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By Mike Stone and Aishwarya Jain

July 23 (Reuters) - RTX raised its 2026 sales and profit forecasts on Thursday, betting on ‌sustained demand for commercial aircraft maintenance and military systems, as ‌airlines keep older jets flying and governments replenish weapons stockpiles.

The Arlington, Virginia-based aerospace and defense ​company said its backlog rose 22% from a year earlier to $289 billion, including $170 billion in commercial aerospace orders and $119 billion in defense.

Demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul services has remained strong as shortages of new commercial ‌aircraft, caused by supply-chain snags ⁠and delayed deliveries, have forced airlines to rely longer on older, more expensive fleets.

RTX's Pratt & Whitney unit, which ⁠makes engines for Airbus A320neo-family jets and Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter, reported a 16% rise in sales to $8.89 billion.

Sales at the Raytheon defense business rose ​18% ​to $8.27 billion, helped by demand for ​air and missile defense systems, ‌including Patriot, Standard and AMRAAM missiles.

Defense contractors have benefited from elevated global security spending as the Pentagon and allied governments seek to rebuild inventories depleted by conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere.

U.S. President Donald Trump has urged defense companies to increase output and expand factory ‌capacity, while proposing a record $1.5 trillion military ​budget for fiscal 2027.

RTX now expects 2026 ​adjusted sales to be in ​the range of $95 to $96 billion, up from $92.5 to $93.5 billion ‌forecast earlier. Analysts on average ​expect $94.08, according to data ​compiled by LSEG.

The company forecast full-year adjusted profit of $7.10 to $7.25 per share, up from its prior outlook of $6.70 to $6.90. Wall Street ​had expected $6.92 per share.

RTX ‌reported second-quarter adjusted profit of $1.89 per share, compared with $1.56 a ​year earlier.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru and Mike Stone ​in Washington; Editing by Tasim Zahid)