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.

Trainer and light attack aircraft are the easiest military aircraft to build. There are few barriers to market entry. Many countries have their own trainer design. Trainers are to fighters as regional transports are to large jet transports. Almost any company can design, build and lose money on trainers or regional aircraft; it's much harder to make the jump to more capable (and profitable) fighters and jet transports.