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Global military and paramilitary shipbuilding production reached approximately $122 billion in 2024–2025, compared with $82 billion in 2022–2023, according to figures highlighted by Naval Group CEO Pierre-Eric Pommellet at the Euronaval opening conference in Paris on November 2, 2026. The increase of nearly 50% reflects a sharp acceleration in naval construction, with China overtaking the United States as the largest producing nation. The underlying World Defense Shipbuilding 2026 study, published ahead of the exhibition, shows that nuclear-powered attack submarines and guided-missile destroyers accounted for much of the increase in production value. The report's detailed tables record 280 vessels delivered worldwide in 2024–2025, up from 243 in the preceding two years, while total assessed production value rose substantially faster than vessel numbers.
More Warships.
Much More Value Per Delivery.
The global output step-change
Detailed Euronaval study tables, assessed value of vessels delivered. USD billions over each full two-year period.
Who generated the additional value?
Composition of the $39.462 billion increase in assessed production value.
One Naval Boom.
Eight Different Markets.
| Vessel category | 2022–23 units | 2024–25 units | 2022–23 value | 2024–25 value | Value change | Potential supplier exposure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear attack submarinesSSN / SSGN | 6 | 17 | $10.170B | $27.370B | +$17.200B | Specialist propulsion systems, high-integrity valves, nuclear-qualified components, acoustic systems, sonar and precision fabrication. |
| Guided-missile destroyersDDG | 13 | 24 | $16.000B | $25.020B | +$9.020B | Integrated combat systems, radar, propulsion, electrical distribution, cooling, communications and launch-system integration. |
| Offshore patrol vesselsPS / WPS | 39 | 48 | $3.727B | $7.704B | +$3.977B | Diesel machinery, hull fabrication, surveillance electronics, small combat systems and endurance-related equipment. |
| Conventional submarinesSSK | 11 | 18 | $5.933B | $8.546B | +$2.613B | Batteries, electric drives, acoustic equipment, combat systems, life-support machinery and specialist pressure-hull production. |
| Fleet replenishmentAOR / AE | 5 | 12 | $2.230B | $4.394B | +$2.164B | Marine pumps, cargo-transfer systems, tanks, fuel-handling equipment, automation and underway-replenishment machinery. |
| Guided-missile frigatesFFG | 27 | 28 | $11.824B | $13.518B | +$1.694B | Propulsion, radar, electronic warfare, ASW sensors, electric systems and platform-management technology. |
| Coastal patrol craftPC / WPC | 40 | 22 | $1.183B | $0.900B | −$0.283B | Reduced delivered units in this category contrast with larger offshore-patrol construction. These are not identical vessel missions. |
| Aircraft carriersCV / CVN | 2 | 1 | $8.200B | $6.000B | −$2.200B | Very large engineering programs, but delivery timing makes two-year comparisons especially sensitive to individual ships. |
Where additional spending meets a physical bottleneck
Shipbuilding output cannot grow merely because governments increase procurement budgets. Four constraints can determine whether a funded program becomes a delivered ship.
Engineering maturity
Late design changes can delay production, require rework and disrupt suppliers that need stable specifications.
Long-lead equipment
Propulsion components, specialist castings, valves, sensors and other qualified systems can constrain construction.
Skilled production hours
Welders, pipefitters, machinists, electrical specialists and commissioning teams are difficult to scale rapidly.
Testing and integration
Combat-system integration, trials, certification and defect corrections can postpone final ship delivery.
CBO reports that, for U.S. submarines, approximately seven in ten suppliers of critical components lack competing suppliers. That concentration can restrict rapid production increases even when additional funding is available.
More Orders Are Not
More Delivered Warships.
Model the production program
The historical category counts and assessed values are taken from Euronaval. Future targets, build times and supplier shares are hypothetical.
Vessel-equivalent projects in construction to support the selected two-year delivery pace under a steady-state model.
Recent assessed average value per delivered vessel applied to the target volume.
Ships delivered per year over the modeled two-year period.
Selected content share of modeled production value.
Selected share of the hypothetical supplier-content pool.
Workload versus build capacity
Illustrative concurrent vessel-equivalent workloads, not verified physical slipways or construction berths.
The production expansion requirement
Methodology and assumptions
Average assessed value per vessel = 2024–25 category value ÷ category vessel deliveries. The model holds this historical average constant for hypothetical future deliveries. It does not predict actual contract prices or mix changes within a class.
Annual completion rate = target two-year deliveries ÷ 2. Required parallel build positions = annual completion rate × construction duration in years. This is a simplified steady-state workload model. It does not reflect construction ramp-up, uneven delivery timing or actual yard-specific capacity.
Supplier content pool = modeled production value × assumed supplier content share. Supplier capture = content pool × assumed capture percentage. Neither percentage represents a measured market share or a financial forecast.
The study's assessed construction values may include integrated systems, national cost differences and ships built for export. Production and supplier expenditure can occur across several years before delivery, so assigning the full assessed value to the delivery period does not imply that the same amount of cash was paid during those two years.
Scope: The calculation is a sensitivity model for industrial planning. It is not a forecast of defense appropriations, supplier awards, profits, naval readiness, future ship orders or individual government procurement decisions.
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