WE’RE IN A DISTANT THIRD PLACE: China Now Leads World Submarine Construction.

World submarine construction is growing to levels unseen since the Cold War in the 1980s. And in stark contrast to back then, today many more countries are involved. An estimated 77 submarines have been launched in the past 5 years (2021-present) by some 16 countries. This number includes 33 nuclear-powered submarines in 6 countries (China, Russia, United States, United Kingdom, France and India). Brazil and North Korea also have nuclear-powered boats under construction, but they have yet hit the water. Meanwhile South Korea and Australia have plans to operate nuclear boats.

But one country stands out for both their dramatic increase in volume and rapid pace of technical development. China has established a commanding lead in submarine production. Over the past five years, it has launched about 24 submarines. This is twice Russia’s 12 and more than triple the United States’ output of 7 boats.

We’re barely ahead of Japan at six.