Trump to Tout $6.6 Billion Defense Investment During Baltimore Visit

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks in Baltimore County, Maryland, on Tuesday, highlighting a major new investment in U.S. naval shipbuilding by defense technology firm Anduril Industries.

“The United States Navy, together with Anduril Industries, will invest $6.6 billion to create a new facility in Baltimore County, Maryland, which will manufacture critical components for the Virginia-class submarine,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said during a call with reporters on Tuesday.

“This delivers on President Trump’s promise to bolster America’s defense industrial base while revitalizing our manufacturing industry, creating over 13,000 direct and indirect jobs, and driving $2 billion in annual economic output.”

Trump will speak at 4 p.m. at Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,300-acre logistics and industrial hub in Sparrows Point. The site, formerly the Bethlehem Steel facility, supplied steel for two world wars.

During the visit, California-based Anduril is expected to announce its plans to invest $3.7 billion in a new shipyard at the site.

The facility aims to expand America’s submarine industrial base while reviving Sparrows Point’s legacy of naval shipbuilding.

“It’s a shipyard, but a very different kind of shipyard, to contribute to the Virginia-class submarine program and additional maritime capabilities,” Chris Brose, Anduril’s chief strategy officer, said during the call.

“Anduril’s portion of this will be around $3.7 billion invested, and that will be the cost of standing up the facility, building the workforce, filling it with modern technology and other capabilities required to do the work that we will be tasked with.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore also welcomed the investment.

“This massive new project will deliver the largest private investment and create the most jobs in Maryland in over a decade,” Moore said in a statement on Oct. 6.

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, along with billionaire Elon Musk and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, has been selected to lead Project Meridian, a new Pentagon initiative to determine the military capabilities, technologies, and weapons the United States may need in future wars.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the initiative on Sept. 30. 

Anduril, the maker of the Altius drone used by Taiwan, is now considered one of Silicon Valley’s top defense companies.

In December 2025, China sanctioned Luckey and his companies for shipping arms to Taiwan. 

In a statement on X, Luckey mocked Beijing’s move, describing the sanction as his “final Christmas gift.”

“Anduril has been sanctioned for a while now, as have many of my peers, but it means so much to finally have my non-existent Chinese assets seized and repurposed,” he said.

“The sanctions also prohibit all Chinese nationals from engaging with me in any way, which should really clear up my social media feeds.”