GM Defense

Last updated
GM Defense
Type Subsidiary (LLC)
Industry Automotive
Founded1914;109 years ago (1914) (1st vehicle) [1]
Founder General Motors
Headquarters,
Area served
United States
Key people
Stephen S. duMont (President)
Products Military vehicles
Owner General Motors
Parent General Motors
Website gmdefensellc.com

GM Defense is the military product subsidiary of General Motors, headquartered in Concord, North Carolina. It focuses on defense industry needs with hydrogen fuel cell and other advanced mobility technologies. [2] GM Defense projects include SURUS (Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure), an autonomous modular platform joint project with the United States Army. [3]

Contents

ZH2 are modified Chevrolet medium and full size pickups modified for military needs. The ZH2, fitted with a hydrogen fuel cell and electric drive, has a stealthy drive system which produces a very low smoke, noise, odor and thermal signature. This allows soldiers to conduct silent watch and silent mobility missions on the battlefield. [4]

General Motors, the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are cooperating to incorporate automotive hydrogen fuel cell systems into the next generation of Navy unmanned undersea vehicles, or UUVs. Hydrogen fuel cell technology could augment ships and subs on patrol. [5]

History

The original GM Defense was founded in 1950, and acquired by General Dynamics in 2003. This later became part of the General Dynamics Land Systems division.

In 2017, General Motors announced the company's return to the defense industry. [6]

Current projects

ModelTypeNotes
Infantry Squad Vehicle Light utility vehicleAir-transportable high-speed, light utility vehicle based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 selected by the U.S. Army in June 2020. [7]
Chevrolet Colorado ZH2Military truckExtreme off-road-capable fuel-cell-powered electric vehicle. Based on the Chevrolet Colorado. The Colorado ZH2 is the product of a joint venture between GM and TARDEC—the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center. [8]
SURUS - Silent Utility Rover Universal Super StructureModular military platformGM-U.S. Army collaboration on a modular experimental light- and medium-duty fuel-cell truck platform. [9]

Autonomous fuel cell vehicle with highly modular and adaptable superstructure. Powered by Hydrotec and JOULETEC propulsion systems.

Chevrolet Silverado ZH2Military truckGM has developed a new 'ZH2' hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric truck, with a next-generation engine and a Chevrolet Silverado chassis. The Silverado ZH2 can output up to 100 kW of power. [10]
UUVUnmanned Underwater VehicleA partnership with General Motors and the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory partnership for automotive hydrogen fuel cell systems into the next generation of Navy unmanned undersea vehicles, or UUVs. [11] The UUV leverages GM Hydrotec fuel cell technology common with the Colorado ZH2. [12]
HD SUV Light utility vehicleAn armored, heavy-duty version of the Chevrolet Suburban developed for the U.S. Department of State DSS. [13] [14]

Previous products

Products produced by the former GM Defense in past include:

ModelTypeNotes
MILCOTS (Militarized Commercial Off-The-Shelf (Milverado)military truckbased on Chevrolet Silverado; now being used by the US Army under the COMBATT (Commercial Based Tactical Truck) program
MLVW (medium logistic vehicle, wheeled)military truck M54 (truck)
Cougar AVGP armoured fighting vehicle based on Mowag Piranha with Scorpion tank turret
Grizzly AVGP armoured fighting vehicle based on Mowag Piranha with Cadillac Gage turret
Husky AVGP armoured fighting vehicle based on Mowag Piranha
LAV-25 armoured fighting vehicle developed from Mowag Piranha family
Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle armoured fighting vehicle developed from LAV-25 family
LAV III armoured fighting vehicle developed from LAV-25 family
TRILSTactical Radar Identification and Location System)based on Bison APC platform
Stryker armoured fighting vehicle based on LAV III

With the sale to General Dynamics, only the Stryker product lines are still in production. The M54 truck is no longer in production. MILCOT was transitioned to the US Army's COMBATT program.

Facilities

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Motors</span> American multinational automotive company

The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing its four core automobile brands of Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick. By sales, it was the largest automaker in the United States in 2022, and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the top spot to Toyota in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet</span> American automobile division of General Motors

Chevrolet is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941), Arthur Chevrolet (1884–1946) and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant (1861–1947) started the company on November 3, 1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2, 1918, and propelled himself back to the GM presidency. After Durant's second ousting in 1919, Alfred Sloan, with his maxim "a car for every purse and purpose", would pick the Chevrolet brand to become the volume leader in the General Motors family, selling mainstream vehicles to compete with Henry Ford's Model T in 1919 and overtaking Ford as the best-selling car in the United States by 1929 with the Chevrolet International.

AM General is an American heavy vehicle and contract automotive manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. It is best known for the civilian Hummer and the military Humvee that are assembled in Mishawaka, Indiana. For a relatively brief period, 1974–1979, the company also manufactured transit buses, making more than 5,400 of them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogen vehicle</span> Vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power

A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen-fueled space rockets, as well as ships and aircraft. Motive power is generated by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy, either by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to power electric motors or, less commonly, by burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GM Korea</span> South Korean subsidiary of General Motors

GM Korea Company is the South Korean subsidiary of multinational corporation General Motors and the third largest automobile manufacturer in South Korea. GM Korea's roots go back to the former Daewoo Motors vehicle brand, which was split from its parent company, Daewoo Group, in 2002. In addition to importing vehicles for sale into South Korea, the company also operates three manufacturing facilities producing vehicles for the domestic market and for export. The company also operates GM Technical Center Korea, a design, engineering, research & development facility for various GM products, primarily small-size cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Equinox</span> American compact crossover SUV

The Chevrolet Equinox is a crossover SUV introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. It was intended as a replacement for the North American Chevrolet Tracker and Chevrolet S-10 Blazer. The third-generation Equinox also replaced the first-generation Chevrolet Captiva.

