Almost every development in aviation technology has come from war. It creates the ambition to have machinery that will out-perform the opposititions.
Jet engines
GPS
Aerodynamics (speed/supersonic/supercritical)
INS/IRS (ICBM guidance)
Just to name a few.
Almost every technological advance in aviation has come from a military program. So much so, that to preserve the continual advance of aviation and associated technology, there must be a continueing 'requirement' for military equipment renewal. This is the reason military hardware is mass-disposed rather than stored or updated (in countries that actually have military development programs anyway) - to preserve the micro-economy of technological advance.
Lancer