Europe’s militaries are pouring money into the sea. EU defence expenditure rose to €418 billion in 2025, a 20 percent increase from the previous year, and is projected to reach €454 billion in 2026, equivalent to 2.4 percent of GDP. Maritime defence is one of the fastest-growing sectors. Production of naval vehicles and equipment across the bloc has reached €117.8 billion since 2016, with output hitting €13.7 billion in 2025 alone.
Who’s building Europe’s navies
On paper, four countries dominate that output. France, Germany, Italy and Spain account for 87 percent of the EU’s maritime defence industrial base and captured 82 percent of its total output value last year. France alone produced 37 percent of the bloc’s maritime defence vehicles in 2025, followed by Germany and Italy at 19 percent each, and Spain at 8 percent. Together, the four also account for 60 percent of the EU’s total defence expenditure.
For Christophe Tytgat, Secretary General of SEA Europe, the shipyards and maritime equipment association, that pattern is no accident: “the concentration is real and structural, not incidental,” reflecting decades of naval-industrial history and geography concentrated in a handful of states. Submarines are also a growth area, now 27 percent of EU maritime defence output, with the same four countries producing 93 percent of the bloc’s naval exports.
