The battle for additional B-2 procurement has effectively been killed by Congress' Fiscal 1998 defense appropriations budget. Even B-2 proponents admit the fight for more B-2 acquisition is over, leaving the Air Force with a 21-aircraft fleet. ``The silver bullet has given way to the silver stake,'' says Loren Thompson of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution.

After spending the late 1980s and early 1990s in the doldrums, the business jet aviation market is experiencing a healthy growth spurt. In 1995, there were 337 business jet deliveries worth $3.3 billion. This figure rose to 352 jets worth $3.6 billion in 1996. Deliveries of business jets in 1997 rose above 400, worth more than $5 billion, one of the best single-year increases in the market's history. And 1998 should see deliveries of 420 jets worth $5.4 billion.

While the long-term future of the manned combat aircraft is heavily debated, the future of the manned strategic bomber is fairly obvious: in the long run, it is doomed. The U.S. has the only active production strategic bomber program, and the most capable bomber fleet. Russia, which inherited most of the ex-Soviet bomber force, has the only other strategic bomber force. It flies some Tupolev Tu-95s and Tu-160s, but these are not being upgraded. The replacement program, Sukhoi's T-60, is dormant.