Prime Highlights
- General Motors has announced a new defense partnership with Lockheed Martin, facilitated by the U.S. Department of Defense, focused on munitions and scaling production capacity.
- Lockheed Martin plans to invest $9 billion through 2030 to modernise 20 facilities, while GM will spend $7 billion on research and development in the United States.
Key Facts
- GM Defense, reestablished in 2017, counts the U.S. Army, the Secret Service and NASA among its customers.
- The partnership is in its early stages and is currently governed by a memorandum of understanding between the two companies.
Background
General Motors has announced a new defense partnership with Lockheed Martin to scale up manufacturing and expand production capacity, with the deal facilitated by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Bruce Brown, GM’s vice president of strategy at GM Defense, said the partnership would focus on munitions and other areas, arguing that the country needed not just strong technology but the capacity to build, scale and deliver reliably, a strength he said GM could offer through its manufacturing expertise.
Frank St. John, Chief Operating Officer of Lockheed Martin, said it was too early to specify exact projects, but pointed to production readiness, supply chain resilience and advanced manufacturing methods as key areas of focus.
He added that Lockheed Martin planned to invest $9 billion through 2030 to modernise 20 of its facilities, while Brown said GM would spend $7 billion on research and development in the United States.
Both companies described the partnership as still in its early stages, operating under a memorandum of understanding as they work out future contract details.
GM Defense, reestablished in 2017, counts the U.S. Army, the Secret Service and NASA among its customers. The announcement comes as President Donald Trump pushes for greater domestic manufacturing and as wars in Ukraine and Iran have strained U.S. defense stockpiles.