The U.S. defense sector has been dominating the headlines following the launch of cruise missiles on a Syrian air base. President Trump justified the strike as a response to the Syrian government’s barbaric chemical attack that claimed at least 72 lives. Although the act has been justified as one done in national interest, the suddenness of it compelled investors to turn to safe-haven assets, causing considerable distress to global stocks.

Meanwhile, fresh tensions between the U.S. and North Korea as well as a generous flow of funds from the Pentagon boosted the outlook for defense stocks. However, the latest drop in the global stock market might have partially marred their prospects. As a result, major indices of the Aerospace-Defense industry posted a mixed performance in the trailing five sessions. While the S&P 500 Aerospace & Defense (industry) Index inched up 0.4%, the Dow Jones U.S. Aerospace & Defense Index dropped 0.7%.

Among last week’s highlights, defense primes Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT – Free Report), The Boeing Company (BA – Free Report), Raytheon Company (RTN – Free Report) and BAE Systems Plc (BAESY – Free Report) secured big contracts from the Department of Defense (DoD).

(Read Defense Stock Roundup for Mar 31, 2017 here)

Recap of Last Week’s Key Stories

1. Pentagon’s prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s Aeronautics business unit clinched a modification contract worth $581.8 million for providing air vehicle initial spares to support the air vehicle delivery schedule for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants, and foreign military sales customers. Work related to this deal is expected to be over by Apr 2021.

The contract was awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD. Per the terms of the agreement, Lockheed Martin will provide F-35 common spares, F-35A, F-35B and F-35C unique spares, and aloft spares packages/deployment spares packages and reprogramming lab spares. Majority of the work will be performed in Fort Worth, TX (read more: Lockheed Martin Wins $582M Deal to Supply Air Vehicle Spares).