Anduril to build Baltimore facility for submarine components
Anduril Industries is building a two-million-square-foot manufacturing plant in Baltimore named Arsenal-2, backed by a $3.7 billion company investment and a $2.9 billion Navy contract, TWZ reported. The facility will produce critical components for Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines to help address a widening construction backlog.
The Baltimore plant will initially manufacture torpedo tubes and spherical air flasks before potentially expanding into larger assemblies like bows and sterns, according to FreightWaves.
Tradepoint Atlantic site selected for manufacturing plant
The Arsenal-2 facility will occupy the former Bethlehem Steel property at Sparrows Point within the Tradepoint Atlantic multimodal logistics development, FreightWaves reported. Anduril signed a long-term lease for the site, which offers deepwater port access, rail connections to CSX and Norfolk Southern, and proximity to regional shipbuilders.
Maryland and Baltimore County have committed to matching up to 13% of Anduril’s private investment through local incentive packages, including a personal property tax incentive worth up to $210 million over 30 years, according to FreightWaves. The development is projected to create 3,100 direct jobs and support more than 14,000 total positions, generating $2 billion in annual economic output.
Submarine production delays drive new supplier contract
The U.S. Navy has struggled to maintain its goal of producing two Virginia-class submarines per year, hampered by shipyard workforce shortages and supply chain bottlenecks, TWZ reported. While the service has procured boats at a rate of two per year through Fiscal Year 2024, actual production has hovered around 1.1 to 1.2 boats per year since 2022, according to a Congressional Research Service report cited by TWZ.
Navy leadership has testified that the service will meet its two-boat delivery rate by 2032, a timeline administration officials hope to accelerate by integrating components from the new Baltimore facility.
Arsenal-2 uses digital architecture to increase production volume
Anduril designed Arsenal-2 for high-volume production of undersea capabilities, featuring a 1,200-foot graving dock and layouts optimized to reduce staging bottlenecks between fabrication and outfitting areas. The facility will use ArsenalOS, an industrial software platform that connects workflows, material movement, and quality control protocols in a single digital system.
What Anduril will manufacture and create in Maryland?
What specific components will Anduril manufacture at the Baltimore plant?
Anduril will initially manufacture smaller components for Virginia-class submarines, including torpedo tubes and spherical air flasks, before eventually expanding into larger ship sections such as bows and sterns, FreightWaves reported.
How many jobs will the Arsenal-2 project create in Maryland?
The manufacturing facility is expected to create 3,100 direct permanent jobs and support more than 14,000 total jobs in the region, generating an estimated $312 million in annual wages, according to FreightWaves.
When is the Baltimore submarine component plant scheduled to open?
Initial operations at the Arsenal-2 facility in Tradepoint Atlantic are expected to begin in 2030, FreightWaves reported.
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