GD–OTS teams with Deterrence to bring AI to manufacturing facilities

A Repkon furnance starts the metal part production for the 155 mm artillery shell at General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems facility in Mesquite, Texas. (Janes/Meredith Roaten)

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD–OTS) has teamed with Deterrence to enhance its manufacturing operations through Deterrence's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, the company said in a 2 June statement.

“The collaboration combines GD–OTS's production expertise with Deterrence's capabilities in facility optimisation, intelligent automation, and factory integration to help improve production efficiency, operational co-ordination, and manufacturing throughput,” according to the statement.

“The partnership integrates production equipment, operational workflows, and quality systems into connected manufacturing environments designed to support day-to-day operations, reduce downtime, and improve visibility across facilities supporting critical defence programmes,” the statement said.

“The capabilities developed through this partnership will be implemented at the GD–OTS Mesquite, Texas, location and additional GD–OTS facilities, creating a repeatable model that layers intelligence and connectivity onto existing infrastructure to create production systems that improve continuously through software,” the statement said.

Partnership

GD–OTS' expertise is in manufacturing and not AI software, “so we were looking for a company that had a lot of proven and capable software that could be layered in on top of our existing manufacturing expertise and equipment”, Berkley Whaley, vice-president of marketing and business development for GD–OTS, told Janes on 3 June.

Deterrence provides “software expertise and a product that could weave right into what we were trying to do”, she said.

The decision to start with the GD–OTS-operated facility in Mesquite was driven by the production challenges it has experienced, as previously reported by Janes