ThyssenKrupp warship division CEO sees market boom

German naval systems maker ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems expects its market size to triple by the end of the decade, according to CEO Oliver Burkhard.

“This attainable market in electronics, drones, surface vessels and submarines, we expect that it’s doubling or even tripling by the end of this decade,” Burkhard told CNBC on the sidelines of the Singapore Defense Technology Summit.

That comes on the back of the German parliament voting in favor of a major fiscal package, which includes changes to long-standing debt policies to enable higher defense spending.

Burkhard said the move shows that “when it comes to the defense budget, there is more or less no limit anymore.”

The proposed changes mean that defense and certain security expenditures above a certain threshold would no longer be subject to the debt brake, which limits how much debt the government can take on and dictates the size of the federal government’s structural budget deficit.

“This is unusual for Germany,” Burkhard said, noting that the reform was accompanied by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reportedly saying “In view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, the rule for our defense now has to be ‘whatever it takes’.”

Burkhard highlighted that “the Germans normally don’t say ‘whatever it takes,’ because [its] very irrational. We have KPIs, we have figures, we have argumentation, we have surveys, we have research. Based on these, then we say something, but we never said ‘whatever it takes,’ and ‘whatever it takes’ is more or less limitless.”

He added, “that means, whether it’s 500 billion [euros] or even more, it’s a kind of special funding which has not been there, never been seen before since 1945.”

What that means for the defense industry in Germany, he said, is that the government would want to speed up projects and purchase more from the industry.

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, or TKMS, is the warship division for German industrial engineering conglomerate ThyssenKrupp, and manufactures naval vessels and submarines.

When asked if the company envisions a shift from building traditional naval vessels to unmanned sea drones, such as those used in the Russia-Ukraine war, Burkhard suggested those might be better described as an “extension” to current naval platforms, such as submarines which are surrounded by above and below-water drones.

Bukhard gave an example, saying that customers may not order four submarines, but maybe two, with 50 autonomous vehicles.

He acknowledged the hurdles to building capacity, however, saying “Everybody has higher budgets. Everybody wants to have it faster, and the demand is very strong.”

TKMS had acquired a new shipyard in the northern German city of Wismar, which will be used to produce new vessels for Germany, Norway and Israel, in addition to its traditional shipbuilding facilities in Kiel and a facility in Brazil.

But Burkhard also acknowledged that the company would have to look for partnerships if it wanted to expand. He pointed at a joint venture earlier in 2025 with India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, through which TKMS will help to design and engineer six submarines for the Indian Navy. MDS will build them in India.

TKMS has been in the headlines recently, on news that it will be spun off from parent company ThyssenKrupp and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. CEO Burkhard revealed that “we will try to do that by this calendar year.”

Investors seem to have taken well to the increased appetite for defense spending. On a year-to-date basis, shares of ThyssenKrupp have surged a whopping 155% as of March 19. This momentum, Burkhard said, improves prospects for a spinoff this year.

He said the message from the spinoff is clear: TKMS is on “a road to independence.”

He added that ThyssenKrupp’s shareholders have “suffered” over the last few years in light of issues in its steel and automotive businesses. Reports from Reuters and German media revealed that the company is set to slash 1,800 jobs in its automotive division, and 11,000 jobs in its steel segment.

TKMS is the “pearl” in parent company’s ThyssenKrupp’s portfolio, Burkhard said, adding that the spinoff would allow investors to participate in the company’s growth story.

“We try to turn this pearl out and give all shareholders of TK a TKMS share, and then they can decide on the first day of trading whether they want to keep it … I think they really value what we are,” he said.

— CNBC’s Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this report.