General Motors announces new defense partnership with Lockheed Martin

Car maker GM On Tuesday, it announced a new partnership with the defense company Lockheed Martin To expand manufacturing scale and expand production capabilities.

The deal was facilitated by the US Department of Defense, according to Bruce Brown, GM vice president of strategy at GM Defense, and will focus on munitions and more.

“What makes this moment particularly important is that the country needs more than just great technology,” Brown said on a call with reporters. “It also needs the ability to build, scale, and execute reliably.” “This is where GM can help. Across our company, we have deep expertise in advanced engineering, digital development, supply chain discipline and large-scale manufacturing.”

Frank St. John, Lockheed’s chief operating officer, said it was too early to decide which projects it would invest in with GM for defense.

Executives from both companies said on the call that the cooperation will allow for further growth as the country works to ramp up its production of defense spare parts.

“Together, we will explore opportunities in three important areas: improving production readiness and scalable manufacturing environments; strengthening supply chains and identifying ways to increase flexibility; and applying advanced manufacturing and design methods. [that] “It can help improve efficiency and speed up delivery,” St. John said.

St. John added that Lockheed Martin is investing $9 billion until 2030 to modernize 20 of its facilities and supply bases. GM said it will spend $7 billion on research and development in the United States, according to Brown.

The partnership will focus on “high-quality manufacturing” at scale and expanding production capacity, executives said. They added that the cooperation is still in its early stages and that they need to identify more potential for future contracts. They work under a memorandum of understanding.

The automaker built tanks for the country during World War II. Its GM Defense unit is one of the company’s newer but fast-growing business segments, and was re-established in 2017 with clients including the US Army, the Secret Service and NASA.

“America is stronger when two companies with deep industrial roots come together to help expand the speed, scale and flexibility of the defense industrial base. That’s why Lockheed Martin and General Motors are announcing this collaboration,” Brown said on the call.

The partnership comes as President Donald Trump pushes for more American manufacturing to bring more production and manufacturing back to the country. The United States has also seen a decline in its defense stocks due to the wars in Ukraine and Iran.

The White House has held discussions with Ford and GM about better supporting the country’s defense industry.

— CNBC’s Michael Wayland contributed to this report.