The machine tools allegedly sold by the Italian firm, Olivetti, to a Soviet aeronautics factory where they were used to build the YAK 41 fighter-bomber.

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In theory, the Air Force has many hundreds of tactical aircraft like the F-15E fighter-bomber that might be used to prosecute an air campaign in the Western Pacific, but those planes have limited ranges and thus would be heavily dependent on aerial refueling.

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McCain, who survived two plane crashes and a massive fire aboard the USS Forrestal before his A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bomber was shot down over Hanoi in 1967, said he had not given much thought to the possibility of threats to his life as a high-profile presidential candidate.

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Had the early problems it experienced fatal crashes, shortfalls in initial radar cross-section performance and other design problems been made public at the time, the naysayers might have succeeded in preventing the United States from having a Stealth fighter-bomber in the arsenal when it was needed.

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Another technique for saving money will be to use proven technology already developed for other programs, such as the sensor suite on the new F-35 fighter or the landing gear on the B-2 bomber.

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Nor can its development of a new strategic bomber and a fifth-generation fighter.

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In the Saturday incident, the bomber blew himself up while mourners were paying condolences to a pro-government fighter whose uncle had died.

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