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By Mike Stone and Aishwarya Jain

July 23 (Reuters) - Defense giant Lockheed Martin lifted its 2026 sales and profit forecasts on Thursday as the Pentagon ‌looks to replenish weapons stockpiles amid a wave of global conflicts.

Shares ‌of the company rose 7% in premarket trading.

President Donald Trump has been urging defense contractors to increase ​production as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and a prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict drain the Pentagon's inventory.

Revenue for Lockheed's missiles and fire control business rose nearly 20% to $4.1 billion, driven by a production ramp-up of its PAC-3 and Precision Strike missiles, both of which ‌have been used in the ⁠war on Iran in the last few months.

The segment was also helped by higher production of its THAAD missile interceptors, after the ⁠company signed a $35 billion contract with the U.S. government in June to quadruple output.

Demand is expected to remain strong as the U.S. has used more than 50,000 rockets, missiles ​and rocket-propelled ​munitions since the start of the Russia-Ukraine ​conflict in 2022 through the ‌U.S. attack on Iran, according to Pentagon data.

Sales in Lockheed's aeronautics segment also rose 9%, partly supported by higher production volume and sales of its F-35 stealth fighters. The F-35 is the Pentagon's largest acquisition program, with lifetime costs estimated at more than $2 trillion to purchase, operate and sustain the aircraft.

Lockheed's total backlog grew to $230.4 ‌billion, up 38.3% from $166.5 billion last year.

It expects ​2026 revenue between $79.75 billion and $81.75 billion, higher than the ​previous forecast range of $77.5 billion ​to $80 billion. Analysts on average expect $79.14 billion, according to data compiled ‌by LSEG.

It now expects full-year per-share ​profit of $29.95 to $30.65, compared ​with its earlier projection of $29.35 to $30.25, and higher than Wall Street estimates of $29.90.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based company reported a second-quarter profit of $7.94 per share, compared with $1.46 ​apiece last year, when it ‌was hit by a $1.6 billion charge due to difficulties in the ​Aeronautics unit and international helicopter programs in its Sikorsky segment.

(Reporting by Aishwarya ​Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)