Staying unstealthy
ET CETRA Staying unstealthy ¦ President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have promised to revamp and restructure the U.S. military for the twenty-first century. Speculation says the...
...Our technological age and the changing nature of the threats facing the nation demand new thinking and innovative capabilities...
...The Air Force currently spends $140 million a year trying to keep the planes in flying condition...
...Yes, those B-2s...
...Worse, the "stealth" bomber proved to be a lot less stealthy than anticipated...
...Well, the B-2's manufacturer is now offering the bombers at a mere $735 million each...
...A small army of one thousand maintenance workers is assigned the task...
...So why buy more of what looks like one of the great military boondoggles...
...During the day it's color and size made it stick out like a budget-overrun...
...Who could resist such a bargain...
...Congress bought twenty, at $2.2-billion apiece, before throwing up its hands in exasperation in 1993...
...Commonweal 6 July 13,2001...
...Speculation says the administration's forthcoming proposals will aim at more efficient and flexible armed forces...
...The slightest imperfection in its famous "skin" made it quite detectable by enemy radar, and repairing that skin is (you guessed it) expensive and time consuming...
...The B-2s they stopped building four years ago...
...In that light, it was a surprise to learn that Rumsfeld is thinking about buying forty new B-2 "stealth" bombers...
...Its other claim to fame is that it is the world's most expensive plane...
...In fact, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the B-2 could only fly missions at night...
...Not only were the planes ludicrously expensive to buy, but also ludicrously expensive to maintain...
...Nor is the plane useful in daylight hours...
...The B-2, you may remember, is the black, bat-winged aircraft whose claim to fame was that it could not be detected by enemy radar...
Vol. 128 • July 2001 • No. 13
