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Weapons manufacturer BAE Systems saw its order backlog soar to a record of nearly £70 billion as countries around the world continued to try to build up their military capacity last year.

Amid wars in Ukraine, the Caucasus and Gaza the business said it had taken in £37.7 billion in new orders, meaning it now had £69.8 billion worth of vehicles, missiles, submarines and other equipment to deliver in the years to come.

The business said it now had “a high level of visibility of our revenues for many years to come”, with some of the programmes running “well into the next decade”.

This year’s orders included big deals for weapons systems which have been used on the battlefields in Ukraine.

Subsidiary Hagglunds agreed to sell 246 CV90-series infantry fighting vehicles to the Czech Republic in a £1.8 billion deal. The vehicles have been tested in Ukraine since Sweden donated 50 to the country’s armed forces.

Elsewhere, the new nuclear-driven submarines, called SSN-Aº£½ÇÊÓƵUS, that BAE is producing for the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Australian navies was awarded an extra £4 billion by the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s Ministry of Defence.

It also renewed its support services contract for the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet with Saudi Arabia, a £3.7 billion deal which lasts until the end of 2027.

BAE’s results come three days before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.