European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 23, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 23, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 5stealth fighter shown publicly for 1 St time Las vegas apr one of americans worst kept military secrets a the f-117a stealth fighter a was unveiled saturday to a crowd of thousands that cheered a demonstration flight by two of the multimillion Dollar planes. The two Bat shaped planes swept in under thin Cloud cover and passed Over Nellis fab banked sharply against the Las vegas Skyline and landed to give the Public its first closeup of the once top secret aircraft. There was an eerie whine As the Lead Craft piloted by capt. Randall Peterson of Rock Island 111., made a pass about 60 feet above the runway. The second piloted by maj. Steven Charles of Springfield mass., then swept by the crowd circled and landed. Both jets were surprisingly quiet in flight and while taxiing to an area encircled by several thousand people including military families vips and 225 reporters and photographers a including 37 from five foreign countries. Viewing was opened to the Public later and As Many As 150,000 people were expected. Foreign journalists represented Britain France Australia Japan and West Germany. Asked if any soviet reporters were on hand tech. Sgt. Bobby Shelton the stealth unit information officer replied a they did no task  the f-117a costs More than $100 million a copy according to a recent report by the general accounting office. The air Force gave a figure of $42.6 million a the so called Fly away Cost of one plane without counting development costs for the program. No performance details were released other than that the radar evading f-117a is a single seat twin engine subsonic Jet. A it is a fighter in every respect a Peterson 30, told the crowd. He said the Jet has outstanding handling and gives the United states unprecedented capabilities. Pressed about those capabilities he said a a we re not allowed to discuss any capability. A lot of the information is still  referring to an Al 17a nickname that has surfaced he said a nobody that flies the stealth aircraft Calls it a wobbly  also off limits were questions on reports that a stealth fighter used in the . Invasion of Panama last year dropped bombs far from its target. Capt. Randall Peterson answers questions about the stealth fighter after flying it to Nellis fab Nev. Apr the bombs hit exactly where they were aimed a Peterson said before another air Force officer broke in and said a we can to discuss information like  a i Only wish i could Tell you what this fighter can really do a said Ben Rich vice president of Lockheed coro., which builds the Jet in Burbank Calif. A the performance is awesome and the weapons system is unmatched anywhere in the  though the a a fighters designation suggests dogfights with other planes the Al 17a�?Ts main Mission is As an attack Jet. It is designed to sneak through enemy defences and bomb selected targets such As defensive radar installations. The air Force Only recently lifted the shroud of secrecy on the Al 17a, which Long had been rumoured to exist and has been flying for a decade. Previously Only pictures had been shown. The stealth fighters Are attached to the 37th tac fighter Wing at the Tonopah test Range a Remote Airfield 140 Miles Northwest of Las vegas.6 charged with peddling military gear for Viets Houston apr six men Are charged with operating As brokers for the vietnamese government in Selling . Military hardware abandoned at the end of the Vietnam War to parties in the United states. A five month . Customs service probe resulted in indictments unsealed Friday against the men and three firms they represent. They Are charged with violations of the trading with the enemy act which limits travel to and Commerce with a handful of nations among them Vietnam. The defendants were seeking buyers for parts from 150 c-130 transport planes and an undetermined number of a-37 sky raiders and .-made m-16 and soviet made ak-47 rifles. Also being offered were More than 4 million metric tons of Rice customs officials said. A these commodities have been sitting Over there since 1975, and we Are aware that they Are occasionally offered for Sale in whole or in air plane parts a said Charles s. Harrison assistant special agent in charge for the Houston customs service office. Millions of dollars Worth of . Weapons and other hardware was seized by communist forces when they overran South Vietnam in 1975. The vietnamese government has Given away or sold some of the material. Vietnam Era assault Rifle leftist guerrillas in Al Salvador. Robert c. Debrophy 61, Khanh Cong Tang 41, Bao Tran 57, and Guy Willard Tooker 63, were arrested Friday. Roy John Scott 63, and Binh Vinh Tran remained at Large. The firms named in the indictment were Royal Colombia and its predecessor Middle East american co. Inc., and Nualart Timex corp. . Magistrate Frances h. Stacy scheduled an arraignment hearing for thursday. Bond was set at $20,000 each. All except Debrophy were required to Post $2,000 Cash. Tang and both trans have become naturalized . Citizens since leaving Vietnam. Assistant . Attorney Mike Clark refused to comment other than to characterize the charges As serious. If convicted each defendant faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. A fall six were acting on behalf of the government of Vietnam in this conspiracy Quot a customs statement said a fax message that Bao Tran sent feb. 1 from Vietnam to an undercover agent the brokers were in touch with said All transactions were being negotiated directly with the aviation department of the it alleged that Bao Tran was a go Between with vietnamese government officials and Tang and Binh Vinh Tran courted prospective buyers. Tooker financed the operations and Debrophy and Scott arranged shipment of the Rice through Canada according to the indictment. None of the equipment or food Ever reached the United states. State department restrictions also affect travel and Commerce with Cambodia Cuba Lebanon Libya and North  the stars and stripes40 years ago today. April 23, 1950 a the . Navy said a life raft found a week earlier was identical to one aboard a missing patrol bomber and said it was the first evidence that the unarmed Craft had been shot Down by soviet fighter planes Over the Baltic sea. Is have been recovered from government according to the indictment. Vietnamese Jaq years ago today. Mom tosses 2 kids from burning building new York not a two children trapped in a burning third floor apartment were thrown from a window by their Mother and caught by neighbors using a bed Sheet As a net Early saturday a fire department spokesman said. The Mother Carmen Pacheco was overcome by smoke before she could get her two other children out of the apartment in Brooklyn but firefighters rescued All three the spokesman John Mulligan said. A year old boy and the Mother were unconscious and not breathing when firefighters reached them but they were revived. It the Blaze began when one of the children was playing with matches Mulligan said. He said firefighters were called to the building at 6 54 . When they arrived they saw people holding the ends of a bedsheets As the Mother tossed two children out a window. The children Juan Avila 6, and his sister Joanna 4, were safely caught in the Sheet by neighbors. Capt. Thomas freed and firefighter Patrick Waters entered the apartment where they discovered Pacheco and her year old son Michael unconscious and not breathing Mulligan said. They revived them both. The baby was in critical condition with bums and smoke inhalation at Elmhurst general Hospital while the Mother and the other children were taken to Woodhull Hospital he said. Firefighter Michael Mcdonald rescued another child Pablo Pacheco 7. He injured his ribs and hand reaching the unconscious boy Mulligan said. April 23, 1960 a president Eisenhower welcomed French president Charles de Gaulle in Washington to open four Days of talks on strategy for next months meeting of Western leaders with soviet Premier Nikita s. Khrushchev.20 years ago today. April 23, 1970 a Apollo 13�?Ts astronauts reported some frightening moments when their oxygen tank exploded 202,000 Miles from Earth and said they feared at times they would not get Home. All three agreed however that they would try for the Moon again if Given the chance.10 years ago today. April 23, 1980 a european common Market foreign ministers under . Pressure ordered an immediate Cut in embassy staffs in Iran and threatened to impose economic sanctions in mid May if the Macri