SPARROWS POINT, Md. — The shipyards are coming home. After an extended Marine One flyover of the old Bethlehem Steel site, President Donald J. Trump took the stage at Sparrows Point Shipyard on Tuesday afternoon, the USS Billings at his back and rows of Naval Academy midshipmen in dress uniform before him, and made it official. “Today we’re officially launching the construction of the largest new shipyard in the United States. This is since World War II,” the President said. “There’s been nothing like what we’re doing today.”
He spoke of the ground beneath his feet with real pride. “The workers of Baltimore and the shipyard here at Sparrows Point have been a vital part of the American industrial strength for literally over a hundred years,” he said. Along these shores, American tradesmen built one of the first frigates of the U.S. Navy, forged the steel for the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge, and launched the first Liberty ship of the Second World War. Then the mill went quiet, closing in 2012. “When I came into office for my second term less than two years ago, this national treasure was abandoned and it was totally forgotten,” the President said. “But it’s not forgotten any longer.”
Now comes Arsenal-2. “In a tremendous victory for our country and for the city of Baltimore, Anduril is investing $3.7 billion in a state-of-the-art shipyard that will be known forever as Arsenal-2,” President Trump announced. “You’ll build the next generation of American submarines, including autonomous subs, torpedo tubes and critical components for our cutting-edge Virginia-class attack submarines, the greatest and quietest ever built.” Thanks to record funding from his administration and Republicans in Congress, he said, the Navy is contributing another $2.9 billion, “with the possibility of ultimately, together with a lot of great patriots, $21 billion in future purchases.”
The scale is enormous. Arsenal-2 will cover more than 2 million square feet on a 187-acre site at Tradepoint Atlantic, run on Anduril’s ArsenalOS production software, and ship finished sections to Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding for final assembly, with initial operations expected in 2030. Maryland officials say it will create more than 3,100 new permanent jobs, support over 14,000 jobs in all, and deliver more than $2 billion a year in economic output, including about $312 million in wages. “This delivers on President Trump’s promise to bolster America’s defense industrial base while revitalizing our manufacturing industry,” said White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly. As one White House official put it, “President Trump is willing to work with anyone to revitalize our manufacturing sector.”
From Liberty ships to Virginia-class submarines, Sparrows Point is building for America again. The President closed in a red USA hat, waving to the crowd and flashing a thumbs up. Watch the full Official White House video of President Trump’s remarks at Sparrows Point.
