The Nation : Air Force Defends Costly B-1B Jammers

The Air Force said the electronic jammers of the new nuclear B-1B bomber do not meet expectations, but branded as “inaccurate” charges the intercontinental aircraft may be unable to do its job. Pentagon spokesman Dan Howard also labeled the criticism of the B-1B by House Armed Services Committee chairman Les Aspin (D-Wis.) as election year politics. “As Election Day approaches, I’m sure that this story is going to be bounced again and again and again,” Howard said. In a Pentagon statement addressing congressional criticism, the Air Force acknowledged that an additional two years of work costing $146 million would not give the electronic countermeasures system the capability planned. The Air Force has already spent $2.9 billion on the ECM system.