Anduril to Invest $3.7 Billion in New Maryland Shipyard for US Navy Submarine Components
By Nathan Gomes and Shivansh Tiwary
Oct 6 (Reuters) – Defense technology firm Anduril announced on Tuesday it will invest $3.7 billion to develop a new shipyard in Maryland aimed at producing critical components for the US Navy’s Virginia-class submarines. This move reflects Washington’s efforts to strengthen its maritime defense capabilities.
The US Navy has awarded Anduril a contract potentially worth up to $2.9 billion to manufacture submarine components, with payment tied directly to production outcomes, placing most of the execution risk on the company.
Combined, the investment and contract amount to up to $6.6 billion, part of a broader initiative by the US and its allies to boost arms production following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
The new plant, labeled Arsenal-2, will be located in Baltimore County and is expected to be operational by the end of the decade. It aims to create 3,100 direct jobs and support over 11,000 indirect jobs.
Commenting on the $2.9 billion contract, Christian Brose, Anduril’s chief strategy officer, remarked, “It’s really the government buying the results of what we’re able to produce from the facility that we’ve invested in.”
Anduril is also expanding its California facility to manufacture crucial Virginia-class submarine components, such as torpedo tubes, to address urgent capacity shortfalls in the US industrial base. Once the Baltimore shipyard is operational, the company plans to produce larger submarine modules and hull sections.
Virginia-class submarines, capable of traveling over 25 knots, represent the Navy’s latest generation of nuclear-powered attack submarines, designed for anti-submarine warfare, land-attack strikes, and surveillance missions. These submarines are jointly built by General Dynamics’ Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, Anduril has gained recognition for its autonomous systems, drones, and software solutions developed for the US military and its allies. The firm has since expanded into maritime and undersea systems, as well as command-and-control software designed to integrate military sensors, weapons, and systems.
The announcement of the new plant follows Anduril’s $1 billion Arsenal-1 facility in Ohio, which has recently begun producing autonomous combat drones.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
