Car manufacturer General engines announced on Tuesday a new partnership with a defense company Lockheed-Martin to evolve manufacturing and expand production capacities.
The deal was facilitated by the U.S. Department of Defense, according to Bruce Brown, 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 cutting-edge technology. It also needs the ability to build, scale and deliver reliable services,” Brown said on a call with reporters. “This is where GM can help. Within our company, we bring deep experience 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 say what projects the group would invest in with GM Defense.
Executives from both companies said on the call that the collaboration would enable increased growth at a time when the country is ramping up its production of defense parts.
“Together, we will explore opportunities in three important areas: improving production readiness and scalable manufacturing environments; strengthen supply chains and identify ways to increase resilience; and apply advanced manufacturing and design approaches. [that] can help improve efficiency and speed up delivery,” St. John said.
Lockheed Martin is investing $9 billion through 2030 to modernize 20 of its facilities and supply bases, St. John added. GM said it would spend $7 billion on research and development in the United States, according to Brown.
Executives said the partnership would focus on large-scale “high-throughput manufacturing” and expanding production capacity. They added that the collaboration is in its early stages and that they need to define more precisely what the potential for future contracts might be. 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 newest but fast-growing business segments, reestablished in 2017 with customers including the U.S. military, Secret Service and NASA.
“America is stronger when two companies with deep manufacturing roots come together to help increase the speed, scale and resiliency of the defense industrial base. That’s why Lockheed Martin and GM are announcing this collaboration,” Brown said on the call.
The partnership comes as President Donald Trump pushes for more U.S. manufacturing to bring more production and reshoring into the country. The United States has also seen its defense stockpiles decline due to the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
The White House has held discussions with Ford and GM on better support for the country’s defense industry.
— CNBC’s Michael Wayland contributed to this report.