Defense MRO - Naval Fleet Sustainment: Market Size & Forecast 2026

The global naval fleet sustainment market reached approximately USD 22.5 billion in 2025 (base year), supported by accelerating fleet modernisation cycles, sustained Indo-Pacific defence spending, and the entry of third-party syndicated estimates shipyards into the US Navy MRO supply chain for the first time. Growth runs at a 3.2% CAGR through 2032, driven by propulsion system overhaul demand, radar and combat-system upgrades on aging surface combatants, and the US Navy's Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) investing over USD 20 billion across its four public shipyards. The dominant structural tension is capacity: US Navy internal reports and the GAO repeatedly flag that the domestic MRO industrial base cannot absorb current demand in a peer-conflict scenario, creating pricing leverage for qualified Korean, Japanese, and European yard entrants. Naval-grade steel plate pri

Get in touch and our analysts will be happy to help with custom market sizing, deeper segmentation, supplier detail or a bespoke study built for you.