WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took center stage Wednesday at a defense summit held at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he promoted major investments in battlefield technology. The event comes at a critical moment, as ongoing military operations against Iran have significantly drawn down American stockpiles of Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as Patriot and THAAD interceptor systems.
The summit was organized by Republican Sen. David McCormick and drew a high-profile lineup of participants, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine — chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Pennsylvania has become a frequent destination for Trump, who visited a Mack Trucks facility in Macungie, near Allentown, last month in a move seen as supporting Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s reelection bid. Trump won Pennsylvania in both 2016 and 2024. While McCormick is not facing reelection this cycle, Republicans are growing anxious about the ongoing war, stubbornly high living costs, and the president’s low approval numbers as they work to hold onto congressional majorities in November’s midterm elections.
According to the White House, the summit was designed to unite key defense leaders with some of the world’s largest investors to underscore the value of national security and pinpoint opportunities for investment.
Among those attending were JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Blackstone President Jon Gray, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet, General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, SpaceX director Antonio Gracias, and Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, according to McCormick’s office. Palantir is an analytics and artificial intelligence company.
Trump participated in a similar McCormick-organized event last year in Pittsburgh, which aimed to position that city as a hub for energy technology and robotics. At that summit, the senator announced $90 billion in pledged investments across those sectors in Pennsylvania.
This year’s summit kicked off Tuesday, before Trump’s arrival. ZeroEyes, a multi-analytics threat detection company headquartered in Conshohocken near Philadelphia, announced a planned $10 million investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning research and development. Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics also announced plans to open a new 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility aimed at integrating robotics into defense production and strengthening the nation’s defense industrial base.
A May analysis found that U.S. military contractors will require a minimum of three years to rebuild stockpiles of Tomahawk missiles — used to strike deep into enemy territory — along with Patriot and THAAD interceptors, which are designed to neutralize incoming missiles and drones. Those reserves have shrunk as the U.S. has carried out repeated strikes on Iran, raising alarm about American firepower in any future conflict with China.
China has publicly stated its goal of having the military capability to take Taiwan by force if needed by 2027, though experts consider that more of an aspiration than a firm deadline. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned during Trump’s recent trip to Beijing that if Washington mismanages its relationship with the self-governing island, the two nations could end up in direct conflict.
Trump has also recently pledged to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air-defense systems — a potentially significant development in its ongoing war with Russia — though converting that commitment into actual weapons production is expected to take years.
To address the weapons shortfall, Trump has pushed for a record $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027. However, legislation to authorize that level of spending remains stalled in Congress, and even if it advances, expanding production capacity for such weapons systems will require considerable additional time.
Jake Loosararian, co-founder and CEO of Gecko Robotics, stressed the urgency of the situation, saying U.S. defense companies have “got to supercharge supply chains” to shorten the time it takes to move new technology into full-scale production.
“President Trump uniquely understands the importance of pragmatic impact today,” Loosararian said. “He also understands big, beautiful things for tomorrow.”
