BAE Systems plc BAESY recently secured a contract involving Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS). The award was offered by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD.
Details of BAESY’s Deal
Per the terms of the deal, BAESY will manufacture and deliver up to 55,000 APKWS II units to support the upgrade of the current 2.75-inch Rocket System to a semi-active, laser-guided precision weapon for the U.S. Navy, Army and Foreign Military Sales customers.
Valued at $1.74 billion, the contract is anticipated to be completed by December 2031. A major portion of the work related to this contract will be executed in Hudson, NH; Whippany, NJ and Plymouth, United Kingdom.
What’s Favoring BAESY Stock?
With countries worldwide enhancing their defense capabilities, spending on advanced military arms and munitions, including rocket and missile systems, has been rapidly increasing. BAESY, as a prominent manufacturer of rocket and missile systems, is benefiting from this trend through a steady flow of orders like the latest one.
Notably, BAE Systems’ APKWS laser guidance kit has been proven in combat for more than a decade, transforming standard 70mm rockets into precision-guided munitions. It delivers pinpoint accuracy with minimal collateral damage, ensuring reliable lethality when it matters most.
The fact that BAESY has delivered more than 50,000 units of APKWS guidance kits to date, along with its recent investments of over $100 million in infrastructure improvements to expand production, surely reflects the solid demand enjoyed by APKWS in the global defense industry.
Growth Potential for BAESY & Other Defense Stocks
Steadily rising demand for rockets and missiles amid enhanced hostilities worldwide must have prompted Future Market Insights to project a CAGR of 6% during the 2025-2035 period for the global rockets and missiles market. Such abounding growth trends indicate ample growth opportunities for prominent market players like BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin LMT, The Boeing Company BA and RTX Corporation RTX.
Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business unit designs, produces, and supports advanced missiles and rockets for military forces worldwide. Its MLRS Family of Munitions offers a range of precision-strike rockets and missiles, continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of the warfighter.
LMT boasts a long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate of 10.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 sales indicates an improvement of 4.6%.
Boeing’s Precision Engagement Systems portfolio includes a range of battle-proven solutions. Its Joint Direct Attack Munition is a cost-effective guidance kit that transforms standard free-fall bombs into highly accurate, smart precision weapons.
BA boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 17.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 sales implies an increase of 28.8%.
RTX business unit, Raytheon is a leading producer of advanced military rocket and missile systems. Its SM-3 interceptor is a highly capable defensive weapon designed to detect, track and destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
RTX’s long-term earnings growth rate is 9.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 sales implies an improvement of 6.1%.
BAESY Stock Price Movement
In the past year, BAE Systems' shares have risen 37% compared with the industry’s growth of 39.2%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BAESY’s Zacks Rank
BAE Systems currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
