US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced nearly $10 billion in new investments in America's defence industrial base, centred in Pennsylvania, with projections of more than 4,000 jobs and a significant boost to military manufacturing capacity. The announcement came at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, hosted by Senator Dave McCormick, and drew senior administration officials, defence executives, technology firms, private investors, and labour leaders.

What Trump Announced

'This afternoon, we're announcing nearly $10 billion of new investments in our defence industrial base, right here in the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania,' Trump said at the summit. 'These investments will create more than 4,000 jobs. Pennsylvania workers will build the ships, submarines, trucks, weapons and industries that will ensure America remains the strongest and most powerful nation in the history of the world.'

Trump also said his administration plans to seek a $1.5 trillion defence budget, arguing that the United States must accelerate military production while expanding domestic manufacturing capacity across key sectors.

Key Projects and Corporate Commitments

The single largest commitment was a $2.5 billion investment by General Dynamics in Rhoads Industries to support US Navy submarine construction — a project expected to generate roughly 1,500 jobs in Pennsylvania alone.

Lockheed Martin announced a $60 million investment to double the size of its Archbald, Pennsylvania facility, adding 700 jobs to expand production of missile components used in air defence systems. Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Jim Taiclet noted the expansion builds on a separate $300 million investment recently completed at its Valley Forge operations.

Hanwha Defense USA said it would expand shipbuilding capacity at the Philadelphia shipyard, where new radar ships will be constructed for US national security missions. 'Our shipyard in Korea puts out about one ship a week,' said Hanwha Defense USA CEO Michael Coulter. 'We have a plan to bring that capability to Philadelphia.'

Additional investments spanning robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, autonomous military technology, and advanced manufacturing were announced by companies including Voyager Technologies, AIR, Carnegie Robotics, Fire Point Energy, and Mack Defense.

Pentagon and Defence Secretary's Remarks

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the summit as an unprecedented effort to modernise America's military industrial base. 'There has never been a moment like this,' Hegseth said. 'Our bureaucracy was built to keep most of you out, and we've been waging a war of attrition against the Pentagon bureaucracy to open up the aperture and make sure competition and speed and innovation and commercial options have a seat at the table.'

His remarks signalled a deliberate push to reduce institutional barriers that have historically slowed private-sector participation in US defence procurement — a recurring criticism from both industry and reform advocates.

Broader Investment Climate

Blackstone President Jon Gray said the investment climate in Pennsylvania had accelerated sharply since the previous year's summit. 'We're proud to report that we're on track to invest over $40 billion and do it in five years,' Gray said, referring to the firm's digital and energy infrastructure projects in the state.

This comes amid the Trump administration's broader argument that expanding the defence industrial base is essential to maintaining the US military's technological edge in an era of intensifying strategic competition. The summit underscored a concerted effort to link domestic job creation with national security imperatives — a political framing that has gained traction across both parties.

With sectoral guidelines and procurement timelines still to be detailed, the durability of these commitments will depend on how quickly production capacity can be stood up and whether the promised jobs materialise at scale.