Lockheed Martin, GM Defense team to bolster defence manufacturing

Armasuisse, the Swiss Federal Office for Defence Procurement, signed an agreement with the US government on 30 October 2023 to procure Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles and related support equipment. (Lockheed Martin)

Lockheed Martin and GM Defense have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together to “strengthen America's manufacturing and defence industrial base”, according to a joint statement on 16 June.

The partners will “explore opportunities to accelerate the delivery of critical capabilities” through the combination of “Lockheed Martin's defence production expertise with General Motors' advanced industrial capabilities in high-rate commercial manufacturing and engineering”, the statement said.

“GM brings world-class expertise in high-rate manufacturing, advanced engineering, digital tools, and supply chain management. Lockheed Martin brings deep defence manufacturing expertise and experience delivering complex, combat proven systems at scale,” Frank St John, chief operating officer for Lockheed Martin, told reporters on 16 June during a media roundtable on the sidelines of the Reindustrialize Summit in Detroit, Michigan.

The partnership will focus on “improving production readiness and scalable manufacturing environments; strengthening supply chains and identifying ways to increase resilience; and applying advanced manufacturing and design approaches that can help improve efficiency and accelerate delivery”, he said.

Origins

The partnership started with “an initial ask” from the Department of Defense (DoD) but is now being driven by the companies as they work through opportunities for collaboration on specific programmes, Bruce Brown, vice-president of strategy for GM Defense, said during the roundtable.