Senate Panel’s Defense Bill Includes Spy Plane Funds

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a $263-billion defense authorization bill Friday, including money that might put the SR-71 spy plane back in operation to watch North Korea’s nuclear program.

The authorization for next year’s defense spending also would keep more bombers than President Clinton wants for fighting two Persian Gulf-type wars at nearly the same time, and hold out the hope of buying more B-2 Stealth bombers.

Chairman Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) said the committee added $100 million to the bill for the SR-71 spy plane and said it might be used to watch what U.S. officials say is North Korea’s attempt to produce nuclear weapons.

“Particularly with the Korean situation that we face, the SR-71 could be useful,” Nunn said. “We hope it will not be required in that situation but it could be useful.”

Senate sources said the money would fund a study on putting three of the spy planes back into operation. The Air Force retired them in 1990 because of high flying costs.

Nunn said the bill would also keep 190 U.S. bombers flying next year, and preserve an option for buying more B-2 bombers. He said he may lose a fight for more bombers in the full Senate, but added he would rather do that than “sit back and do nothing on it and end up with a Korean (war) situation where all of a sudden everybody realizes we don’t have enough bombers for two scenarios.”

Nunn said at least 185 bombers would be needed to fight two wars at the same time. But he noted that a Clinton Administration plan would eventually cut the U.S. bomber force to about 100.

The most controversial bomber provision in the bill is $150 million to keep Northrop Corp.’s full B-2 bomber production line open another year in case Congress and the Administration decide to build more of the bombers.

Congress declared last year that no more than 20 of the bombers are to be built, primarily because of their high cost of $44 billion, or $2.2 billion per plane. Northrop has said it could build 20 more B-2 bombers for $12 billion, raising the total cost to $56 billion but cutting the cost per plane to $1.4 billion.

The Senate bill also includes $2.2 billion for President Clinton’s request for six C-17 military transport planes built by McDonnell Douglas Corp.