The long-dated nature of many large defence projects and a renewed bout of geopolitical tension which is reinforcing the important of robust spending on national security means the industry is becoming a safer haven in rocky economic times.

Richard Price, the chief executive of Defence SA, the government agency designed to maximise investment in the sector in a state where some of the nation's biggest defence projects are under way, says the integral part which defence plays in an economy is being elevated to an even higher status.