"Several experimental models will take to the skies as early as 2007, but for now they will be equipped with intermediary engines," Vladimir Mikhailov is quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying. "In the future they will get fifth-generation engines, development of which is ongoing."

He said fifth-generation engines would be created by 2010, but that: "If everything goes well, we will be able to complete work earlier."

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said June 14 that Russia's first fifth-generation plane could make its maiden flight in 2009.

He said the air force's financing would be increased in 2007, but did not name the exact figure.

With traditional x-ray scanning techniques similar to those used in hospitals, only 10 to 20 percent of cargo can be visualized, leaving up to 90 percent to be examined manually. Similarly, with gamma technology, only 60 percent can be seen on a scanner.

However, with the emerging high-energy transmission scanning systems, between 80 to 95 percent of cargo can be scanned in a matter of seconds, leading to a higher volume of trade items going in and out of U.S. ports more safely. High energy transmission scanning systems can also be equipped with isotope specific technologies to identify radioactive and nuclear materials.

Manual inspections, while possibly more thorough, are an inefficient use of time and not plausible with the volume of cargo continually passing through ports. It would take a customs agent 15 hours to manually inspect a freight car, while a scanning device could do the same in roughly 30 seconds.

"The benefit with transmission is that you get to know what you don't see. With backscatter there's no image confidence," said Peter Kant, vice president of government affairs for Rapiscan. The Los Angeles-based company presented an overview of their scanning systems at a Capitol Hill briefing Monday.

"The better the penetration of the technology, the more cargo can be inspected by the technology and the less by people," Kant said.

In the months after Sept. 11, the Container Security Initiative (CSI) was launched by the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to evaluate the status of inspections at the nation's ports. But after news broke that the White House had contracted security control of U.S. ports in Baltimore, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Miami and New Orleans to Dubai Ports World, the issue of port security became a priority in Congress.

The United Arab Emirates firm soon backed out of the deal, but the clash nonetheless brought the debate over border and port security to the forefront. In May the House voted 421-2 to allocate $7.4 billion for better port scanners like those made by Rapiscan.

Many foresee another terrorist attack not coming from hijacked planes, but instead through dangerous materials illegally brought into the United States, thus making border and port security an absolutely essential facet of homeland security.

"Central to our country's defense against terrorist threats is the ability to effectively utilize appropriate technologies to inspect cargo containers and protect U.S. ports of entry," said Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), who sponsored the forum.

Even with this new technology, there are no sure guarantees of safety, and a caution must still be exercised by agencies across the board.

"There is no silver bullet," said Elaine Dezenski, former Department of Homeland Security acting assistant secretary for policy development. "We're forced to take a more comprehensive, holistic point of view. The risk threshold gets more difficult when we talk about a rad/nuke threat."

A report by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs released in March also examined the readiness of checkpoints and success of CSI to stop nuclear and radiological material from being brought into the United States.

The report found that inspections have been lax at many ports, and current screening capabilities -- especially for nuclear and radiological material -- need improvement.

"The last thing we want to do is shut down trade, because that is exactly what the terrorists want," said Ray Shepherd, staff director and chief counsel for the committee. "Improved technology has given us the power to do a lot more."

NEW YORK - For a comic book hero, it's the ultimate taboo.

In the latest edition of the Marvel comic "Civil War" on sale, Spiderman does the unthinkable and removes his Spidey mask to publicly reveal his hidden identity.

"I'm proud of who I am, and I'm here right now to prove it," the legendary webslinger tells a press conference called in New York's Times Square, before pulling off his mask and standing before the massed ranks of reporters as newspaper photographer Peter Parker.

"Any questions?" Parker asks in the final panel of the issue, amid a barrage of camera flashes.

In a statement, Marvel trumpeted the revelation as "arguably the most shocking event in comic book history."

The seven-issue "Civil War" series, launched in May, sees Marvel's writers taking on the topical issue of civil liberties.

Following a showdown between a group of superheroes and supervillains in which hundreds of innocent civilians are killed, the government passes the Super-Hero Registration Act, requiring all superheroes to reveal their identities and register as "living weapons of mass destruction."

Marvel's roster of invincible crime fighters is split into two bitterly opposed factions, with one camp -- championed by the likes of Spiderman -- in favour of the new law and the other, including Captain America and his ilk, refusing to relinquish anonymity.

"It's about which side you are on and why you think you are right," said Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada.