American Notes AIR FORCE

Still smarting over glitches in its newly activated B-1B bomber, the Air Force is now catching flak over its aircraft of the future, the radar-elusive Stealth bomber. Congressional critics say that technical and managerial problems are exponentially raising the project's cost. A reported $8 billion will be spent on the plane before it enters production early next year, and each of the 132 aircraft could cost more than $300 million, $23 million above the original price tag.

The plane's sole-source contractor, Northrop Corp., has taken a $124 million tax write-off against profits on the plane, signifying concern with the soaring development costs. Last week the Air Force called in officials from the Rand, Northrop and Rockwell corporations to explore the possibilities of subcontracting bigger chunks of the project.