The A&D industry faces momentous challenges

Some aircraft are regarded as seminal, as having defined or shaped a market, as Boeing's 707 did for the jetliner and General Atomics' Predator has for unmanned aircraft. Such a status could be due the Lockheed Martin/Kaman K-Max helicopter as soon as unmanned cargo delivery becomes routine.

More capable adversaries could jolt lengthy weapons development

Why OEMs are flocking to the U.S., Mexico and Singapore

Commercial technology boosts hopes of directed-energy weapons

Airbus is at a crossroads. It needs to address its major twin-aisle product line disadvantage to Boeing, while simultaneously implementing organizational reforms that could leave the company with less cash for new product development.

Two recent events epitomize radically diverging fates in the global defense industry. At the end of 2013, Singapore ordered Type 218SG submarines from German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) for €1.6 billion ($2.2 billion). A month later, the French defense minister awarded a €1 billion contract for the modernization of Dassault's Rafale fighter aircraft (see photo). A good story for both companies? Not quite.

Although it has been fashionable to declare the death of the regional-jet market, recent trends suggest that not all deaths are created equal.