Naval Military Production Value Rises 50 Percent in Two Years to 122 Billion Dollars

The value of military production for navies, including ships and submarines, rose nearly 50 percent over two years, according to a Euronaval study cited by Naval Group CEO Pierre-Eric Pommellet. The figure reached 122 billion dollars in 2024-2025, up from 82 billion dollars in the prior period. Pommellet spoke on 2 November at the opening of the Euronaval defense trade show in Paris.

China led naval military construction in 2024-2025, ahead of the United States. Western governments have accelerated fleet modernization since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and amid instability in the Middle East. Pommellet said the sea had been treated for 30 years as open, safe, and free, a place where commerce simply flowed. That era, he said, is over.

He listed simultaneous threats: Ukraine and the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the Gulf, the Indo-Pacific, shadow fleets, cable cuts, drones, missiles, mines, and jamming. These are now visible to the public. Pommellet, who also chairs the French naval industry association GICAN, called for closer cooperation among European and allied navies. Programs are increasingly multinational. Shared frigates, systems, and logistics benefit all participants, he said.

Drivers of the Increase

High-end vessels account for much of the value growth. Nuclear-powered attack submarines and guided-missile destroyers have formed a large share of recent deliveries. The rise reflects both higher unit costs and larger numbers of hulls under construction or delivered. Naval Group itself recorded strong order intake in 2025, including major French state programs such as the next-generation nuclear aircraft carrier and third-generation nuclear ballistic-missile submarines.

The company has invested in its industrial sites to handle the workload. European and allied demand has risen for frigates, submarines, and support ships. The study covers global production, so the 50 percent figure includes Chinese output as well as Western programs. The gap between Chinese and U.S. volumes in the latest period is notable given the scale of both.

Strategic Context

Pommellet's remarks frame the increase as a response to concrete operational changes rather than abstract planning. Cable cuts, drone attacks on shipping, and missile threats have altered assumptions about sea control. Navies that once planned for peacetime presence now budget for contested environments. The cooperation argument follows from that reality: individual fleets are smaller than the combined requirement, so interoperability reduces duplication.

The Euronaval study provides the specific numbers. Independent verification of the exact methodology is not public in the available reporting, but the direction matches known order books and delivery schedules. For shipyards and suppliers, the two-year jump means sustained activity. For governments, it means higher defense spending on the maritime domain at a time when budgets face competing claims.

Forward Look

Production value is expected to remain elevated as current orders move through yards. Shared platforms among European navies could lock in parts of that demand for years. The leadership of Chinese construction in the latest data underscores the scale of Beijing's shipbuilding capacity relative to any single Western country. Pommellet's call for allied cooperation is one industry response to that disparity. The 122 billion dollar figure now stands as the clearest public measure of how quickly naval military production has expanded since 2022.