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Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Defense |
Predecessor | Force Protection Inc |
Founded | March 7, 1982 |
Headquarters | Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Defense |
Parent | General Dynamics |
Website | www |
General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) is a manufacturer of military vehicles, including tanks and light armored fighting vehicles. The company is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and is a subsidiary of General Dynamics.
It was originally established in 1982 following the acquisition of Chrysler Defense. [1]
GDLS is known for developing and manufacturing vehicles such as the M1 Abrams tank, Stryker, and LAV 6.
In February 1982 Chrysler announced the sale of Chrysler Defense, its profitable defense subsidiary, to General Dynamics for US$348.5 million. The sale was completed in March 1982 for the revised figure of US$336.1 million and renamed General Dynamics Land Systems. [2] [3] Under this newly formed division, General Dynamics would take over production of the M60 and M1 tanks for the United States Army.
In 1985, 3 years after the sale from Chrysler, General Dynamics production plants in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania went on strike. Members of these plants were part of the United Automobile Workers union. The strike was primarily around wage increases. [4]
On April 11, 2024, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced its sanction on the company due to its arms sales to Taiwan.[ citation needed ]
General Dynamics Land Systems–Australia (GDLS-Australia or GDLS-A) was established in 2000 as a subsidiary to support the production of ASLAV. [5] GDLS-A now provides engineering, manufacturing, systems integration, upgrade and fleet management services for GDLS Armoured Fighting Vehicles in the Asia Pacific region. In Australia this includes the ADF's ASLAV Light Armoured Vehicles and M1A1 Main Battle Tanks, supported under a Through Life Support Contract awarded in June 2011.
GDLS-A reports operationally to General Dynamics Land Systems–Canada (GDLS-C).
GDLS-A was established in October 2000 as General Motors Defence Australia. General Motors Defense operations worldwide were sold to General Dynamics Land Systems in March 2003. GDLS-A was established as a result of GDLS-C being awarded the Phase III contract to provide 144 Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAV) to the Commonwealth of Australia. The contract provided for the manufacture of the LAV-25 turret system in Adelaide and the establishment of a significant Australian supplier base to support manufacturing for GDLS' global supply chain for LAV-25 turrets.
GDLS-A’s primary customer is the Defence Materiel Organisation, Commonwealth of Australia, located in Melbourne, Victoria. Its National Manufacturing and Support Centre is located north of Adelaide in Pooraka. GDLS-A also has Field Service Groups in Darwin and Brisbane, and a Fleet Management Services office in Southbank, Melbourne.
In 2003 GDLS acquired Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH (SSF), the land defense vehicles unit of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a subsidiary of General Dynamics based in London, Ontario, purchased General Motors Diesel, GM Defense unit from General Motors. At the time, it produced vehicles such as the LAV-25 and Stryker. The London operation continued in the GM Diesel plant location. [6] SSF merged into the General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) unit.
In 2015, GDLS Canada secured a fourteen-year, $15-billion deal to supply light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia. [7] Representatives from Unifor, the plant union, expressed concern that the London facility would suffer financially due to negative publicity surrounding the deal due to human rights concerns within Saudi Arabia. [8] Both Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe and New Democrat Thomas Mulcair challenged Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the secrecy surrounding military sales to Saudi Arabia. David Perry, senior analyst with the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, argued that secrecy in trade details is part of a pragmatic foreign trade policy necessary for a domestic industry in a global market. [7]
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The division operates the Lima Army Tank Plant and General Dynamics Anniston Operations in Anniston, Alabama, along with smaller operations in Tallahassee, Florida, and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Headquarters are located in Sterling Heights, Michigan. As of 2016, General Dynamics Land Systems employed 6,800 people. [9]
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heaviest tanks in service at nearly 73.6 short tons. It introduced several modern technologies to the United States armored forces, including a multifuel turbine engine, sophisticated Chobham composite armor, a computer fire control system, separate ammunition storage in a blowout compartment, and NBC protection for crew safety. Initial models of the M1 were armed with a 105 mm M68 gun, while later variants feature a license-produced Rheinmetall 120 mm L/44 designated M256.
General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and fifth largest in the United States by total sales. The company is a Fortune 100 company, and was ranked No. 94 in 2022.
