DEFENSE FUNDS DEAL REACHED CONGRESSIONAL NEGOTIATORS AGREE ON PROJECT THAT COULD BENEFIT A.V.Byline: JIM Jim Miss Watson’s runaway slave; Huck’s traveling companion. [Am. Lit.: Huckleberry Finn] See : Escape SKEEN Staff Writer PALMDALE -- Congressional negotiators agreed to a $377.6 billion defense spending bill that will provide funding for the production of 20 F-22A fighters and two F-35 joint strike fighters and fully funds the Global Hawk reconnaissance airplane program. The bill, which reconciles differences between the Senate and House of Representatives versions of the 2007 defense appropriations bill, provides funding of $4.3 billion for continuing research and development of the F-35 program. The bill, however, cuts the administration's funding request to build five more early production model F-35 aircraft to two, a drop in funding from the requested $869 million to $480 million. Congressional leaders made the cut in order to reduce the overlap between the flight testing of the fighters and the buildup of the production run. The bill provides for advanced production work for the next 12 F-35 aircraft, which are slated to be funded in 2008. While the F-35 is assembled 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. in Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas, 18th-largest city in the United States[1], and voted one of "America’s Most Livable Communities. , major components of the airplanes are assembled by 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. in Palmdale, and parts are fabricated fab·ri·cate tr.v. fab·ri·cat·ed, fab·ri·cat·ing, fab·ri·cates 1. To make; create. 2. To construct by combining or assembling diverse, typically standardized parts: at Lockheed Martin's Palmdale plant. Northrop Grumman's Palmdale plant is expected to employ several hundred workers over the course of the airplane's production run. The F-35 flight-test program will also employ several hundred workers at 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. . The bill provides $2.7 billion for the production of 20 F-22A aircraft. While the F-22A fighters are assembled in Georgia, about 400 people work in Palmdale building parts of the jets. The bill also fully funds the $386 million request by the Bush administration for the Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft program. The unmanned Global Hawk aircraft are assembled in Palmdale by prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The Global Hawk has earned accolades for its performance in the War on Terror This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. For other conflicts, see Terrorism. The War on Terror (also known as the War on Terrorism . Two aircraft are in the Mideast supporting operations In amphibious operations, those operations conducted by forces other than those conducted by the amphibious force. See also amphibious force; amphibious operation. in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill also provides $631.6 million for the airborne laser program, an effort to develop an aircraft capable of shooting down ballistic missiles. At Edwards a unit of about 750 people are working on the program, which uses a significantly modified Boeing 747 fitted with a laser. The bill also includes a 2.2 percent pay raise for military personnel. james.skeen(at)dailynews (661) 267-5743 |
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