Air Force Raises Amount Withheld From B-1 Contractors to $298 Million

The Air Force on Friday increased to $298.3 million the amount of money it has withheld from four contractors for various deficiencies in their work on the B-1B bomber program.

The action against the contractors was disclosed earlier this week when Air Force Gen. Lawrence Skantze testified before a congressional committee that about $250 million was being held back.

The greatest problems are at Eaton Corp., which is working under a prime contract to build the electronic devices intended to permit the B-1B to elude Soviet air defenses on bombing missions.

The Air Force is withholding $159.3 million from Eaton following a contractor operations review (COR) that found deficiencies in the firm’s management system, quality assurance, contract administration and product integrity, an Air Force spokesman said.

Rockwell International has $96.7 million being held back for late deliveries of support equipment, technical orders, training equipment and spare parts, the spokesman said.

At Boeing Military Airplane Co., a problem involving a “companywide overhead issue” has resulted in suspension of a $38.1-million progress payment. Boeing builds the B-1B’s electronic systems involved with delivering its weapons.

General Electric, which builds the B-1B engines, is facing a $4.2-million action for deficiencies in its management system.