Players in the world's fighter market may come to regard 2002 as the year that a major power shift occurred. If current trends continue, Europe gradually will lose its position, and possibly much of its fighter industrial base. The reasons for this power shift are many. For one, the U.S. market has grown, while the European market has remained largely stagnant. Also, the export-oriented F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project now looks relatively safe, despite remaining uncertainties. And South Korea's F-15 decision quashed European hopes for the last major export contract that was not affected by the F-35.
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