CARLISLE, Pa. — In the defense industrial base’s version of speed dating, organizations with common business interests were scheduled to have 1,700 one-on-one conversations Tuesday afternoon inside a sprawling academic building at the Army War College.
The conversations on the opening day of the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit connected companies across the state with investors, buyers, suppliers, researchers and groups specializing in workforce development.
Of more than 500 organizations participating in this year’s summit, about 250 signed up for what organizers called the Keystone Meetings. Each participant had up to seven, 20-minute-long meetings.
“We’re not here to just talk, We are creating opportunities for action, opportunities for change across our commonwealth,” said U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican from Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill who organized the two-day summit in Carlisle.
Pennsylvania already plays a prominent role in the country’s national defense.
It ranked sixth nationally in total defense spending in the 2024 fiscal year, with the Defense Department directing $24.3 billion to the state for military contracts, grants and personnel spending, according to government figures.
McCormick said another $34 billion has been spent in Pennsylvania since Trump took office in January 2025, a 24% increase over the same period under the Biden administration.
More than 190,000 people work in defense-related jobs across Pennsylvania, from making ammunition in Scranton and submarines in Philadelphia to building next-generation combat vehicles in York and doing groundbreaking research and development in robotics and artificial intelligence in Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania is the nation’s top producer of large-caliber ammunition and metallurgical coke used in weapons-grade steel and ranks among the leaders in production of tracked combat vehicles, ship and submarine components, and airframes, according to McCormick’s office.
In addition to traditional defense production, McCormick said during his opening remarks, “Our universities and technology companies advanced autonomous, hypersonic, undersea and space capabilities that are literally shaping the face of modern warfare. This combination of legacy industry, cutting-edge innovation and skilled workers is the model our national defense must emulate.”
A key role of the summit, McCormick said, is to “bring new players together in new ways, and win the peace that only comes through strength.”
Morning events during Tuesday’s summit included expert panels focusing on workforce development and efforts to transform procurement and supply chain strategies. Army Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered the day’s keynote address.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to headline the second day of the summit, delivering a speech in the afternoon. Business leaders on hand will include top executives from companies such as JPMorgan, Blackstone, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Boeing, SpaceX and Palantir.
This story will be updated.