Summary
President Donald Trump is due at Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point this afternoon.
President Donald Trump is due at Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point this afternoon to make a major announcement.
He is visiting Anduril Industries, a defense technology company that the Wall Street Journal has reported has been in talks with the Pentagon to help manufacture unmanned drone boats.
The president will announce that the former Bethlehem Steel site will be turned into a 2-million-square-foot shipyard for Virginia-class attack submarines.
According to a media briefing, components of the submarines, such as torpedo tubes, sterns and bow sections, will be built at the Sparrows Point site.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said this will be the largest private investment in Maryland in more than a decade.
“With this facility, thousands of Marylanders will have new pathways to work, wages, and wealth through advanced training and high-skilled maritime manufacturing jobs,” said Moore. “We thank Anduril for choosing Maryland, and we’re ready to build the future of the aerospace and defense economy together.”
The facility is expected to support 14,000 jobs, including the creation of 3,100 permanent jobs. Over a decade, Arsenal-2, the name of the new industrial base, will become the state’s largest job creator.
On Monday’s WBAL News Now Republican State Senator Johnny Ray Salling, who represents the area, praised the move.
“I talked with their leadership, and they are bringing in, from what I’m being told now, more than 3,000 jobs that would really and truly benefit our district and our area,” he said.
LISTEN: On WBAL News Now Monday, State Sen. Johnny Ray Salling and Congressman Johnny Olszewski talk about this project.
“We need this more than anything else, and they do a lot of different types of work defensively and Maryland isa great location for Washington DC, and I think it’s an opportunity to build drones here and other things for our military,” Salling added.
Maryland 2nd District Democratic Congressman Johnny Olszewski, whos district includes Sparrows Point said he will attend today’s event, even as he has criticized the president.
“Any opportunity to support Marylanders in quality jobs especially as they are facing the crushing effect of he cost of living, is something I’m going to champion and support and so we welcome the industrial jobs that are coming here to Baltimore County and the region,” Olszewski told WBAL News Now on Monday.
“Knowing just how hard Marylanders are facing it right now, this is an opportunity to welcome it. This event should not be about politics, it should be about what it means for the people working at this site and the national security of our country,” Olszewski added.
The $3.7 billion private capital investment will become the largest single private investment in the state.
“With Arsenal-2, Anduril will return large-scale shipbuilding to a site that can once again define American naval power. This facility will make Baltimore County a critical part of America’s submarine industrial base, adding the production capacity that the Navy needs to meet its Virginia-class requirements,” said Brian Schimpf, Anduril cofounder and CEO.
Under the agreement, the state and Baltimore County will match up to 13% of the anticipated investment through existing economic incentive programs and new appropriations.
The state would also support the construction of a workforce training facility near Tradepoint Atlantic.
This will be the president’s second visit to the Baltimore area of his current term.
In December 2025, he attended the Army-Navy Game, which was played at M&T Bank Stadium.
As a candidate in 2016, Trump also stopped at the Boulevard Diner in Dundalk.