Which Middle Eastern Countries are Building Powerful Naval Forces?

By Jessica Lynn Mar 22, 2025 11:10 am

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Which Middle Eastern Countries are Building Powerful Naval Forces? — © 2003 Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Naval power plays a critical role in global security. Across the globe, naval forces often serve as the frontline of defense and project a country’s interests in contested regions. Modern warships often aid in these missions, and are faster, more durable, and more technologically advanced than many naval vessels of the past. Efforts to continually develop better ships has led to waves of innovation; in Turkey, this culminated in the recently successful underwater test-firing of an anti-ship cruise missile in the Mediterranean Sea. The Atmaca missile, which was developed in Turkey, was fired from the TCG Preveze, a Preveze-class attack submarine. In terms of armament, the Atmaca missile “is equipped with an inertial navigation system and global positioning system, in addition to a barometric and radar altimeter.” Not only does this accomplishment signify Turkey’s already strong (and growing) naval ambitions, but it highlights the Middle East’s growth in naval defense. (Which country boasts the world’s largest naval fleet? Hint: it’s not the U.S.)

In the Middle East specifically, the strategic value of naval power has expanded as the region deals with escalating tensions over territory, power, and control of various shipping and trade routes. Multiple countries have started acquiring more vessels for their fleets to protect against potential threats. Here, 24/7 Wall St. set out to determine which Middle Eastern nations have the most formidable naval power. To do so, we sourced data from the 2025 Military Strength Ranking, a report from Global Firepower. The ranking evaluates 145 countries through more than 60 separate factors to identify which countries have the strongest militaries. Factors include naval power, landpower, manpower, and more. Countries are then assigned a rank based on their PowerIndex number (hint: the closer to 0.000 the number is, the more powerful the military). We listed the following fourteen countries in order from lowest naval vessels to most naval vessels. In the event of a tie, the country with more overall naval vessels was positioned first. (Are submarines still relevant for war?)

This previously published article was updated on March 22, 2025 to reflect new Turkish naval accomplishments and ongoing tensions in the Middle East, as well as to provide updated rankings and data from Global Firepower.

Why Are We Covering This Now?

Earth photo at night, City Lights of Europe, Middle East, Turkey, Italy, Black Sea, Mediterrenian Sea from space, World map on dark globe on satellite photo. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

In today’s world, all the global powers seem to be fighting amidst themselves — and the threat of war, in some capacity, seems more like an impending reality than a simple possibility. Donald Trump’s administration, in conflict with Yemeni Houthi rebels, has already announced that additional warships will be sent to the region; elsewhere, conflicts abound over territory or even natural resources like oil. Given that nearly 30% of our world’s oil supply is transported through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran, Oman, and the United States have already clashed in the past, naval forces could significantly affect how any conflicts over this area were treated. By looking at the ongoing conflicts and how each country is bulking up its naval forces for protection, you can gain a better understanding of how these conflicts might play out long-term — and which countries would most likely come out on top.

Check out the Middle Eastern countries with the strongest naval forces: