US Navy opens AI factory for submarine parts
The U.S. Navy is set to open a 2.2 million sq. ft. AI‑powered manufacturing facility (Factory 4) built by Hadrian that will integrate AI into production and inspection workflows for submarine components — a big signal that AI‑augmented design and digital‑thread skills are becoming baseline in defense manufacturing. (slashgear.com)
The Navy provided $900 million in One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) funds while Hadrian committed about $1.5 billion in private capital, creating a roughly $2.4 billion public‑private investment for the project. (navy.mil) (navy.mil) A ribbon‑cutting took place March 20, 2026 in Cherokee, Alabama, with Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Sen. Katie Britt and Rep. Robert Aderholt among the officials in attendance. (prnewswire.com) (prnewswire.com) The site has been tasked to produce modules, assemblies and finished parts specifically for Columbia‑class ballistic missile submarines and Virginia‑class attack submarines to ease capacity constraints at existing shipyards. (executivegov.com) (executivegov.com) Hadrian says the operation will create up to about 1,000 high‑paying manufacturing jobs in the Shoals region, with payroll and workforce growth highlighted by state and local officials. (businessalabama.com) (businessalabama.com) Company materials identify an in‑house automation platform called “Opus” to handle production orchestration and automated inspection workflows, positioning machine perception and process automation at the core of quality control. (slashgear.com) (slashgear.com) The Alabama site is the first of three planned Hadrian facilities supporting Navy maritime programs, with future plants slated to emphasize castings, forgings and other critical industrial base work that Hadrian says will be announced in coming months. (defenseone.com) (defenseone.com)
