Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC
More time and money than expected may be needed for the US Air Force to achieve full operational capability with the Northrop Grumman B-2 stealth bomber, says the US General Accounting Office (GAO).
A report by the Congressional watchdog says that the upgrade of B-2s to the final Block 30 standard is behind schedule and that insufficient funding is available to overcome deficiencies identified in operational testing of the aircraft.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) says the B-2 is projected to meet full operational capability on schedule and within budget, but acknowledges that funding needs to be identified to continue upgrading the bomber.
All 21 B-2s are scheduled to be upgraded to Block 30 standard by July 2000. So far, two new-build and four modified Block 30s have been delivered to Whiteman AFB, Missouri. A further 11 aircraft are now undergoing modification at Northrop Grumman's Palmdale, California, B-2 plant. The upgrade takes between 18 months and two years, depending on the original standard of the aircraft.
The GAO report says the modification programme is falling behind schedule because of a shortfall in the Palmdale workforce. Northrop Grumman confirms it has had a high turnover of staff and that the need to obtain security clearance for new employees has led to a shortage of electrical and structural workers. The company has 80 open positions in the 2,700-strong workforce.
The GAO says the Air Force is studying the funding implications of a schedule slip. Also under consideration, says the report, is a delay to the modification of one aircraft so that it can be used to flight-test planned upgrades. The cost impact has yet to be determined.
The DoD says full operational capability will be achieved within the $44.3 billion programme cost estimate, but extra funding will be required to improve maintainability of the B-2's low-observability (LO) features and to buy portable shelters to protect the aircraft during deployments.
The GAO says the Air Force plans to use an additional $54 million provided by Congress in this year's budget to put towards the $144 million needed for LO maintainability improvements.
Source: Flight International
