Three days after U.S. warships fired 47 cruise missiles at Sunni militant targets in northern Syria, the Pentagon signed a $251m deal to buy more Tomahawks from Raytheon Co., a windfall for the military giant and its many subcontractors.

There are cyclical industries, and there's the defense industry. In wartime, billions of additional dollars flow to defense contractors from the U.S. government, and in peacetime, Congress tightens the money spigot. It's a cycle that all contractors are used to, except this time around there's an added dimension: the Budget Control Act of 2011 and sequestration.