SUPPORTERS PITCH BIGGER B-2 FLEET.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Northrop Grumman has made a pitch to the Pentagon for continuing upgrades to the B-2 fleet and building 40 new planes.

Company representatives briefed one of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield's review teams about the B-2 program and the possibility of building a cheaper version of the aircraft.

Creating the 21-airplane fleet cost $44.4 billion, and B-2 supporters say 40 new aircraft could be built for $28 billion.

Northrop Grumman proposes building four new B-2s annually in a 10-year production program, a source said. The first new aircraft could fly four years after receiving the go-ahead from the Pentagon and Congress.

A Northrop Grumman spokesman said the company would not comment on the Pentagon review.

Rumsfield has not publicly stated a position on the B-2 program.

He is making a complete review of the nation's defense needs and programs before putting forward a blueprint for Department of Defense spending. Few details of the review have emerged with the exception of statements by Rumsfield that it would done in months, not days.

``The defense secretary has said he is getting a lot of recommendations from different organizations outside of DoD,'' said Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Willette Carter.

At least three different teams are working on the review, examining a range of issues including quality of life for those in military service members and defense acquisition.

The idea of building more B-2s has been pitched to President George W. Bush at least twice before a review team listened to Northrop Grumman representatives this month. Bush and Al Gore were briefed during their presidential campaigns against each other. The B-2's congressional supporters made a separate pitch during a meeting held a few days before Bush was sworn in as president.

The concept for reopening the B-2 production line involves new and computerized manufacturing techniques and lower-cost components to reduce the per-aircraft cost dramatically.

Bush also was briefed on proposed improvements to B-2s already built, including better satellite links to increase communication speed, security and resistance to enemy jamming; new software to give air crews more information about what is happening around the aircraft in battle zones; and improvements to other software to minimize need for future changes if the B-2 is equipped with new weapons.

In previous defense budgets, Congress has approved money to begin the engineering and design work for the improvements.

The B-2 was in production during the president's father's White House administration, and Vice President Dick Cheney was then secretary of defense. At that time, a plan to build B-2s was reduced from 132 to 75 airplanes. Later that was capped at 21 as Congress objected to the program's cost and questioned its value in a post-Cold War world.