Naval Group says Europe is increasingly 'buying European'

The head of French naval shipbuilder Naval Group says European governments are increasingly choosing to buy from within the continent as they pursue greater strategic autonomy, and that the company's European revenue is rising sharply. From essentially nothing in 2019, its European sales are expected to reach around €1bn in 2026 and could climb to €1.5bn in the coming years, helped by orders from Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece and, most recently, Sweden.

The drive to rearm — spurred by the threat from Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and by uncertainty over US funding for European defence — has also sharpened competition between European rivals. The French group lost major submarine programmes in Canada and Poland to a German builder and to Sweden's Saab, and a Norwegian frigate contract to Britain's BAE Systems, before winning a significant Swedish frigate order in May. Its chief said it was too early to tell whether that win might help secure a frigate contract Denmark is due to award. A strategic asset for France, Naval Group builds and maintains the country's most critical warships, nuclear-powered submarines and its aircraft carrier.