Key facts
- Organizers expect a record exhibitor count at Euronaval, up 45% from the previous edition two years ago.
- Organizers put the global military and paramilitary shipbuilding market at $122 billion in 2024-2025.
- Naval Group, TKMS and MBDA were among groups showing warships, combat software and naval ammunition.
- Rear Admiral Guillaume Merveilleux du Vignaux said drones were likely to attract particular attention.
- A French Navy official said GPS-based systems must account for a ship moving at sea.
Euronaval, a naval defense exhibition, opened near Paris on November 3 and runs through November 6. Organizers expect a record number of exhibitors, up 45% from the previous edition two years earlier, Reuters reported.
The organizers put the global market for military and paramilitary shipbuilding at $122 billion in 2024-2025, up 50% from two years prior. Naval Group of France, Germany's TKMS and European missile maker MBDA are among the groups showing warships, combat software and naval ammunition.
Rear Admiral Guillaume Merveilleux du Vignaux, Euronaval's general commissioner, said drones were likely to draw particular attention. Specialists say sea drones range from autonomous underwater systems that monitor undersea cables or hunt mines to surface craft used for surveillance or destruction on impact.
Officials say the harder task is connecting new drone systems to ships and submarines built years or decades ago, and operating them at sea brings technical problems absent on land, from vessel movement to interference from ships' radar and steel hulls. A French Navy official said at a press conference the previous week that all GPS-based systems must account for a ship moving at sea.
Military officials and industry executives also point to the difficulty of identifying who is behind unclaimed attacks at sea, which they say are becoming more common, particularly those involving drones. Merveilleux du Vignaux said AI would enable important progress in handling large volumes of data from radars and sensors.