Torpedo Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Torpedo Market is projected to expand from USD 1.07 Billion in 2025 to USD 1.48 Billion by 2031, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 5.56%. Torpedoes are guided underwater missiles launched from submarines, surface vessels, or aircraft, designed to neutralize maritime targets via contact or proximity detonation. This market growth is primarily driven by rising geopolitical tensions regarding maritime boundaries and the resulting strategic imperative for naval modernization programs. Furthermore, the critical need for effective underwater warfare capabilities to counter stealthy threats fuels sustained procurement by major naval powers, ensuring continuous investment to uphold maritime sovereignty and provide robust deterrence against hostile maneuvers.

However, the market encounters significant hurdles due to the high costs and technical complexities involved in developing advanced propulsion and guidance systems. These financial constraints often prolong procurement cycles for nations with restricted defense budgets, hindering the adoption of next-generation technologies. Despite these challenges, sector spending remains strong due to overriding security necessities. For instance, the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe reported that in 2025, the defense sector saw a turnover increase of 13.8 percent for the previous year, highlighting the substantial capital dedicated to reinforcing naval and territorial security infrastructures.

Market Drivers

The expansion of global defense budgets for naval procurement serves as a primary catalyst for market growth, allowing nations to systematically meet the financial requirements of high-intensity underwater warfare readiness. As geopolitical instability escalates, governments are prioritizing naval expenditures to acquire advanced munitions and maintain operational superiority, ensuring their forces possess adequate stockpiles of precision-guided weaponry.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, global military spending reached $2.71 trillion in 2024, representing a 9.4 percent increase reported in April 2025 that supports this surge in acquisitions. This financial influx covers not only direct weapon purchases but also essential lifecycle support and infrastructure; for instance, Science Applications International Corp. received a $242 million contract in November 2025 to modernize the U.S. Navy’s torpedo testing and maintenance facilities.

Concurrently, the global modernization of naval fleets and submarine arsenals drives the integration of sophisticated torpedo systems engineered to neutralize quieter, more elusive submarines. Naval forces are replacing aging legacy platforms with digitized, modular weapons equipped with enhanced acoustic homing and autonomous decision-making capabilities suitable for both deep-water and littoral operations. This push for technological renewal compels defense ministries to launch significant upgrade programs to preserve deterrence credibility. Exemplifying this trend, Saab announced in May 2025 that the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration finalized an order worth approximately SEK 1.3 billion for advanced lightweight torpedoes and tubes, underscoring the urgent operational need to outfit modern vessels with resilient, next-generation kinetic solutions.

Market Challenges

The substantial financial and engineering burdens associated with manufacturing next-generation underwater weaponry present a major obstacle to the Global Torpedo Market's expansion. As naval requirements evolve toward autonomous and stealth-capable systems, the capital intensity of research and development increases significantly. This economic pressure compels nations with limited defense budgets to prolong procurement timelines or reduce acquisition volumes, effectively stalling the integration of modern capabilities. Such delays interrupt the supply chain and decrease the frequency of large-scale contracts, thereby decelerating the overall momentum of the sector.

The magnitude of these financial demands is evident in the massive revenue required to support naval industrial bases. According to the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe, the European naval sector generated a total turnover of €43.2 billion in 2024. This significant figure underscores the immense costs inherent in producing maritime defense systems. Consequently, although security needs remain critical, the high unit price of these complex assets limits immediate accessibility for many naval forces, directly dampening the potential rate of market growth.

Market Trends

The integration of torpedoes with Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) is fundamentally transforming naval engagement strategies by decoupling weapon delivery from high-value manned platforms. Operational doctrines are evolving toward distributed lethality, utilizing autonomous underwater drones equipped with munition capabilities to strike within contested waters without endangering crewed submarines. This shift enables the deployment of swarms of loitering munitions that can saturate enemy defenses and extend naval reach into anti-access zones. In April 2025, Anduril Industries demonstrated this capability by unveiling its Copperhead family of autonomous vehicles, noting that its Dive-XL autonomous submarine can transport and deploy dozens of the smaller Copperhead-100M munition variants.

Simultaneously, the implementation of spiral software upgrades for lifecycle management has become a crucial strategy for maintaining effectiveness against sophisticated acoustic countermeasures. Rather than funding entirely new airframes, naval commands are prioritizing the integration of advanced digital processing kits into existing torpedo inventories to improve guidance precision. This iterative modernization enables navies to rapidly adapt to adversary quieting technologies while maximizing the return on legacy investments. For example, in January 2025, General Dynamics Mission Systems was awarded a contract potentially valued at $808.6 million to supply advanced electronics for the U.S. Navy’s Mk 54 lightweight torpedo program.

Key Players Profiled in the Torpedo Market

• BAE Systems PLC
• thyssenkrupp AG
• RTX Corporation
• Saab AB
• Leonardo SpA
• ASELSAN AS
• Naval Group
• Lockheed Martin Corporation
• Northrop Grumman Corporation
• JSC Tactical Missiles Corporation

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Torpedo Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Torpedo Market, by Weight:

• Heavy-weight Torpedoes
• Light-weight Torpedoes

Torpedo Market, by Launch Platform:

• Sea-launched
• Air-launched

Torpedo Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Torpedo Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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