European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 14, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Public get a Chance to View the b-1b bomber during open House last january at Ella Worth fab s. D. The b-1b bomber a High flying dancer with Sharp critics on the ground by Norman Black associated press the b 1 b handles More like a fighter thana bomber dancing through the arid Texas plateaus As the pilots practice High Speed Low level bombing. During a recent 4 i hour training flight out of Dyess fab Texas i. Col. Bob Davis an instructor Pilot and capt Gary j. Martin a student Pilot wheeled the plane in 30-degree turns at 600 plus Mph. They held an Altitude of 500 feet while prosecuting their attack runs. At times Only the plane s Shadow racing across the Countryside gave an indication of How fast it was moving. The sensation was not unlike that of a race car skewing around curves but without the noise. The has pou&t5 about th6 so we re try Lafr pilots used to lumbering around in aging b-52 a were clearly enjoying themselves. The b-1b is a Beautiful air plane in a distinctly sinister Way with moveable swept wings and More on Board computers than the space shuttle. With its Needle nosed slim Silhouette and four Jet engines Slung below the fuselage it is smaller than a b-52 yet capable of carrying More bombs. It also is carrying some extra baggage political and financial controversy. Ii is a plane with problems that have been fixed like fuel leaks and one big problem that has not the electronic gear needed to fool or Jam enemy radar the fact that it can get off the ground does t prove anything says congresswoman Barbara Boxer a critic and member of the House armed services committee. The air Force has serious problems with the plane. And the air Force tried to hide them because they did t want Congress to get upset. Well we re  the men who Are bringing the b-18 to life at Dyess an isolated base in West Texas acknowledge problems. But they feel Congress has gone too far with its criticism. Ii the b-1b has yet to live up to expectation it remains a potent machine. The question that a flight demonstration can t answer is whether it is capable of sneaking across Borders and surviving to drop bombs. The air Force a ordered 100 b-18 s at a Cost of $28 billion. Forty eight have been delivered. The plane is designed to restore the air Force s ability to attack High priority targets in the event of War. That kind of target requires precision accuracy beyond that even of today s missiles such As movable missile batteries. Besides the fuel leaks the b-1b s problems have included a maintenance diagnostic system that still gives false reports and automatic terrain following radar and flight control systems that Are Only now nearing final chock out. To its critics on Capitol Hill the a to is the plane whose capabilities were oversold by the air Force and one that might some Day live up to its original design specifications but Only at a Cost of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Col. Donald j. Moody the assistant Deputy commander for maintenance at Dyess also acknowledges delays in obtaining spare parts. Those problems have been or will soon be solved say Moody and col. Albert Don Jensen. Jensen is the newly designated commander of the 96th bombardment Wing. The bigger problem and the one that has raised the most congressional ire involves the bib s electronic countermeasures equipment. The equipment is supposed to allow the bomber to detect enemy radar units so that it can avoid flying near them and if need be to Jam or "trick1 them to protect the plane against missiles. For All of its Maneule ability the b-1b needs that equipment to accomplish its wartime Mission. The air Force stresses the problem with the gear is not that it does t provide any Protection but that it does t yet provide All the Protection that was expected. The problem is deemed serious enough that the air Force now estimates it will take most of two years and $600 million to solve. Rep. Les Aspin d-wis., the chairman of the House armed services committee complains the b-1b s tortuous birth has raised anew questions about the process by which the Pentagon develops and builds weapons. In order to meet the ambitious goal of deploying the first bib s by the fall of 1986, the air Force practice  development and production were pursued simultaneously. While it offers the Prospect of saving huge amounts of Money by saving time major unanticipated problems can Only be corrected at great expense because production has already begun. The result claims Aspin is that the b-1 can penetrate and hit some targets in the soviet Union More than the b 52, but in can hit All the targets it was designed to Norman Black recently became the first reporter to Fly on the new b-10 bomber. Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday. June 14, 1987