The committee said sudden fluctuations in the magnetic field caused by weather in space or nuclear attack, could wipe out electricity and GPS, used by the military and financial markets.

BBC: MPs warn over nuclear space bombs and solar flares

Pilots were hampered by poor weather, but were still able to attack Yugoslav troops in Kosovo, Marani said.

CNN: NATO pounds Serb political party as leaders gather for summit

But its 16 authors, led by Michael Ladisch, a biological engineer at Purdue University, reckon that high-tech chow will, within the next 25 years, protect troops from attack by biological weapons, insulate them against cold weather and even make them visible to their commanders by satellite.

ECONOMIST: A new report speculates on army rations of the future