Trump touts $3.7 billion submarine shipyard at old Maryland steel site
President Trump visited Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County on Tuesday to promote Anduril's plan for a $3.7 billion shipyard making parts for Navy submarines. The company says it will create 3,100 permanent jobs. Gov. Wes Moore, who was scheduled to speak, was removed from the program by the White House.
President Donald Trump went to Sparrows Point, Maryland, on Tuesday to promote a big new shipyard at the old Bethlehem Steel site.
Defense tech company Anduril Industries plans to build a 2-million-square-foot shipyard at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County. It will build parts for the Navy's Virginia-class attack submarines, including torpedo tubes, sterns and bow sections. The parts will go to the Navy's two main submarine builders for final assembly, WBAL reports. The project is called Arsenal-2.
Anduril is putting in $3.7 billion in private money. A Navy contract is worth up to $2.9 billion. The project is expected to support 14,000 jobs, including 3,100 permanent ones. Initial operations are expected in 2030. The state and Baltimore County would match up to 13% of the investment through incentive programs and new spending, WBAL reports.
"America's going to remain the undisputed naval superpower of the world," Trump said, standing near the Patapsco River with the broken Francis Scott Key Bridge behind him. During his 30-minute speech he said "autonomous subs" would be built there. Anduril said that is not the case, WYPR reports.
Politics hung over the event. Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, had been scheduled to speak, but the White House removed him from the speakers list Monday. Moore said the state was the one that landed the deal. "If the president of the United States wants to bring the circus into town," he said, "I will let the circus be conducted while I go back to the work of the people of Maryland." Democratic Rep. Johnny Olszewski also skipped the event after first planning to attend.
The site has a long history. Workers there built ships during World War II, Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier said. The area lost many jobs when Bethlehem Steel declined and closed. Since 2014, Tradepoint has been turning the site into a logistics hub.
What we know: Site prep and permitting start now, Anduril says.
What we don't: The final cost of state and county incentives, which WYPR says could run to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Where outlets agree WBAL-TV and WYPR both report that Anduril plans a $3.7 billion, 2-million-square-foot shipyard at Tradepoint Atlantic with 3,100 permanent jobs.
Where they differ Trump said the yard would build autonomous submarines, but Anduril said that is not the plan, according to WYPR.