The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 came as manna from heaven for the aerospace and defence industry based in the US and Europe. After the 9/11 an attack, this sector was in the doldrums however, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have become a period of super-profits for those involved in manufacture and sale of armaments and air-fighters.

The world's top five armament and aircraft companies based in the US — Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics — have seen their profits zoom up by anything between 100% and over 600%.

Boeing, the biggest of them all, had revenues of over $66 billion in 2007, and a profit of over $4 billion. The top five weapons and aircraft makers sold over $188 billion worth of weaponry between them, making combined profits of over $13 billion last year.

European companies too have profited from the ongoing wars. BAE Systems, the giant conglomerate, which was running losses of over $1 billion in 2002, turned the corner in 2003 and went on to earn over $2 billion profit in 2007.

They are profiting from one of the deadliest wars in recent times, even as the rest of the economy is going into a tailspin. In fact, the whole aerospace and defence sector in the US has outpaced the rest of the industries continuously since the Iraq war began.