President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a $6.6 billion U.S. submarine production offensive focused on a new 2 million-square-foot shipyard in Maryland that will produce components and large assemblies for Virginia-class nuclear submarines.
Defense technology company Anduril Industries will invest $3.7 billion in private capital in the Arsenal 2 shipyard at Sparrows Point, near Baltimore. Separately, the US Navy has awarded Anduril a contract worth up to $2.9 billion, with payments tied to production results.
Trump described Arsenal-2 as the largest new US shipyard since World War II in his speech at the site on Tuesday. He said the facility will support the production of next-generation submarines, including autonomous submarines, as well as torpedo tubes and components for Virginia-class attack submarines.
The project is expected to create 3,100 direct jobs and support more than 11,000 additional jobs. According to Anduril, the first operations will begin in 2030, after which production will be increased.
Software controls shipyard production
Arsenal-2 will cover an area of more than 2 million square meters on a 187-hectare site, roughly the size of 40 football fields. It will include high-bay assembly halls, fabrication areas, reconfigurable production lines and an existing 1,200-foot-long grab dock to handle large maritime structures.
Anduril said the facility will produce complex components and large assemblies for Virginia-class submarines before being sent to General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding for final assembly.
The additional production source is intended to allow more submarine work to be carried out simultaneously, rather than concentrating manufacturing among the Navy’s existing submarine manufacturers.
Anduril plans to manage the facility through ArsenalOS, its industrial software platform. The system connects manufacturing, material movement, assembly, inspections and documentation, providing workers and managers with real-time information about production.
Digital work instructions, sensors, embedded quality controls and automation will also support welders, electricians, pipefitters, inspectors and other workers, according to the company.
Plant in California starts earlier
Before the Maryland shipyard opens, Anduril plans to begin manufacturing Virginia-class components at a new 160,000-square-foot facility in Orange County, California.
The California plant will give the company about a two-year head start to test manufacturing methods, train workers and establish production and quality control systems. It produces test hardware and maritime components, including torpedo tubes.
Anduril said the lessons learned from this facility will then be applied to Arsenal-2 as operations in Maryland are scaled.
Virginia-class submarines are nuclear-powered attack submarines used for missions such as anti-submarine warfare, surveillance and land attack. They can reach speeds of over 25 knots.
The new capacity comes as the Navy seeks to increase submarine production while meeting U.S. commitments under the AUKUS security partnership. Anduril said closing the gap between current production and the Navy’s requirements will require additional suppliers, infrastructure and production capacity.
Arsenal-2 is being built at Sparrows Point, where there was once a large steel and shipbuilding complex. Maryland officials said the project is expected to generate more than $2 billion in annual economic output, including about $312 million a year in wages.
