which plane would that be?
The harriers?
Cause if so, it's hardly the top air force plane of the day. It just fills 1 requirement really well because at the moment, it's literally the only plane built for that requirement until the F-35 program gets it together.
And there's also the little fact that the modern harrier (from the 70s) is also an Anglo-American development. Yes, Hawker-Siddely created the basic version of it, but that aircraft is a far cry from the BAE/Mcdonell Douglas version.
Plus I've just read that the RAF harriers are actually going to be used for spare parts by the USMC.