3 Defense Stocks to Buy as Geopolitical Tensions Continue Defense stocks in general are poised to benefit a great deal from geopolitical tensions in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine War Raytheon ( RTX ) should get a big lift from its drone and anti-drone businesses Huntington Ingalls’ ( HII ) backlog reached a record and the company will benefit from greatly increased U.S. spending on its Columbia-class submarine. The Pentagon’s spending on Northrop Grumman’s ( NOC ) B-21 bomber is poised to radically surge. Source: Gorodenkoff | Shutterstock.com Two of the most popular sectors now are the energy and defense spaces. For a few reasons, I believe that defense stocks are, on the whole, a better, safer bet for longer-term investors than energy names. In the short term, because of the volatility of oil prices, energy stocks could easily take a big hit. That’s because many prognosticators believe that the Russia-Ukraine War could soon be over. And in any possible deal between Moscow and the West, Russia could be allowed to resume selling its oil with very few restrictions, causing oil prices to tumble.