[Eric]

The break down of the number of aircraft into the categories of "military" and "non-military" is really irrelevant. The fact that aircraft are used as killing machines is a resul of politics, economics, and, maybe, human psychology. But I do think that the two world wars and the Cold War helped accelerate the development of aeronautics and related technologies. Maybe this would have happened anyway as entrepreneurs competed to take economic advantage of heavier than air flight.