'And in countries like the UK, where armed forces are now roughly 20 per cent smaller than they were a decade ago, this gap presents a significant opportunity for defence giants like BAE to step in.
BAE Systems' profits exceeded £3billion last year as countries around the world continued to ramp up military spending amid elevated geopolitical tensions.
Results: BAE Systems' profits soared to £3billion last year as countries continued to ramp up military spending amid elevated geopolitical tensions.
Mark Crouch, market analyst at eToro, said: 'With the UK and other European nations now in the precarious position of needing to rapidly resupply their military forces, defence contractors like BAE...will play a key role in filling that gap.
BAE's platform and services arm also performed strongly, with revenue growing by 15 per cent to £4.4billion following healthy demand for the CV90 and Bradley combat vehicles, as well as the Archer artillery system.
