Washington DC
IT happened to the Invisible Man. And now it seems, it鈥檚 happened to the
Pentagon鈥檚 Invisible Bomber. The effect just plain wears off. Critics of the B-2
stealth bomber have grumbled for years that it was an expensive waste of money.
Now they have another complaint: you can鈥檛 even leave it out in the rain.
The bomber鈥檚 special radar-absorbing coat material is a little too delicate,
according to a report from the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm
of Congress. The material quickly degrades and loses its 鈥渋nvisibility鈥� if
exposed to the rain, heat and humidity. If the US Air Force ever wants to take
the bomber on operations away from home it will have to send along
air-conditioned hangars.
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So far, the USAF has spent about $43 billion of the estimated
$44.7 billion it will cost to get 21 aircraft into the sky by 1999, a
price tag of about $2.1 billion a plane. But the GAO warns that the need
for special hangars to keep them cool and dry will drive up the costs, although
it did not estimate by how much.
The Air Force鈥檚 problem is that the special coating, a composite of plastic
and metal which asborbs radar, needs to be repaired after each flight. And the
material must be left to 鈥渃ure鈥� in a cool, dry environment. To add insult to
injury, simply sitting outside in the heat and rain damages the coating, says
the GAO. The Pentagon argues that there is no reason why the aircraft can鈥檛 be
sent into action away from home but admits that it would pose a few operational
problems.
The revelation comes just as the Senate and the House of Representatives
prepare to fight over whether to spend any more money on the bomber. But John
Pike, an analyst with the Federation of American 快猫短视频s, doesn鈥檛 think the
revelations will make any difference. 鈥淎t this point the B-2鈥檚 got an awful lot
to do with money and politics and not much to do with defence,鈥� he says.