• Order backlog grows to Euro (€) 16.1 billion thanks to significant successes in all areas

• Adjusted EBIT rises 46% year-on-year to €62 million

• thyssenkrupp Marine Systems remains on track to become an independent company

thyssenkrupp Marine Systems significantly increased its order intake year-on-year in the first half of 2024/2025 and substantially improved its profitability.

Thanks to major orders in all segments – underwater, surface and electronics – order intake rose to €5,591 million in the first half of 2024/2025 (previous year: €669 million). In the underwater segment, Marine Systems received an order extension from the German Armed Forces in December 2024 for four additional submarines as part of the 212CD program. In addition, the surface segment was awarded the contract by the Alfred Wegener Institute for the research icebreaker ‘Polarstern’. With these significant milestones, the order backlog grew to a record level of €16.1 billion at the end of the first half of the year (end of fiscal year 2023/2024: €11.7 billion).

Oliver Burkhard, CEO of thyssenkrupp Marine Systems: “We achieved great success in the first half of the year and booked a record order backlog of over €16 billion. Both the order expansion under the 212CD program and our order for the new Polarstern underscore our position as a Maritime Powerhouse – as a systems provider to the maritime defense industry. The recent signing of the contract for the follow-up order of two submarines for Singapore has contributed to our order book currently rising to around €18 billion. This strong performance gives us momentum for the planned spin-off of thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. We are pushing ahead with this with all our strength in order to be able to exploit the growth opportunities in our market to the fullest.”

Due to the steady ramp-up in new construction business, sales in the first half of the year were also positive at €1,101 million (same period last year: €965 million). Adjusted EBIT increased to €62 million (same period last year: €42 million). The adjusted EBIT margin improved to 5.6% in the first six months (same period last year: 4.4%). The improved profitability was primarily due to project progress in the new construction business and a positive development in the marine electronics segment.

Paul Glaser, CFO of thyssenkrupp Marine Systems: “Our order backlog gives us long-term visibility and predictability and puts us in an excellent position to significantly increase our revenue in the future. At the same time, we have structurally and sustainably improved our profitability in recent years. We were able to demonstrate this once again in the first half of the current fiscal year. We are continuing to do our homework and firmly expect to maintain the positive trend and further increase our earnings margin.”

thyssenkrupp Marine Systems is constantly working on developing itself as a Maritime Powerhouse. To enable the company to make the best possible use of its growth opportunities, thyssenkrupp AG is pursuing the spin-off of the marine segment on the capital market in the current calendar year.

• GhostPlay@SEA creates AI-supported simulation environment for maritime combat scenarios

• Consortium of industry and academia develops novel tactical AI solutions for

  maritime defense

Bremen, May 12, 2025 – thyssenkrupp Marine Systems’ marine electronics division ATLAS ELEKTRONIK is taking on the principal role in the GhostPlay@SEA research project as consortium leader in the development of new AI tactics for maritime defense. The company is contributing its extensive expertise in the maritime sector and playing a central part in the development of tactical artificial intelligence (AI) in the maritime defense industry.

GhostPlay@SEA is a project funded by the Bundeswehr technology program dtec.bw, which builds on the results of the original GhostPlay project. GhostPlay created a so-called ‘Defense Metaverse’, a high-performance simulation environment for AI-based combat simulations on land and in the air. This vision is now being expanded to include the maritime dimension. The aim of the project is to explore AI-supported methods in order to develop and evaluate new and proven tactical behavior patterns and decision-making processes for naval warfare. In addition, the transfer of virtually trained tactics to real hardware will be researched and piloted.

Dr Jeronimo Dzaack, Co-Head of Future Tech, explains: “GhostPlay@SEA aims to fundamentally change the way future naval operations are planned and conducted and to further expand the technological leadership of all partners involved. In the virtual environment, highly complex combat situations can be realistically simulated, and optimal tactics can be safely tested.”

By using state-of-the-art AI and simulation technologies, future threat scenarios – from drone swarms to autonomous submarines – can be simulated in advance within a risk-free virtual environment. “This makes it possible to test and optimize tactical concepts at an early stage, even before real systems are deployed. The knowledge gained in this way flows directly into the development of new maritime defense technologies,” continues Dzaack.

The GhostPlay@SEA consortium includes major players from science and industry, the Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, HENSOLDT, 21Strategies, Rheinmetall and Borchert Consulting & Research AG. The project underlines the innovative strength of the German defense industry in the age of digitalization. As a pioneer of such a digital combat training ground, GhostPlay@SEA paves the way for a new era of maritime defense technology and strengthens the future operational capability of the navy through artificial tactical excellence.

• Construction of two additional submarines for the Republic of Singapore

• Record order book for Marine Systems continues to grow

• Order will be fulfilled within existing production capacity in Germany

On May 7, thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) signed a contract for the construction of two additional Type 218SG submarines. This order further increases thyssenkrupp Marine Systems' record order book, which currently stands at around €16 billion. The positive market development in the marine sector also continues.

Oliver Burkhard, CEO of thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, emphasizes: “The order expansion underscores the generally positive market situation in naval shipbuilding and gives us the opportunity to further expand our very well-filled order book. We are also proud that Singapore has once again placed its trust in us, as our partnership goes far beyond the production of submarines. We feel deeply connected to the country and contribute to the security and defense capabilities of our customer's country with our products.”

Production within existing capacity
According to thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, the order extension can be handled within existing capacities in Germany, despite high capacity utilization until the 2040s. In December 2024, the company received major orders worth billions, including four additional Type 212CD submarines for the German Navy, the new Polarstern research icebreaker, and funding for the project launch of the new F127 frigate generation.

Highest technical requirements
thyssenkrupp Marine Systems is also focusing on the highest technical requirements for the order extension from Singapore. The design of the Type 218SG submarine is designed to minimize its signature. The air-independent propulsion system also enables the boats to remain underwater for longer periods. Following the “Invincible”, “Impeccable”, “Illustrious”, and “Inimitable”, a total of six submarines will now be built for Singapore.