The British defence industry has enjoyed a sustained boom since the invasion of Iraq four years ago. “Shock and Awe” rolled out on March 20, 2003, and since then the share prices of defence companies have far outstripped the rest of the stock market.
The FTSE 100 has risen 59 per cent since that date, but stock in Chemring, which makes missile counter-measures, has risen at more than ten times that rate – 609 per cent. The share price of BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence company, has risen 225 per cent. Ultra Electronics, which makes battlefield information technology systems, has enjoyed a 156 per cent rise and VT Group, which builds and maintains warships, one of 187 per cent