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United States: Officials Debate Purchasing New B-2s A proposal from Northrop Grumman to build several new B-2 stealth bombers has reignited the debate among U.S. Defense Department officials over whether to purchase new bombers, officials said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 18). The Air Force refused the proposal—under which Northrop Grumman would reopen several plants in California and build 40 bombers over the next 10 years for $30 billion—when the company offered it last year, the New York Times reported. B-2 proponents raised the issue again this year because Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is planning to submit the fiscal 2003 Defense Department budget by early January. Rumsfeld has said he wants to use the budget to resolve disputes over new weapon programs. Rumsfeld has been an advocate for new B-2s in the past, according to the Times. In 1995, he and several other former defense secretaries signed a letter pressing the Clinton administration to buy more of the bombers. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has also been an advocate of the B-2 and might be willing to purchase more if a strong argument can be made, according to sources involved in the debate. B-2 advocates point to a need for more long-range aircraft demonstrated by the lack of short-range fighter airbases in Central Asia during the war in Afghanistan. “Air Force strike fighters played a small role in the Afghan war,” said one B-2 advocate. “Yet the Air Force is scheduled to buy 2,200 short-range tactical aircraft in the coming decades, and zero bombers. For some of us, their portfolio seems unbalanced.” Air Force Opposition The Air Force, however, opposes the plan to purchase additional B-2 bombers. One main reason is that allocating money for new B-2s would draw funds away from other weapons programs, including the high-priority F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet, according to the Times. Air Force Secretary James Roche, a former Northrop executive, has expressed opposition to the proposal (see GSN, Oct. 25). New upgrades to existing B-52 and B-1 bombers, which allow forces to drop guided munitions, have reduced the need for more B-2s, according to senior Air Force officers. “I think we’ve proven that we’ve got not only the right airplanes but pretty much the right mix,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper (Dao/Schmitt, New York Times, Dec. 11).
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