President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point on Tuesday to speak about the military technology company Anduril Industries.
The Wall Street Journal reported in August that Anduril Industries was in talks with Tradepoint Atlantic to build a production facility for Anduril’s drone boats – autonomous undersea vehicles that are operated from a ship or on shore rather than a human crew aboard the vessel itself.
Trump is scheduled to deliver his remarks at 4 p.m. at 1660 Shipyard Road. Anduril Industries CEO Brian Schimpf and other officials are scheduled to speak before Trump.
Anduril Industries was founded in 2017 by:
- Palmer Luckey, who also founded Oculus VR and designed the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset;
- Trae Stephens, a partner at Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm Founders Fund an early employee of the data integration and analytics software company Palantir Technologies, which Thiel co-founded;
- Matt Grimm, who serves as Anduril’s chief operating officer, is a Founders Fund partner, and co-founded e-reader manufacturer Sol and recreation real estate company Pursuit;
- Joe Chen, an early employee of Luckey’s Oculus VR; and
- Brian Schimpf, an early employee of Palantir Technologies and Anduril’s chief executive officer.
Anduril Technologies lists the Dive-XL, Dive-LD, Copperhead, and Seabed Sentry among its autonomous underwater vehicles and detection systems with commercial and defense capabilities.
The Seabed Sentry in particular is described as “an AI-enabled sensor that brings connectivity and awareness to the deep dark sea.
Trump’s visit will come on the heels of news that the U.S. Army plans to establish a new autonomous systems command to support the development of autonomous technologies in warfare, including watercraft, Axios reported.
“The Army is rapidly advancing to maintain our lethal edge,” acting service Secretary Adam Telle told Axios. “This is about combat readiness to destroy the enemy and ensure our Army never enters a fair fight.”
Peoples Power Assembly plans to protest the president’s visit from 3-5 p.m. Tuesday.
“Baltimore says TRUMP OUT NOW! NO TECH FOR WAR! MONEY FOR JOBS, HEALTHCARE, AND EDUCATION!” the group posted on social media.
