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Microsensors and MEMS are currently being applied to the structural health monitoring of critical aircraft components. The approach integrates acoustic emission, strain gauges, MEMS accelerometers and vibration monitoring devices with signal processing electronics to provide real-time indicators of incipient failure of aircraft components with a known history of catastrophic failure due to fracture. Recently a combination of the need for safety in the air and the desire to control costs is encouraging the use of in-flight monitoring of aircraft components and systems using light-weight, wireless and cost effective microsensors and MEMS. An in-situ aircraft structural health monitoring (ASHM) system, with sensors embedded in the composite structure or surface-mounted on the structure, would permit the timely detection of damage in aircraft. An overview is given of microsensors and MEMS and their associated driving electronics for condition monitoring of future aircraft and composites. Silicon micromachining offers the potential for fabricating a range of microsensors and MEMS for structural applications including load, vibration and acoustics characterization and monitoring. Such microsensors are extremely small; they can be embedded into structural materials and can be mass-produced. Additionally a range of sensor types can be integrated onto a single chip with built-in electronics and ASIC. Smart sensors are being developed using micromachining in conjunction with wireless communication systems suitable for condition monitoring of aircraft structures in-flight. The main application areas of this investigation include continuous monitoring of a) structural integrity of aging aircraft, b) fatigue cracking, c) corrosion, d) deflection and strain of aircraft structures, wings, and rotorblades, e) impact damage, i) delamination, g) location and propagation of cracks, h) the quality of conventional bonds and 'kissing bonds' in composite structures.