WEAPONS firm BAE Systems is on track for a surge in annual earnings, it reported today, as the company continues to profit from war around the world.

Britain’s largest weapons firm has said that it has booked around £10 billion of orders since the end of June, raking in more than £30bn so far this year. 

The manufacturer’s earnings soared last August following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and witnessed another hike since Israel intensified its bombing of the Gaza Strip in October.

Sales at the firm are expected to rise between 5 and 7 per cent, and earnings per share are set to jump from 10 to 12 per cent in 2023.

BAE claimed the hike in sales “reflects continued customer confidence in our ability to deliver important capabilities at a time of heightening geopolitical risk.”

The firm is one of the key manufacturers of components for weapons going to Israel.

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament general secretary Kate Hudson said: “One example of this is the F35 fighter jet which is used in bombing Gaza.

“They make the rear fuselage of every F35 at Samlesbury Aerodrome in Lancashire, and they test its ‘durability’ in East Yorkshire. 

“Last Friday, we saw hundreds of trade unionists protesting at BAE systems in Rochester, Kent, where many components for the F35 – and Israel’s F16 – are made. 

“So if you’re asking where BAE profits are coming from, this is one place to look – from their exports to Israel, to rain death on the people of Gaza. 

“BAE systems profit from killing — it has Palestinian blood on its hands.”