(The Center Square) – For the second year in a row, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., will be convening a summit aimed at bringing national leaders to the Keystone State.
Last week, McCormick announced that he will be hosting the 2026 Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the United States Army War College in Carlisle. The event is scheduled to take place on July 14-15.
“Pennsylvania built the Arsenal of Democracy that won the Second World War. Today, under President Trump’s leadership, the Commonwealth is building the Arsenal of Freedom that will secure the 21st century,” said McCormick. “From shipbuilding in Philadelphia to munitions in the Lehigh Valley, robotics and AI in Pittsburgh, and advanced manufacturing across the Commonwealth, no state is more essential to advancing the President’s Peace through Strength vision than Pennsylvania.”
McCormick’s office said the two-day summit aims to showcase Pennsylvania’s defense industrial base and to announce partnerships and investments that will drive innovation and create jobs across the state and the country.
Specific names weren’t mentioned as guests for the summit, but he said that the nation’s and Pennsylvania’s leading defense CEOs and investors, alongside senior U.S. military and administration officials, would be in attendance.
The event is slated to take place exactly one year after McCormick hosted the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh. That conference, intended to promote America’s energy and artificial intelligence industries, featured appearances by President Donald Trump and Gov. Josh Shapiro.
McCormick’s office said the event delivered billions in private-sector commitments to Pennsylvania.
McCormick, a military veteran, has made the rounds across the commonwealth to tout the defense industry since being sworn into office last year.
In August 2025, McCormick celebrated Hanwha Group’s $5 billion investment in the Hanwha Philly Shipyard.
