Both Sides Gird for Showdown Vote on Bomber : Defense: Pentagon says more B-2s not needed. Proponents of Stealth craft predict House approval today.

On the eve of a congressional vote today to extend production of the B-2 bomber, the Pentagon has stepped up its fight against the program by sending a letter to the House saying the military does not need the aircraft.

But B-2 supporters brushed aside the opposition, saying it would have little impact on the vote and predicted that the House would appropriate $493 million as a down payment to buy 20 additional bombers during the next decade.

The letter, written this week by Deputy Defense Secretary John White, asserts that 20 additional B-2 bombers will cost $3 billion per year to produce, jeopardizing higher-priority programs at the Pentagon.

But House supporters of the bomber said White’s letter lacked punch because it failed to name any of the jeopardized programs and was not signed by Defense Secretary William Perry. The letter was sent to Rep. Ronald V. Dellums (D-Oakland), a leading B-2 opponent and the ranking Democrat on the House National Security Committee.

The House is scheduled to vote this morning on whether to appropriate funding that would keep production of the bomber going through the middle of the next decade. The existing orders for 20 bombers will be finished in 1998.

“We are going to win the House vote, but it’s not in the bag,” predicted Rep. Jane Harman (D-Rolling Hills), a champion of the program.

“I feel confident we are going to win,” added Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.).

Earlier this summer, the House approved an authorization bill for the B-2, in which an amendment to kill the program was defeated 219 to 203. Harman said she expects today’s vote to be even closer.

Since the earlier House vote, the B-2 lost in the Senate, meaning that if the House approves funding today, the final outcome will hinge on a conference committee this fall.

Northrop Grumman Corp. has run a major advertising campaign in Washington, and company Chairman Kent Kresa flew into town early this week to lobby House members.

“There is a lot at stake here,” Northrop spokesman Tony Cantafio said. “When you include the direct and indirect jobs associated with the B-2, there are close to 25,000 anxious people here in California awaiting the outcome.”

A successful vote on the bomber would represent an important underpinning of the Southern California aircraft industry, ensuring that at least three aircraft producers will have survived the defense industry downturn of the 1990s. The other two are McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed Martin.

B-2 supporters have touted the bomber’s capability to deliver large payloads of ordnance over very long distances by using Stealth technology to penetrate enemy air defenses. But in sharp retort, critics call the bomber a relic of the Cold War.

“Everything else is a sideshow to the B-2,” Dicks said. “Debates are being waged in the dining room, on the House floor. People are interested in this.”