Trump announces $10B defense investment to expand ‘arsenal of freedom’

President Donald Trump announced an investment of $10 billion on Wednesday in support of materiel production and 4,000 defense industry jobs across Pennsylvania.

“Pennsylvania workers will build the ships, submarines, trucks, weapons and industries that ensure America remains the strongest and most powerful nation in the history of the world — we’re doing better now than [we’ve] ever done,” Trump said during his keynote remarks at the first Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit.

Organized by Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., a former Army officer, the summit took place at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also attended according to a Defense Department news release.

More than 30 investment announcements came out of the summit, all aimed at advancing munitions, shipbuilding, the space industry, artificial intelligence, robotics and other emerging technologies.

“With today’s announcement, Pennsylvania will play a key role in building the arsenal of freedom to defend our nation in the modern world,” Trump said.

The “arsenal of freedom” is the Defense Department’s effort to revive U.S. manufacturing and the nation’s workforce to strengthen the defense industry. In January, Hegseth launched a seven-and-a-half-week Arsenal of Freedom tour to promote this mission.

“This is a generational investment in the future of our warfighting capabilities that our country has not seen since [former President] Ronald Reagan,” Hegseth said to Trump, praising the president for prioritizing the military during his second term.

“This investment will fundamentally change the battlefield [and] keep the American people [safe] into the future,” Hegseth added.

The push for investment comes as Trump and the Defense Department seek to increase the defense spending budget to $1.5 trillion for fiscal year 2027. Senate Democrats blocked the National Defense Authorization Act in a procedural 50-46 vote Tuesday, protesting both the Trump administration’s escalating war with Iran and the bill’s current cost of $1.15 trillion.