B 2

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, facing pressure to make deeper defense cuts, has decided to terminate the B-2 bomber in a move that could provide long-term savings of as much as $25 billion to taxpayers, according to administration officials.The decision, expected to be formally announced in Mr. Bush's State of the Union address Jan. 28, is a major concession to congressional opposition that had all but doomed the high-profile program.The president's decision would not kill the program immediately.

If the Air Force's B-2 bomber is shot down by Congress, at least three Maryland companies will lose some business, but the economic impact on the state would be minimal.The future of the military's $65 billion "stealth" bomber program was left up in the air last week when House and Senate budget negotiators declined to authorize production of any more planes than the 15 under construction.The Air Force and the prime contractor, Northrop Corp., still hope to produce at least 75 of the radar-evading planes.

B-2s Are NeededEditor: I was disappointed by your Oct. 16 editorial stating that there is no compelling rationale for continuing the B-2 bomber program. As concerned citizens, we may agree to disagree, but first let's have the facts straight.The president, the Senate and the Department of Defense all support the B-2.The B-2 will be vital for carrying out conventional missions against threats that may pose the gravest challenges in the years ahead. These threats will likely involve modern weaponry and come with little warning.

More disturbing news about the costly B-2 bomber: it is not only less stealthy than originally advertised, but more vulnerable to enemy fighters equipped with advanced heat-seeking sensors. This information, disclosed by Sun Pentagon correspondent Richard H.P. Sia, should be sobering to House and Senate conferees as they contemplate the B-2's fate in shaping the new defense budget.Within recent weeks, pressure to downsize the B-2 bomber program has come not only from Capitol Hill but from the White House and the military's top brass.

WASHINGTON -- The troubled B-2 stealth bomber may be vulnerable to advanced heat-seeking detection systems being developed by the Soviet Union, raising new questions about its ability to sneak through sophisticated air defenses in the next few years, according to scientists and Pentagon advisers on infrared technology.The potential problem stems from the presence of hot spots -- chiefly sections of the aircraft's non-metallic skin and the intakes, tailpipes and exhaust plumes of four turbo-fan jet engines -- despite design features that were intended to shield or cool them down.

EVEN LITTLE schoolchildren know that turkeys can't fly. New disclosures about the B-2 Stealth bomber have added weight to all the good arguments against this turkey.The bat-winged bomber already is obsolete. It was designed for a different world -- one in which the Soviet Union was the United States' fearsome adversary. The long-range strategic missions that the B-2 was designed to fly now seem remote.Now there is more disturbing news about the plane's capabilities. The technology that is supposed to make it undetectable by radar -- its main selling point -- doesn't work.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted 51-48 yesterday to keep the limping B-2 stealth bomber program alive for another year, despite a recent test suggesting that the plane may not be so stealthy after all.Vice President Dan Quayle, who presided in case his tie-breaking vote was needed, announced the tally to a crowded chamber after a day of debate over the fate of the controversial warplane. Since the House already had voted to end the program, a Senate vote to do the same would have killed it.The three-vote margin was a sharp drop from the most recent Senate vote Aug. 1, when the B-2 prevailed 57-42.

Air Force Secretary Donald B. Rice disclosed late yesterday that the Northrop B-2 stealth bomber failed recent tests of its ability to operate without being detected by enemy radar -- a potential political bombshell for the controversial $60 billion program.Mr. Rice said that in a recent flight test, measurements of the B-2's stealth capability "did not meet the desired levels of performance." According to congressional sources, the failure stems from a potentially serious technical problem that is likely to be seized upon by B-2 opponents.

WASHINGTON -- The first six B-2 Stealth bombers ordered by the Air Force have been so plagued by manufacturing defects, last-minute design changes and other assembly delays that contractors may be unable to build the planes as fast and efficiently as desired by the Bush administration, a congressional investigation shows.Although the B-2 contracting team -- led by Northrop Corp. -- has improved the manufacturing process with each new plane, the results continue to fall far short of goals set by company and Air Force officials to reduce the number of defects and delays, investigators said.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate endorsed yesterday President Bush's two top military priorities, the stealth bomber and the "star wars" anti-missile defense system, rejecting arguments that the easing of Cold War tensions and closer U.S.-Soviet ties made the weapons unnecessary.In a series of votes, the Senate approved $4.6 billion for the next fiscal year to test sensors in space and begin fielding an anti-missile defense system by 1996 that would protect the United States against limited nuclear attacks.