Scripps Howard News Service May 15, 2003
Congress could reinstate 23 B-1 bombers
By Tara Copp
B-1 bomber boosters in Congress are working to get an extra $20 million into the 2004 defense budget to bring back 23 of the 33 bombers scrapped by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in 2001.
The $20 million is a direct reward for the B-1's performance in Operation Iraqi Freedom, said Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas. "Its recent performance in Iraq simply showed a wider audience how valuable this bomber is."
Dyess Air Force Base, in Stenholm's district, is home to 32 of the nation's 60 B-1 bombers. Twenty-six are based at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota and two test planes are housed at Edwards AFB in California. In December 2001, a B-1 crashed into the Indian Ocean during Operation Enduring Freedom but all four crewmembers were rescued. The planes cost $293 million each.
The move in 2001 to scrap one-third of the fleet infuriated Congress, which was not consulted before Rumsfeld's decision. Since then, members from states that lost B-1s - Georgia, Idaho and Kansas - have worked to fight the fleet cut, or bring the planes back.
Retired Air Force Col. Bill Ehrie, who opposed the cuts to the B-1 fleet and was afraid that savings would not be reinvested in the aircraft as promised, was cool to the idea of resurrecting the 23 planes. The $20 million would not go far in increasing the fleet again, he said.
"The reality is, when we had 92 planes on the ramp, we suffered for parts, upgrade money and manpower slots," Ehrie said. "I don't want to get back into that.
"I'd love to have 83 on the ramp, but we have to discuss the trade-offs. How do we fund it? We'd need more manning if we do that, and more money than just $20 million. And to maintain mission capable rates, we'd need follow-on funding."
Beyond a much-maligned past with spare part problems and upgrade complications, the B-1 has had a difficult time generating publicity. In the Iraq war, besides a highly publicized strike in a Baghdad neighborhood where Saddam Hussein and his sons were believed to be hiding, the B-1's role in Operation Iraqi Freedom was hard to determine.
The planes, based in Oman and possibly at the Diego Garcia naval support station in the Indian Ocean, where reporters were not allowed, did not report their sortie numbers, targets or tonnage dropped in Operation Iraqi Freedom. At least a dozen B-1s also are deployed to Andersen Air Base on Guam, where they were sent because tensions with North Korea escalated.
"The air war was the invisible war," said John Pike, a defense analyst for GlobalSecurity.org.
In Afghanistan, the B-1's role took a back seat to repeated footage of B-52 strikes, despite reports that B-1s dropped as much as 70 percent of the tonnage in Operation Enduring Freedom. When asked through an open records request, the Pentagon said it would not release specific figures on the B-1s' performance.
But reluctance by Turkey and Saudi Arabia to be host to U.S. aircraft during the war with Iraq might be bringing back the need for the long-range bomber into the limelight.
Air Force Secretary Jim Roche supported the B-1 fleet cut. It's uncertain what his departure to the Army will mean for the B-1.
The $20 million isn't a done deal. It will have to be worked into the already approved Senate defense bill as the Senate and House reconcile differences later this year, as well as gain full House approval.
The additional funding could come up as early as next week when the bill is brought up on the Senate floor.
Stenholm said he "will work throughout the entire legislative process to keep the B-1 reinstatement in the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act."
"I have always known what (the airplane) is capable of doing," he said. "... The recognition that the B-1 has received is deserved, and I am dedicated to ensuring the continuing success of this aircraft."
X...X...X
B-1B bomber
"Lancer"
Cost: $293 million
Crew: 4
Maximum speed: 900-plus mph
Number in Air Force: 60
First delivered to Air Force: 1985
Mission: The long-range strategic bomber can fly intercontinental missions without refueling, then penetrate sophisticated enemy defenses. It can carry three types of satellite-guided "smart" bombs.
(Contact Tara Copp coppt(at)shns.com or http://www.shns.com.)
Copyright © 2003, Scripps Howard, Inc.
