President Donald Trump is coming back to Pennsylvania in July to headline another technology summit — this time, about defense — hosted by Republican Sen. Dave McCormick.

“Last July, the President came to Pennsylvania and together we announced more than $90 billion in investments to strengthen America’s energy dominance and AI leadership,” McCormick said in a statement Wednesday. “This July, I look forward to welcoming President Trump back to build on this momentum with a focus on strengthening and advancing our national defense.”

Trump is expected to “deliver remarks and unveil investments and partnerships” that promise widespread, “great-paying jobs” on July 15, the second day of the 2026 Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Cumberland County, according to the statement.

Trump’s visit will come one year after he landed in Pittsburgh as the star guest of an artificial intelligence and energy summit at Carnegie Mellon University, during which tech companies pledged $92 billion in economic investments in the state. It also comes on the heels of his administration’s $1.5 trillion defense budget proposed in April.

In addition to Trump and McCormick, JPMorgan CEO 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 CTO Shyam Sankar are all expected at July’s summit in Carlisle.

McCormick said the two-day summit will mark the “first ever to convene the nation’s most influential leaders in defense, technology, finance and government under one roof to advance President Trump’s commitment to Peace through Strength” agenda.

The first day will feature panel discussions and working sessions between industry and government leaders, suppliers, and investors. Day two brings Trump and announcements.

President Donald Trump listens to a speaker during the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in the Wiegand Gym at Carnegie Mellon University on Tuesday July 15, 2025. (Justin Guido/Post-Gazette)

Pittsburgh is no stranger to defense technology and defense summits.

CMU President Farnam Jahanian spoke of the “urgency” of the moment during an Army defense forum in June, at CMU’s Robotics Innovation Center.

It was hosted by the Army’s Artificial Intelligence Integration Center (AI2C), an innovation hub headquartered in Pittsburgh’s Bakery Square. AI2C partners with CMU to train military personnel in programs ranging in intensity from one-week courses to 6-year PhD degrees.

“Today, we are united by a shared commitment: Ensuring America’s continued leadership in emerging technologies and national security,” Jahanian said at the event. “Advances in artificial intelligence, autonomy, sensing, and compute are no longer progressing in isolation. They are compounding. Today, the central challenge is not just discovery — it is accelerating the transitions at scale. We understand the urgency of the moment and are currently re-aligning our models to match the speed of today’s transition needs.”

“And it’s also important that these discussions must seek to bring insights that can inform the careful stewardship and development of these technologies, in keeping with our national priorities.”

Sen. Dave McCormick in Pittsburgh on March 30, 2026 (Justin Guido/Post-Gazette)

While Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania were touted as AI and energy hubs last July, McCormick is leaning into the commonwealth’s history in national defense this July as a crux of that innovation.

“The Commonwealth stands ready to lead and deliver the innovation, manufacturing, and skilled workforce necessary to advance the President’s vision and strengthen our military edge,” McCormick said.

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