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer More money for the B-2 stealth stealth Any military technology intended to make vehicles or missiles nearly invisible to enemy radar or other electronic detection. Research in antidetection technology began soon after radar was invented. bomber, new homes for Air Force families, and hangar and air traffic control improvements for Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. are part of a $270.8 billion defense bill, congressional officials said Tuesday. The 1999 defense authorization bill includes money aimed at Edwards' mission capabilities and ``quality-of-life'' improvements, including $12 million for housing. ``Edwards is committed to improving our nation's defenses and I am pleased that we are able to assist Edwards with these different projects,'' said U.S. Rep. Bill Thomas For other people with similar names, see . William Marshall Thomas (born December 6 1941), commonly known as Bill Thomas, American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979–2007, representing the 22nd District of , R-Bakersfield. A list of Antelope Valley-related projects in the bill was released in a joint statement by Thomas, whose district includes most of Edwards, and Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, whose district includes Air Force Plant 42. The bill includes a total of $421.5 million for work on the B-2 stealth bomber fleet, $86 million above the president's budget request. The money will go toward modifying the B-2 fleet to carry additional types of weapons. Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. employs about 2,500 people in Palmdale on the B-2 modifications. Originally, modifications to the bomber fleet were scheduled to end in 1999. The bill also includes $10.3 million in electronics equipment upgrades and other improvements to U-2 spy planes. That work will be performed by Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. Corp.'s Skunk skunk, name for several related New World mammals of the weasel family, characterized by their conspicuous black and white markings and use of a strong, highly offensive odor for defense. Works in Palmdale. The bill includes $12 million for replacing homes at Edwards. Base officials are working toward replacing cramped cramped adj. 1. Uncomfortably small or restricted: cramped living quarters. 2. Difficult to read, especially for being crowded into a small space: cramped handwriting. , aging homes built in the 1950s with new and renovated sites. The Edwards housing money is part of a $660 million military housing component of the bill. The House bumped up the president's budget request by $49 million as part of an effort to improve the quality of life for military personnel. The bill includes $10 million to improve fire detection and electrical systems in a 40-year-old hangar; $6 million for improvements to the base's air traffic control system and installation of a collision-avoidance warning system on aircraft; and $4 million for rocket propulsion Rocket propulsion The process of imparting a force to a flying vehicle, such as a missile or a spacecraft, by the momentum of ejected matter. This matter, called propellant, is stored in the vehicle and ejected at high velocity. research at Phillips Laboratory. The bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday, is the first of four defense bills that Congress will pass this year. Both the House and the Senate will pass defense authorization and defense appropriation bills. Differences between the versions of the bills will be ironed out in a House-Senate conference this summer. |
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