Anduril and U.S. Navy plan $6.6 billion submarine production expansion in Maryland

Anduril Industries and the U.S. Navy announced a submarine production expansion worth up to $6.6 billion on October 6, with a new shipyard in Baltimore County, Maryland, intended to supply components for Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. Anduril plans to invest $3.7 billion in private capital, alongside a Navy contract worth up to $2.9 billion.

The facility, named Arsenal 2, will occupy roughly 2 million square feet, or 186,000 square metres, at Tradepoint Atlantic. Initial operations are planned for 2030. Permitting is to begin immediately, with construction following the necessary approvals. The company estimates the project will create 3,100 direct jobs and support more than 11,000 indirect jobs.

From torpedo tubes to larger submarine sections

Production will initially focus on comparatively straightforward components, including torpedo tubes, before expanding to more complex assemblies and potentially complete sections such as submarine bows. The company’s announcement describes Arsenal 2 as additional manufacturing capacity for the existing submarine supply chain.

The contract ties payments to production outcomes rather than simply financing construction. Anduril says it will bear most of the execution risk. Chris Brose, the company’s president and chief strategy officer, described the arrangement as the government buying what the company can produce at the facility in which it has invested.

Before Arsenal 2 opens, Anduril will begin manufacturing submarine parts at a separate 160,000-square-foot facility in Orange County, California, equivalent to about 14,900 square metres. This gives the company a two-year operational head start to test manufacturing methods, production workflows and quality systems, while recruiting and training personnel. Torpedo tubes are among the components planned for this initial operation.

Additional capacity for a delayed production programme

Virginia-class submarines are built jointly by General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding. The Navy wants the industrial base to deliver at least two Virginia-class boats and one Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine each year. A Government Accountability Office assessment found that Virginia production stood at about one submarine annually as of June 2025, with late material deliveries and shortages of skilled workers contributing to delays.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle told the House Appropriations Committee in May that he expected industry to reach two Virginia-class deliveries annually around 2032. Brose said Anduril’s aim was to expand the submarine industrial base, adding capacity rather than taking work away from existing shipbuilders.

Anduril is already known for autonomous systems, including the YFQ-44A developed for the U.S. Air Force’s collaborative combat aircraft programme. Arsenal 2 marks its first entry into the supply chain for a major traditional defence programme. Its separate $1 billion Arsenal 1 facility in Ohio began producing autonomous combat aircraft in 2026.