"The submarine industries of France led by Direction des Constructions Navales DCN - and Germany led by Howaldstwerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) are competing head-to-head in the export market to win orders for non-nuclear, air-independent propulsion (AIP) diesel-electric submarines (SSK's). And, in terms of sales, they are leaving the others such as Russia's Rubin and the Netherland's RDM Submarines in their wake.

The market for attack submarines has experienced a resurgence in recent years, with demand stretching from South America to Southeast Asia and covering a number of European navies in between. Following the concentration on nuclear boats by major submarine shipyards, like those in the USA that are currently unable to build SSK's, the broadly comparable French and German submarines are effectively the only two designs competing for the world's SSK market. They are DCN's Scorpene and HDW's Type 212."