General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) is a manufacturer of military vehicles such as tanks and lighter armored fighting vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Motors Canada</span> Canadas division of General Motors

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unmanned underwater vehicle</span> Submersible vehicles that can operate underwater without a human occupant

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), sometimes known as underwater drones, are submersible vehicles that can operate underwater without a human occupant. These vehicles may be divided into two categories: remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROUVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). ROUVs are remotely controlled by a human operator. AUVs are automated and operate independently of direct human input.

<i>Who Killed the Electric Car?</i> 2006 documentary film

Who Killed the Electric Car? is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Chris Paine that explores the creation, limited commercialization and subsequent destruction of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the mid-1990s. The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the federal government of the United States, the California government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles and consumers in limiting the development and adoption of this technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metal hydride fuel cell</span>

Metal hydride fuel cells are a subclass of alkaline fuel cells that have been under research and development, as well as scaled up successfully in operating systems. A notable feature is their ability to chemically bond and store hydrogen within the fuel cell itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Sequel</span> Motor vehicle

The Chevrolet Sequel is a purpose-built hydrogen fuel cell-powered concept car and sport utility vehicle from Chevrolet, employing the then latest generation of General Motors' fuel cell technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Europe</span> Former subsidiary company of GM Korea

Chevrolet Europe GmbH was a subsidiary company of GM Korea, founded in 2005, with headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland. It provided Chevrolet brand automobiles, most of which were made in South Korea for the European market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Volt</span> Range extended electric automobile

The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in the United Kingdom and as the Opel Ampera in the remainder of Europe. Volt production ended in February 2019.

The United States Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) (formerly United States Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC)), located in Warren, Michigan, is the United States Armed Forces' research and development facility for advanced technology in ground systems. It is part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command. GVSC shares its facilities with the United States Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM). Current technology focus areas include Ground Vehicle Power and Mobility (GVPM), Ground System Survivability and Force Protection, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Range extender</span>

A range extender is a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) that extends the range of a battery electric vehicle by driving an electric generator that charges the vehicle's battery. This arrangement is known as a series hybrid drivetrain. The most commonly used range extenders are internal combustion engines, but fuel-cells or other engine types can be used.

The Flyer Advanced Light Strike Vehicle platform has been developed by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS), in partnership with Flyer Defense LLC, for the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Ground Mobility Vehicle Program. The Flyer Advanced Light Strike Vehicle platform configurations are the Flyer 72 and the narrower Flyer 60.

Advanced vehicle technology competitions (AVTCs) are competitions sponsored by the United States Department of Energy, in partnership with private industry and universities, which stimulates "the development of advanced propulsion and alternative fuel technologies and provide the training ground for the next generation of automotive engineers."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infantry Squad Vehicle</span> Light utility vehicle

The Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) is an air-transportable high-speed, light utility vehicle selected by the United States Army in 2020 It is based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 platform. An ISV can carry nine infantrymen. Fielding begins in 2021, along with Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOTE); 649 ISVs are to be allocated to 11 Infantry brigade combat teams (IBCTs) by 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultium</span> EV battery and motor architecture

Ultium is an electric vehicle battery and motor architecture developed by General Motors. It is being deployed for battery electric vehicles from General Motors portfolio brands along with vehicles from Honda and Acura.

References

  1. History on GMD website
  2. "General Motors Launches New Military Defense Division Called GM Defense". TopSpeed.com. October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  3. "GM Developing Autonomous, Fuel Cell,Multi-Use Platform Called SURUS". TopSpeed.com. October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  4. "U.S. Army TARDEC demos ZH2 fuel cell vehicle at Schofield with 25th Infantry". Army.mil. February 8, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  5. "GM and U.S. Navy Collaborating on Fuel Cell-Powered Underwater Unmanned Vehicles". GM Press Release. June 23, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  6. Willems, Steph (2017-10-09). "General Motors Going Back Into the Defense Business". The Truth About Cars.
  7. Ashley Roque (29 June 2020). "US Army selects GM Defense to build new Infantry Squad Vehicle fleet". Janes. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  8. "Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 Concept: An Experiment with an Eye toward the Military Vehicles of Tomorrow". Car and Driver. April 1, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  9. "GM's view of hydrogen fuel cells: great for military use". Green Car Reports. October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  10. "AUSA 2018: GM develops next-generation ZH2 hydrogen fuel cell-powered truck". Jane's International Defence Review. October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  11. "GM fuel cells to power Navy's underwater drones". Detroit News. June 23, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  12. "MISSION-READY CHEVROLET COLORADO ZH2 FUEL CELL VEHICLE BREAKS COVER AT U.S. ARMY SHOW". GM Hydrotec. October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  13. "The Diplomatic Security Service and GM Defense complete Phase III in the development of next-generation armored Heavy-Duty Sports Utility Vehicle" (Press release). U.S. Department of State. July 19, 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  14. "Heavy-Duty (HD) Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)". GM Defense. Retrieved 20 September 2023.

Further reading