Defence contractors in the UK face an unsettling time. After reaping the benefits of increased spending for equipment needed urgently in Iraq and Afghanistan, defence contractors in the UK fear months of uncertainty as the government stalls on long-term investment decisions before the next general election.

Money remains a primary concern. While the past decade has seen a significant increase in the proportion of gross domestic product spent on areas such as health and education, the priority given to defence has fallen. Defence spending as a proportion of GDP has fallen from 4.4 per cent in the late 1980s to just 2.4 per cent in 2007-08.