I guess with the way fighters are set up it is pretty much blamed on skill more than gear these days, since things are balanced so much to be....well the differences are subtle. Removing armor would do it, but then we have capital ship guns which can land an odd hit and nuke them....
Things are balanced for armor right now, not much can be said about it really...
Frankly I do not know how to decrease fighter combat time. They can already die fast if you stop paying attention. Maybe if a fight goes too long you can ask the guy if they think it is a draw, I have done that several times and they agreed after so much fighting.
Also why not remove the ability for bombers to strafe, will that do it?
