Anduril Plans Submarine Manufacturing Plant at Tradepoint Atlantic
The $3.7 billion project will occupy leased waterfront property at Maryland’s former Sparrows Point shipyard.
Anduril Industries announced Oct. 6 that it plans to establish a $3.7 billion submarine-component manufacturing complex on land leased from Tradepoint Atlantic at Sparrows Point in Baltimore County, Maryland.
Called Arsenal-2, the facility will supply components to the Navy’s existing Virginia-class submarine builders. Anduril has signed a long-term lease at Tradepoint Atlantic, according to FreightWaves, although the lease duration has not been disclosed.
Tradepoint Atlantic is a 3,300-acre industrial and logistics development encompassing the former Bethlehem Steel property. It offers an active deep-water port, onsite rail connections to CSX and Norfolk Southern, and land for manufacturing and other industrial uses. Anduril’s planned operation will occupy the former shipyard area within that larger complex.
“With Arsenal-2, Anduril will return large-scale shipbuilding to a site that can once again define American naval power,” Brian Schimpf, Anduril’s cofounder and chief executive, said in the announcement released by Maryland’s Department of Commerce.
The project will establish a new manufacturing operation at an existing shipyard site. Anduril will produce submarine components, with ambitions to build larger assemblies and eventually entire hull sections. General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding will remain responsible for assembling the completed Virginia-class submarines.
Describing the project simply as a “new submarine shipyard” can leave readers expecting a new builder delivering finished attack boats. Its announced role is to strengthen the production network supplying the two established submarine shipbuilders.
The planned complex will encompass more than 2 million square feet across a 187-acre site, incorporating an existing 1,200-foot dry dock. Anduril expects Maryland operations to begin in 2030, followed by increasing production. The facility will include fabrication areas, large assembly halls and production lines that can be reconfigured as work changes.
Earlier work will take place in California. A new Costa Mesa facility is expected to begin production in 2028, and Anduril has already started building torpedo-tube prototypes there, according to USNI News.
Torpedo tubes are among the components holding up some Virginia-class submarines already under construction, according to an official briefing.
Anduril describes its approach as a “software-defined shipyard.” In plain English, its ArsenalOS platform will coordinate fabrication, material movement, assembly, inspections and production records. Digital instructions, sensors and automated processes are intended to support welders, electricians, pipefitters, inspectors and other skilled workers.
The project is expected to create more than 3,100 permanent jobs and support approximately 11,000 additional jobs indirectly, according to Maryland’s Department of Commerce. Those are projections as the operation develops.
Maryland and Baltimore County have committed to incentives matching up to 13 percent of Anduril’s anticipated private investment—approximately $481 million. The package includes existing incentive programs and proposed appropriations requiring approval from the Maryland General Assembly and Baltimore County Council. It also includes support for a workforce-training facility at or near Tradepoint Atlantic.
The project would restore large-scale maritime manufacturing to a waterfront with an established industrial history. Its military value will depend on trained workers, accepted components and deliveries that help the existing builders finish submarines sooner.
For the Navy, the measure of success will be submarines delivered to the fleet.