Today at the AUSA 2026 Annual Meeting and Exposition GM Defense LLC is showcasing the rapid acceleration of its global business model.
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Press Release, Washington DC, 12 October 2026: [embargoed until 11:30 ET] Today at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition, GM Defense LLC, a subsidiary of General Motors, showcased the rapid acceleration of its global business model. Guided by a ‘customer-first, technology-transferred’ approach, the company is bridging the gap between commercial innovation and tactical military deployment at unprecedented speeds.
“The modern defence landscape demands advanced capability, rapid fielding and sustainable scale,” said Steve duMont, president of GM Defense. “We do not begin with a blank sheet of paper. By transferring GM’s world-class engineering, supply chain and manufacturing scale directly to the service member, we are transforming customer needs into mission-ready capability faster than ever before.”
Business Updates and Growth Pillars
- Infantry Squad Vehicle expansion: The US Army’s planned requirement has grown from an initial order of approximately 649 vehicles to nearly 12,000 units. Responding directly to feedback, GM Defense closely collaborated with the customer to identify a clear operational gap, then self-funded development of the Infantry Squad Vehicle Utility (ISV-U) prototype. By delivering seven early prototypes for unit-level military assessments at no cost to the Army, GM Defense successfully engineered a highly versatile five-soldier variant that is now expected to field across 39 active-duty and National Guard mobile brigades.
- 22-day turnaround with Lockheed Martin: Illustrating a revolutionary boost to the defence industrial base, GM Defense delivered its first batch of mission-critical PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) housing components to Lockheed Martin just 22 days after signing the contract. The contract was signed on August 6, and the components were delivered August 28. This milestone demonstrates that GM’s advanced casting and precision-fabrication capabilities can immediately scale critical air and missile defence systems.
- Next-generation autonomous and hybrid platforms: GM Defense unveiled its Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) concept, built on a rugged Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD dual-rear-wheel skateboard architecture to support silent logistics and casualty evacuation, with functional trials targeted for 2027. The company also showcased the EPIQ Hybrid prototype, a customer-inspired 60-kilowatt/100-kilowatt-hour expeditionary energy storage system paired with an onboard generator to lower thermal and noise signatures in austere environments.
- Deepening allied commitments: Furthering its strategic expansion, GM Defence UK is advancing its Light Mobility Vehicle programme proposal. Partnering through Team LionStrike with NP Aerospace and BAE Systems, the consortium delivers low-risk, high-quality, commercially based solutions at the speed and scale required by allied forces. With proven vehicles, global scale and an operating model built around rapid technology transfer, GM Defense is demonstrating that commercial manufacturing disciplines can successfully solve the military’s most complex and immediate challenges.
GM Defense Overview
For more than a century, GM has supported national security and mission-critical mobility. That legacy includes the ‘deuce and a half’ trucks that helped keep the Red Ball Express moving after D-Day, the guidance and navigation systems for the Apollo programme, and the first lunar rover delivered with Boeing.
GM Defense was established in 2017 to bring commercial technologies, vehicles and manufacturing capabilities to the US military, government agencies, and our allies. By leveraging the expertise GM has in R&D, product design, supply chain management, an manufacturing, we can deliver defence solutions more quickly with better economics for taxpayers.
Product Portfolio. We deliver better tools for soldiers backed by our proven ability to deliver with speed, quality, and precision:
- Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV): The Infantry Squad Vehicle is a light, agile, troop carrier built on Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 architecture. Designed to be a “better boot” for soldiers, it provides fast, flexible mobility while reducing the physical burden of troops carrying heavy gear. After an initial multi-year order of about 1,200 vehicles, the US Army now plans to procure more than 10,000 ISVs.
- Heavy Duty Tactical Truck (Hybrid): Our Heavy-Duty Tactical Truck (Hybrid), a diesel-electric hybrid vehicle derived from the Chevrolet Silverado HD is currently part of the US Army competition to be the next ISV-Heavy. Not only is it rugged, capable, and spacious, it’s a mobile energy source that can operate in silent mode to minimize acoustic and thermal signatures.
- EPIQ: Using the same advanced battery technology as GM’s electric vehicles in a ruggedized 60 kW: 100 KWh energy storage system, EPIQ delivers reliable, sustainable, and silent power for command posts, field hospitals, and other scenarios where energy resilience and fuel savings for contested logistics is critical. EPIQ recently successfully completed a DIU prototyping effort and is available for procurement through an Other Transaction Authority pathway.
- NEW! Hybrid EPIQ Prototype: Hybrid EPIQ is GM Defense’s tactical, single-trailer containerized energy storage and microgrid system, built on the original EPIQ platform, designed to deliver reliable expeditionary power for military and mobile energy applications. It integrates a 30 kW generator, a 50 kWh Ultium battery pack, 60 kW of power conversion, and an embedded microgrid controller into one deployable unit, delivering consistent 120/208 VAC, 3-phase power to mission-critical loads in austere environments.
- NEW! Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV): The concept is a mission-ready platform for logistics, resupply, sustainment, robotic-mule operations, and casualty evacuation. Based on proven GM Defense platforms and GM’s engineering and manufacturing scale, the modular, autonomy-ready Silverado 3500HD dual rear wheel based UGV features drive-by-wire controls, onboard and export power, modular payloads, sensing, and open interfaces.
- Suburban Shield: Built on GM’s heavy-duty pickup truck platform, the Suburban Shield is an integrated, factory-armoured VIP transport that preserves safety, durability, and performance that can be compromised when armouring is done by third parties. Suburban Shields are now in service with the US State Department.
- Lunar Terrain Vehicle: Through its work with Lunar Outpost, GM Defense is supporting NASA’s Artemis programme by supplying the battery for the Pegasus Lunar Terrain Vehicle.
- Strengthening the Industrial Base: At the request of the Department of War, GM Defense partnered with Lockheed Martin to accelerate production of Patriot missile components, delivering the first batch of housing components just 22 days after contract signing. GM Defense’s advanced casting, precision-fabrication and machining capabilities met exacting defence requirements, demonstrating how commercial manufacturing can speed production and strengthen the US defence industrial base. The companies plan to apply these practices across future munitions and defence programmes supporting US service members and allies.
- Team LionStrike: Team LionStrike is a teaming agreement between GM Defense, BAE Systems and NP Aerospace formed to deliver low-risk, commercially derived mobility solutions for the UK Ministry of Defence’s Land Mobility Vehicle programme. The team combines GM’s global manufacturing, parts and support network with BAE Systems’ defence expertise and NP Aerospace’s UK-based vehicle integration and sustainment capabilities.
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