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. It has four-wheel drive (8×4) and can be switched to all-wheel drive (8×8).
The Mowag Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss company Mowag.
The G7 is a South African 105 mm howitzer, produced by Denel Land Systems (DLS). With a maximum range of 32 km (20 mi) it outranges all existing 105 mm howitzers, as well as most current 155 mm howitzers. During development, it was known as the Light Experimental Ordnance (LEO), with the G7 label being chosen later to fit in with Denel's two existing howitzer products, the G5 towed 155 mm howitzer and the G6 self-propelled 155 mm howitzer.
The LAV II Bison and Coyote are armoured cars, or armoured personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada for the Canadian Armed Forces. Bison vehicles have been used to a lesser extent by the Australian Army and the US National Guard.
The Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) is an eight-wheeled armoured reconnaissance vehicle of the LAV II family used by the Australian Army. It was built by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada, and developed from the U.S. Marine Corps' LAV-25 and Canadian Army's Bison armoured fighting vehicles.
The LAV III is the third generation of the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario, based subsidiary of General Dynamics. It first entered service in 1999, succeeding the LAV II. It is the primary mechanized infantry vehicle of both the Canadian Army and the New Zealand Army. It also forms the basis of the Stryker vehicle used by the U.S. Army and other operators. The Canadian Army is upgrading its LAV IIIs to the LAV 6 standard. Early in its development history it was referred to as the 'Kodiak', but the name was never officially adopted.
The LAV-25 is a member of the LAV II family. It is an eight-wheeled amphibious armored reconnaissance vehicle built by General Dynamics Land Systems and used by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army.
The M1128 mobile gun system (MGS) is an eight-wheeled assault gun of the Stryker family, mounting a 105 mm tank gun, based on the Canadian LAV III light-armored vehicle manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems for the U.S. Army.
The Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, also known as the Lima Army Tank Plant (LATP) is a tank plant located in Lima, Ohio. It is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility currently operated by General Dynamics Land Systems. Workers at the plant are represented by UAW Local 2075.
Santa Bárbara Sistemas is a Spanish defense contractor based in Madrid, integrated under General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS), a business unit of General Dynamics which consolidated in one structure all European subsidiaries of GDLS.
The Interim Armored Vehicle (IAV), previously known as the Medium Armored Vehicle (MAV), was a U.S. Army armored fighting vehicle acquisition program. General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) and General Motors Defense proposed a vehicle based on the LAV III. The Army selected the LAV III proposal over three other submissions. The LAV III was renamed Stryker.
The Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) is a series of armoured vehicles built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario-based subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is a license-produced version of the Mowag Piranha. The first generation of LAV was created by Mowag for the Armoured Vehicle General Purpose (AVGP) requirement of the Canadian Army. This was a 6x6 variant of the Piranha I produced by General Motors Diesel in London, Ontario. Since entering service in 1976, it has undergone a number of upgrades. The LAV II introduced the now-familiar 8x8 configuration. The LAV continues to form the backbone of the Canadian Army's combat vehicle fleet. The LAV series of vehicles exist in a number of different variants and are used in a number of different roles such as armoured personnel carriers, engineering vehicles, command posts, ambulances and armoured recovery vehicles.
The LAV 6, sometimes written as LAV 6.0 or LAV VI, is the fourth generation of LAV, and is based on the LAV III. The first vehicles were delivered in 2013 and after testing entered service in 2016. The Canadian Army plans to replace its entire LAV fleet of various LAV II and LAV III variants with the LAV 6. The vehicle is being acquired in two main variants: a fighting vehicle equipped with the 25mm cannon seen on the LAV II and LAV III, and a support variant labelled the Armoured Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV).
The LAV II is the second generation of the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family. The LAV II is an 8×8 vehicle unlike the 6×6 Armoured Vehicle General Purpose, which is a LAV based on the Piranha I. The United States Marine Corps was the first user of the LAV II, which it calls the LAV-25. Canada procured two main variants: the Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle and the Bison armoured utility vehicle. LAV IIs in Australia are known as the ASLAV.
General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDLS) is an automotive and arms manufacturer spread across Europe, with a headquarter in Madrid, Spain. It is a business unit of General Dynamics which consolidated in one structure all European subsidiaries of GDLS.