Key facts
- Donald Trump announced a new $6.6 billion shipbuilding factory in Sparrows Point, Maryland.
- The factory is owned by Anduril Industries, founded by Republican donor Palmer Luckey.
- The project is funded by $2.9 billion from the US Navy and $3.7 billion in private funding.
- The "Arsenal Two" factory will build sections for Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines.
- US taxpayers will receive a 40% stake in the shipyard, though the nature of this stake is unclear.
- Anduril expects the factory to be operational by 2030.
Donald Trump announced the opening of a new $6.6 billion shipbuilding factory in Sparrows Point, Maryland, on Tuesday. The facility, owned by Anduril Industries, a defense company founded by major Republican donor Palmer Luckey, will be partly funded by the US Navy and private investment.
Trump, who called Luckey "a friend of mine" and a "brilliant guy," promoted rapid ship construction as a priority during his administration. The new factory, to be named "Arsenal Two," is slated to build torpedo tubes and other sections for Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. Anduril expects the operation to be ready to produce ship parts by 2030.
The project is financed by $2.9 billion from the US Navy and $3.7 billion in private funding. Trump stated that US taxpayers would "receive a 40% stake" in the shipyard, though the specifics of this equity share remain unclear. While Anduril has experience with smaller unmanned maritime systems, this marks its first known venture into the specialized manufacturing of manned submarine components.
At the event, acting navy secretary Hung Cao lauded the initiative as a "partnership between the navy and Anduril that breaks through bureaucratic red tape," despite the company's lack of prior experience in submarine construction. He also embraced Trump's term "super intelligence" and issued a stark warning to adversaries.