Trump to speak at Army War College defense summit

President Trump will headline a defense technology summit Wednesday at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The gathering is organized by Republican Sen. David McCormick and will include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz.

The summit brings together defense leaders and investors to discuss national security priorities and investment opportunities. Attendees include 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.

Stockpile depletion An analysis released in May found that U.S. military contractors will need at least three years to replenish stocks of Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot and THAAD interceptors. Stocks have declined after repeated U.S. strikes on Iran.

The reduced inventory has raised concerns about U.S. readiness in a potential future conflict with China. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned during a recent visit by President Trump to Beijing that mishandling relations with Taiwan could lead to conflict.

Industry announcements ZeroEyes, based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, announced a planned $10 million investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning research and development. Gecko Robotics, based in Pittsburgh, said it plans to open a new 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to integrate robotics into defense manufacturing.

President Trump has proposed a $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027. A package authorizing those spending levels remains stalled in Congress. Gecko Robotics co-founder and CEO Jake Loosararian said U.S. defense companies have "got to supercharge supply chains" to reduce the time needed to bring new technology into production.