European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 16, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Richard Halloran new York times after a decade of nearly local Sec Ocy. The air Force has been slowly removing some of Tho wraps from 1ho stealth bomber in compromises driven by practical and political necessities. But it has still not answered the crucial question of the plane s Cost. Service officials acknowledge Howo Vor Hal the bomber will come at a High Price perhaps As much As $558 million apiece and that its Cost will cause difficulties in a Congress Loath to increase spending on Tho military. The Prado Oll Between Sec icy and needed publicity was evident Al a ceremony in California when the bomber wive is lie signed to evade detection by Ladar and Lher sensors was put on limited Public display Tor the Lisl time three weeks ago the air Force originally planned to hold the Fortoul ceremony inside a hangar to prevent soviet satellites irom taking pictures of the air Rall. Which is officially designated the b-2. But that plan was. Dropped a senior oleic or said because the bomb i will soon be speeding up and Down runways in ground less and thus could be seen irom overhead or lion a nearby Highway we re taking a pragmatic approach to this the Allicer said then. Loo. The air Force wanted so show of i the bomber to help torm a constituency in Congress or its costly project. The Chiel of Start Gen Larry a Welch assorted that the bomber would add to deterrence and completely warrants continued unwavering support but to preserve As much secrecy As possible about the Seal la technology the number of guests at the ceremony was restricted to 500 political military and Industrial leaders plus b handful of reporters All kept far away irom the plane by police officers and dogs even so. A photographer irom aviation week and space technology Magazine hired a Small plane flew Over the Seal la bomber and took color pictures that revealed things the a Force did not want disclosed notably the exhaust ducts of the Lour engines arranged so. They do not give Oft heat Hal could be readily selected. Air Force officers shrugged Oil the -. Breach of Security saying the Magazine s. Photographer stayed above Resli cited air space and the pictures revealed. Something the soviet Union would learn. Sooner or later by Sale bile or by having. Art agent stroll Down the Toad next to the  that s going to be known and seen eventually said one officer. Most of the classified stuff is inside  secrecy has been a stealth byword from the Start. The project was begun. Under president carte and was disclosed in the summer of 1980by ". Secretary of defense Harold Brown. The democrats in the election Campaign. Used the project to demonstrate their commitment to Memnry  the election a Security Blanket was drawn Over the project again by Magazine b-y9  was a Trade off Between Sec Myrd needed publicity unwrapping the. Up to a Point president Reagan s Secretary of defense Casper w. Weinberger. For he next seven years Little information emerged inquiries to the Northrop corp., the prime contractor were rebuffed what self lath bomber the air Force also refused to a Knowle be the existence of a stealth fighter made Fly the Lockheed. Corp even Aller two of the planes crashed this Spring la Wev Orthe air Force started taking Oil the wraps. An artist s rendering of the plane was released although details of the exhaust system and control surfaces wore fuzzed. After the presidential election the stealth lighter was anally acknowledged. Then came the rolling out of the bomber after the ground tests will come the. First might sometime in the Winter. An air Force officer said the might would probably not be announced before it happened but would be disclosed when. The plane had landed at Edwards fab in the California desert test flights will be. Flown from there. 9ul even As secrecy has lessened the air Force has evaded the Eri Lieal question of Cost. Last Spring the service acknowledged that the Cost of the plane had risen in development and said that a new estimate would be published in the summer. ". Summer has come and gone and fall nearly too and the air Force has still not. Come up with a firm figure. It held Back in the presidential election Campaign to prevent the Cost from becoming a. Political Issue now the service appears to be waiting for the new military budget to be submitted to Congress Early next year in the Hope that the Cost will be camouflaged Mere. In an interview Welch said the 132  air  to buy would Cost 10 percent to just under 20 percent More than previously estimated or $ 10 billion to $44 billion in 1961 dollars. In current dollars that would be $58 billion los75 Bifi Ion or s515 million to $568 million for each plane. In comparison the b-1 bombers now coming into operation Cost $280 million each. The develop men of Tho b-2 look. Longer and Cost More than we i Hough i it would the general said. He acknowledged that i to Cost would cause political difficult for the Seal la bomber it s just simply the size of the  he said. It s not a matter of calculating whether in s Worth it As with every Othor weapon things that do not work will be found As the bomber goes through at Leas two years of Light tests. Gon. John t. Chain or. Commander of the strategic air come which will opera be Tho bombers said we will discover Alt kinds at problems with  my biggest concern about the b-2 will be the computer  he said. Sensors will iced Dan m o computers that will control most operations in the highly automated aircraft. I know  said that All clock Lionson t run the Way the designers say they re going to run the debate Over the b-2 Lias already started with the Union of concerned scientists and the federation of american scientists perennial critics of military programs asserting that the bomber would Cost Loo much and would be unable la Penci Raie soviet defences. Welch denied those assertions noting dryly there Are two Kino s of strategic programs those that arc already controversial and Hose Hal Wilt become  but he said the 9-2 would not Cany the political baggage of i to b-1, which was snarled under pres idols Nixon and Ford cancelled by Carter and revived by Reagan. In contrast the 0-2 was started by Carter and continued by Reagan. Bui bipartisan support May prove ephemeral. Somo members of Congress though they will not admit it have contended Hal the b-1 should have been skipped in Tavor of financing Lor the b-2. Arguing that the United states does not need two new bombers and that the b-2 is better. Now that the Day of the expensive b-2 has arrived their political support Lor that plane is questionable. Perhaps More important military spending has become a prime target in the Effort to reduce the Federal budget deficit. The High Cost of the b-2 will. Undoubtedly serve As a lightning Rod the argument that s1 billion could be saved by cutting just two bombers will have powerful Appeal. Several members of Congress have suggested that the production schedule be slowed to reduce the Cost each year even though  Cost May Rise. ". A counter argument is already. Apparent. At the ceremony pm nov. 23, the Secretary of the air Force Edward c. Aldridge or. Said " ascertain that Tho b-2 we Roll out today will become a Keystone in  strategies concept in thai plan the Seal la bomber is intended a Force afro soviet Union to deploy  defences rather than o buy weapons to Allach the United   a in the recent election Campaign vice president George Bush appeared to Snake the competitive strategy his own. Asserting that it would insure that a need nol Malch the soviets Bullet Lor Bullet and Lank for tank ". Friday december 16, 1988 the stars and stripes. Page 13