Granted, the F-16 is no longer cutting edge and its sale to over two dozen nations keeps Americans employed at General Dynamics during harsh economic times.
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No other item on the F-35 is being competed, and no other military aircraft developed in the last 30 years has utilized engines from multiple sources.
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Interestingly, had the program not been developed, produced and operated for years in total secrecy, there might have been no F-117 to deploy to the gulf.
Delhi is worried about the possibility of the US selling F-16 jet fighters to Pakistan, though no decision has yet been made.
Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff, said he had "no doubt" that the F-22 might potentially be useful in an aerial campaign against Libya.
Although the Pentagon and the three services that will receive the new aircraft have stated repeatedly their full commitment to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35 program, its fate is by no means assured, particularly if defense budgets decline further than currently planned.
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When Mary Cummings, a former US Navy pilot, stopped flying F-18 fighter jets in 1997, there were no video links between cockpits and command centres, and even radio contact was patchy at times.
Section 1.1368-1(f)(3), because no cash is actually distributed, the timing of the election provides a rare post-year-end planning opportunity.
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While some of the other contracts of Lockheed, like the development and production of F-35 fighter jets, will likely face fewer or no cuts as these are assessed to be in line with government priorities.
The bottom line is simple: No other nation on earth capable of fielding the Airborne Laser, the F-22 and the other advanced weapons now on the Obama administration's chopping block would willingly abandon them.
Japanese leaders were willing to pay more for the F-35, because they knew it would be uniquely survivable and lethal, a combat system that no local aggressor could counter effectively for decades to come.
His use of the andante movement of Mozart's String Quartet No. 23 in F Major is casual at best, stretching out, for a listlessly choreographed full-cast exit, the music's final note as if it were just so much Silly Putty.
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