Lockheed, GM Team to Expand Defense Supply Chain

Defense manufacturing giants Lockheed Martin Corp. and GM Defense LLC have struck a “memo of understanding” to seek ways to expand the U.S. defense industrial base and accelerate development and delivery of “critical capabilities,” drawing on Lockheed’s experience in the defense sector and GM’s capabilities in high-volume engineering and production. The two firms’ announcement of their MOU does not indicate their capital commitments or anticipated revenues, nor any production schedules.

The Lockheed-GM Defense partnership is more evidence of changes in the defense supply sector, beginning with the January 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy, which identified “resilient supply chains” as a core objective and called for increasing domestic production capacity for critical materials and components.

The issues of production readiness and deliverability are gaining prominence in the defense sector, so much so that President Donald Trump recently invoked the Defense Production Act to address shortages and blockages affecting weapons production.

In addition, the Pentagon is drawing more high-technology suppliers into its supply orbit.

They emphasized that their collaboration is focused on “strengthening defense supply chains, advancing manufacturing and design capabilities, and evaluating opportunities to expand production capacity”.

They indicated their initial target will be speeding production readiness and applying commercial manufacturing techniques to defense production.

"America's security depends not only on developing advanced technologies, but on our ability to produce them quickly, reliably and at scale," stated Lockheed chief operating officer Frank St. John.

Lockheed Martin is largely identified as the lead contractor for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, though it is also the supplier of the F-16 and F-22 fighter jets, multiple missile and missile defense systems, military helicopters, and several military space programs.

GM Defense is a General Motors subsidiary known principally for its military mobility and tactical vehicles (e.g., the ISV Infantry Squad Vehicle and Next Gen Tactical Vehicle) - but currently it is increasing its emphasis on adapting GM's commercial vehicle, battery, autonomy, and manufacturing technologies for military mobility programs.