Navies without nuclear weapons would emphasize large conventional missiles

How would the absence of nuclear weapons change naval procurement and design?

The largest change would be to strategic submarines and missile payloads, not to the basic composition of surface fleets.

Ballistic-missile submarines would either disappear or carry powerful conventional payloads intended to devastate cities. Navies would invest more heavily in fuel-air explosives and very large missile warheads to replace part of the strategic effect. Most surface-fleet procurement would remain recognizable because carriers, escorts, and amphibious forces still serve conventional missions. The largest design change is therefore concentrated in strategic submarines and their payloads rather than spread evenly across every warship type.