Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Closure of Plant 42 Not Imminent, Air Force Letter Indicates : Defense: The possibility of closing the Palmdale site was studied, official writes, but only as an option.

PALMDALE — The considerable amount of defense work occurring at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale seems to be safe--at least for the time being.

Armando Azarloza, a spokesman for U. S. Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), said a recent letter from the Air Force seems to indicate that the Palmdale plant has escaped the latest round of closings.

The letter to McKeon, written by the director of the Air Force’s legislative liaison office, referred to a study done earlier this year on the possibility of closing Plant 42 and the other government-owned, contractor-operated facilities.

“The analysis . . . is part of a staff study of the type we conduct periodically, intended to highlight options to be considered as we draw down our industrial base,” wrote Maj. Gen. Paul E. Stein.

Stein’s office advises the Air Force secretary and chief of staff on legislative issues that affect Air Force programs and also assists with any contact between Congress and Air Force personnel.

When word leaked in October that the Air Force’s Aeronautical Systems Center was evaluating Plant 42 in Palmdale, it sent a shock wave through the community that the facility could be facing closure. With about 8,000 employees, the flight test and production facility is the second largest employer in the Antelope Valley, behind Edwards Air Force Base.

The B-2 stealth bomber is assembled at the 5,700-acre Plant 42 and Lockheed has nearly finished the relocation of its top-secret Advanced Development Co., known as the Skunk Works, from Burbank to Palmdale. Rockwell also does space shuttle modification work at the military installation.

“Our criteria for selecting plants for disposal are generally based on the current need for the plant to support Air Force production,” Stein wrote. “In the case of Air Force Plant 42, there is a substantive volume of Air Force work already committed to the plant for the foreseeable future.”

Azarloza said Tuesday that Stein’s letter was a relief.

“It’s good news in that we originally thought it (the study) was a plan of action,” he said. “We had hoped it was simply a contingency plan. . . . This confirms it.”

Plant 42 commander Lt. Col. Peter Drinkwater declined to comment on the issue, with his office instead referring calls to Aeronautical Systems Center in Ohio, which oversees the government-owned, contractor-operated plants.

“In the foreseeable future,” said ASC spokeswoman Andrea Attaway-Young, “we feel Plant 42 is fairly safe from any closure action.”

Nonetheless, McKeon is planning a rally at 10 a.m. Friday at Blackbird Airpark to demonstrate community support for Plant 42.

“We want to show that Plant 42 is supported by the entire valley,” Azarloza said. “And we’re going to work like crazy to make sure it’s there for many years to come.”