The Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defence Index has now risen for fourteen consecutive months — the longest unbroken monthly streak in any major European sub-index since the data series began.

Rheinmetall, the German armoured-vehicle and ammunition group, has compounded at 71 percent annualised over the past three years and now trades at 32 times forward earnings.

The European Defence Fund disbursed €4.2 billion in April under its long-delayed framework, with the bulk directed at integrated air defence, ammunition production and counter-drone systems.

The fundamental question for investors is whether the rearmament cycle is durable. The political consensus across Berlin, Paris, Warsaw and Rome appears robust — but multi-year defence procurement budgets historically have not survived the first serious fiscal crisis.