The specter of the Joint Strike Fighter haunts the fighter market. The Pentagon's November, 1996, JSF concept demonstration contract awards to Lockheed Martin and Boeing has virtually eliminated McDonnell Douglas as a builder of fighter aircraft once its current aircraft cease production.

The business aircraft market has been flat for over three years. There were 305 business jet deliveries in 1993, 315 in 1994 and 307 in 1995. And 10% of deliveries in each of these years were Beechjet T-1s for the USAF Tanker, Transport Training System (TTTS) program. WAITING FOR GROWTH

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.