GM Defense Makes First Delivery for Lockheed’s Patriot Missile Program

GM Defense, General Motors’ military subsidiary, has delivered its first batch of components for Lockheed Martin’s Patriot interceptor missiles, completing the work ahead of schedule.

Lockheed Martin said Thursday that it has received the first batch of housing components for its PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, or PAC-3 MSE, interceptor on Aug. 28, just 22 days after the two companies signed a formal contract on Aug. 6.

Components of that type can typically take months or even years to produce, according to Lockheed.

“Our partnership with GM Defense is a concrete example of how we’re merging world-class commercial manufacturing with defense supply chain and production practices and rapidly translating that into battlefield readiness for the United States,” Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control president Tim Cahill said in a statement.

Lockheed and GM announced in June that they would work to strengthen defense supply chains and improve manufacturing and design capabilities. They also planned to explore ways to apply commercial manufacturing expertise to the defense industry.

Lockheed is undertaking a major expansion of Patriot production. In January, the company reached a seven-year framework agreement with the U.S. government to increase annual production capacity for the PAC-3 MSE from about 600 missiles to 2,000.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based defense contractor also plans to invest between $8 billion and $9 billion through 2030 to expand and modernize its U.S. manufacturing operations, including factories that produce PAC-3 MSE interceptors and other munitions.

For GM Defense, the Lockheed partnership takes its business beyond making military vehicles.

“We’re proud to support production of this country’s critical defense capabilities,” GM Defense president and CEO Stephen duMont said in a statement.

The Lockheed-GM partnership grew out of the Trump administration’s effort to encourage collaboration among manufacturers to boost production of critical munitions.

In a June 11 memorandum, Trump invoked authorities under the Defense Production Act to delegate new powers to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, with a goal to break “systemic constraints in the munitions industrial base.”

The delegated authority allows Hegseth to establish “voluntary agreements” and plans of action with private companies to support national defense. Such agreements provide certain protections from antitrust laws, allowing competing companies to cooperate on production and supply-chain problems under government oversight.

The move came amid concerns about the defense industry’s ability to quickly increase production of key munitions and missile components. The ongoing war with Iran and continued U.S. support for Ukraine have put additional pressure on existing stockpiles, while demand for missile defense systems has also increased among U.S. allies.