Arms dealing at the start of a war is always good business. Especially so if you can afford to sell a unique service. At that point, you can raise your price as high as you want: you ain't talking margins of profit here; you're milking this cash cow dry. And what better way to raise the price, than an auction? But, almost like it's nature's law, the more one tries to climb prices, the more new... alternative methods are cooked up for someone else to get their hands on the prize.