Until 1997, rotorcraft makers defied the broader aerospace industrial trend toward consolidation. Aside from Eurocopter, which in many ways was consolidation in name only, all five major U.S. manufacturers, plus Agusta, Westland, Kawasaki and numerous others, survived as independent players. The recent absorption of McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems into the Boeing entity has changed this defiance. The merged entity will probably be the world's predominant military helicopter maker.

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.