BAE Systems, the British maker of military equipment, said Thursday that group net profit rose by 24 percent last year, as it looked forward to recovering government defence budgets.

Profit after tax rose to �918 million ($1.31 billion, 1.18 billion euros) in 2015 compared with one year earlier, BAE said in an earnings statement.

"We have delivered another year of solid performance," BAE said in the statement, adding that it had "continued to demonstrate resilience in markets constrained by wider economic pressures".

Chief executive Ian King added that BAE Systems "is well placed to continue to generate attractive returns for shareholders as defence budgets recover".

BAE Systems has been hit in recent years by weak defence spending from Western governments, notably in key markets Britain and the United States.

"Defence markets have been tough for years, but may now see some improvement as austerity eases," Steve Clayton, head of equity research at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown, said Thursday.

BAE said total sales increased more than 7.0 percent to �17.9 billion last year, helped by plane deliveries to Saudi Arabia, sales of equipment for the Eurofighter Typhoon jets project and growth to its naval division.

Shares in BAE were up 0.8 percent at 503.50 pence in mid-morning trade on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was down 0.6 percent.

Clayton said that despite bigger budgets, obstacles lie ahead for the defence industry.

"Defence companies will never be redundant... but we may be at an inflection point, where their traditional weapon platforms, tanks, jets, subs and missiles, are less important than data processing and surveillance capabilities.

"Cyber security, both national and commercial, is an area BAE is keen to grow, but it is not yet big enough in the business to drive the overall group forward on its own," he added.

CAE, Draken International bid for Canadian contract
Ottawa (UPI) Feb 17, 2016 - CAE reports it has bid on a Canadian government contract to provide combat support training services to the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy, and Canadian Army.

The bid for the 10-year Contracted Airborne Training Services program was submitted earlier this week and includes CAE's joint venture partner Draken International, a U.S.-based company with the world's largest fleet of privately owned fighter aircraft for adversary and threat training, electronic warfare and target towing operations.

"Our solution leverages CAE's training systems integration capabilities and NATO Flying Training in Canada experience, and combines this with Draken's world-leading fleet of adversary fighter aircraft and unmatched aggressor training practices," said Mike Greenley, Vice President and General Manager, CAE Canada.

"The Canadian Forces need to train against future threat aircraft that cannot be replicated without combining actual live-flying fighter aircraft with simulated enhancements. Our comprehensive solution will provide a better and more challenging overall training experience for Canada's fighter pilots by providing actual fighter jet adversaries that will look and act like real-world threats."

CAE and Draken have proposed a fleet of Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter aircraft for the Canadian program. Draken's fleet of A-4s has had extensive upgrades and delivers capabilities similar to Canada's CF-18 fighter aircraft.

The companies have also proposed a research and development program to develop live-virtual-constructive training capabilities for adversary and aggressor air training services.

"CAE is a company with world-class expertise for both simulation-based and live flying training, and we are thrilled to be partnering with them to offer a solution for the Contracted Airborne Training Services program," said Jared Isaacman, Chief Executive Officer of Draken International.

"Draken has unmatched experience and capabilities for live aggressor training as evidenced by our role in providing similar services to the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. We fully understand that future fighter combat training will involve an integrated live-virtual-constructive training environment, and this is an area where CAE is one of the global leaders."