> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.mgg-geopolitics.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Anduril Arsenal-2: What the New Baltimore Submarine Yard Means for AUKUS - URL: https://www.mgg-geopolitics.com/anduril-arsenal-2-what-the-new-baltimore-submarine-yard-means-for-aukus/ - Published: 2026-10-07T02:08:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-07T02:08:35.000Z - Author: MGG Geopolitics - Tags: Analysis, Naval, United States Anduril Industries will invest $3.7 billion in a new shipyard in Baltimore County, Maryland, to build major sections of the US Navy's Virginia-class attack submarines. The Navy has backed the project with a contract worth up to $2.9 billion, bringing the combined investment to $6.6 billion. The facility, called Arsenal-2, was announced by President Donald Trump on 6 October. It will sit at Tradepoint Atlantic, the site of the former Bethlehem Steel works at Sparrows Point. Arsenal-2 will not build complete submarines. It will produce complex components and large assemblies, which will then be shipped to the two yards that put Virginia-class boats together. Those are General Dynamics Electric Boat in Connecticut and Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. ## A yard built around a graving dock The site will cover more than two million square feet across 187 acres, according to Naval News. Its centrepiece is a 1,200-foot graving dock with road and rail access. Maryland's Department of Commerce said the project would create more than 3,100 permanent jobs. It expects the yard to support more than 14,000 jobs in total once indirect employment is included. Initial operations are expected in 2030, with output building up from there. Permitting and site preparation will begin straight away. Construction will start once approvals are in place. The Navy contract is structured so that payments are tied to production results. In practice, Anduril will only receive the full amount if the yard delivers. ## The submarine bottleneck The Navy is not building Virginia-class submarines as fast as it wants to. Its goal is two boats a year, alongside one Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine. The current rate is about 1.3 Virginia-class boats a year, according to Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle, who has said the two-a-year rate should be reached around 2032. The Navy has said that growing the skilled workforce and stabilising the supply chain are its near-term priorities. It has also been spreading construction work across more facilities to ease the pressure on the two main yards. Arsenal-2 brings a new, well-funded company into an industry long dominated by two builders. It also gives the Navy another East Coast site that can take some of the workload off Groton and Newport News. For Anduril, the project marks a large step beyond its roots in drones and autonomous systems. The company has already moved into maritime work, including a factory in Sydney building the Ghost Shark uncrewed submarine for the Royal Australian Navy. Arsenal-2 takes it into building sections of the Navy's crewed attack submarines. ## What it means for AUKUS The yard also matters for Australia. Under the AUKUS agreement, Canberra plans to buy at least three Virginia-class submarines from the United States, with deliveries expected in the early 2030s. That plan depends on the US submarine industrial base growing fast enough to supply its own navy and still release boats to Australia. US lawmakers have repeatedly raised concerns about whether that is possible. Australia has also committed US$3 billion to support US submarine production as part of the agreement. A new component yard that starts work in 2030 will not change the picture overnight. Even so, it is the kind of capacity that would need to exist for the transfer schedule to hold. ## The risks Arsenal-2 has to clear permitting before construction can begin. It also has to recruit and train thousands of workers at a time when the Navy is already trying to grow the skilled submarine workforce. Anduril's model of building fast with private capital has not yet been tested at this scale. The yard's first real test will come when its first hull sections arrive at Groton or Newport News and meet the Navy's quality standards. If it succeeds, Arsenal-2 could become a template for bringing new money and new firms into the submarine programme. If it falls behind, it will join a long list of efforts that have not fixed the Navy's production gap.