The United States is committing a combined $6.6 billion toward expanding submarine production through a new facility planned by Anduril Industries at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County, Maryland. Anduril will invest $3.7 billion in the Arsenal-2 project, while the US Navy has awarded the company a contract worth up to $2.9 billion tied to demonstrated production outcomes.The facility will manufacture components and large assemblies for Virginia-class attack submarines. These products will then be sent to General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding for final assembly. The planned site covers 187 acres (75 hectares), with more than 2 million square feet (185,806 square meters) of manufacturing space.Its proposed infrastructure includes high-bay assembly halls, fabrication areas, adaptable production lines and a 1,200-foot (365-meter) graving dock. Road, rail and maritime connections at the Sparrows Point complex are expected to support the movement of materials and assemblies.Arsenal-2 is intended to provide an additional source of submarine components alongside the work already carried out by the two main Virginia-class builders. Anduril says the extra capacity could allow more construction activities to proceed in parallel across the submarine industrial base.The company expects the project to create more than 3,100 direct jobs and support over 11,000 indirect positions. Initial operations are planned for 2030, with output increasing as staffing, supplier relationships and manufacturing capacity grow.Arsenal-2 will use Anduril’s ArsenalOS manufacturing execution and production management software. Rather than serving as a conventional ship-design tool, ArsenalOS is intended to coordinate factory-floor activities, including fabrication, assembly, outfitting, material movement, inspections and production records. The system is designed to provide real-time visibility into production status and embed digital work instructions and quality controls into manufacturing workflows. Sensors and automated equipment can feed information into the system, while tradespeople—including welders, electricians, pipefitters, shipfitters and inspectors—continue to carry out the physical work.
