Technology 1993 - Aerospace and military

Significant developments during 1992 are discussed. The winding down of the cold war continued to batter the defence industry. The Third World emerged as a nuclear threat, spurring the Pentagon to rearrange its missile defense programs to provide more advanced short and medium-range missiles to cope with conflicts like the Persian Gulf War. Lack of a monolithic enemy cast doubt on the future of the European Fighter Aircraft just as the first prototypes were being readied for test flights in 1993. With air travel cut by the recession and revenues sliced even more by fare wars, the airlines idled about 10% of their fleets. Political and economic changes also portended large shifts in the world´s space programs, possibly toward a single international program. NASA scored with several resoundingly successful space shuttle missions. These and other space missions during the year are briefly discussed.<>