Air Force Calls the B-2 Effective but Less Stealthy Than Expected

WASHINGTON — The Air Force told Congress on Friday that it expects to repair the B-2’s radar-evading problems but that the bomber may still fall short of its original design.

The service’s tactical air commander, Gen. John Loh, assured the House Armed Services Committee that the plane will fulfill its nuclear and conventional mission. But he said the plane may not be able to evade radar as well as it was designed to.

“The B-2 will be as operationally effective against the whole spectrum of threats that we expected,” Loh said. “If we had to rewrite the specs today, we probably wouldn’t make it as stringent as we did in 1980-something, when we wrote it.”

Loh also said the cost of repairs probably would not cause the B-2 program to exceed its $45.3-billion budget.

Lawmakers have expressed concern over increases in the cost of the B-2, from $430 million per plane in January, 1987 to $2.3 billion last January.

The overall $45.3-billion cost includes money for research and development, purchasing 20 planes and building hangars for the aircraft.

“The pattern of cost growth in the program makes even this figure open to speculation,” said Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), the committee chairman.

Congress is weighing whether to stop the program at the 15 planes now in production or accept President Bush’s proposal for the fiscal 1993 defense budget to buy 5 additional aircraft.

“The more serious problem is the Stealth problem,” Aspin said after the hearing.

The Air Force discovered during a July flight test that the plane was as not as good at evading radar as had been expected. Loh, limited in his comments by the classified nature of the problem, said the Air Force is working on three approaches to a solution.