Merica continues to address the issue of ramping up military production with this as the DoW played a role in the two companies coming together. GM had previously been a pretty significant manufacturer for the U.S., as they built tanks during WWII and in 1950 established their Defense Unit. Before GM sold off its defense unit to General Dynamics in 2003, they were responsible for the manufacturing of various vehicles for the U.S. military, including the Stryker.

Plus lets be honest that sweet sweet military manufacturing money is just what someone like GM needs. The electric car transition has failed or at least been significantly delayed and so this is an easy pivot to make to leverage their capabilities.

“What makes this moment especially important is that the country needs more than great technology. It also needs the capacity to build, scale and deliver reliably,” Brown said on a call with reporters. “This is where GM can help. Across our company, we bring deep experience in advanced engineering, digital development, supply chain discipline and manufacturing at scale.”

Lockheed Martin is investing $9 billion through 2030 to modernize 20 of its facilities and supply bases, St. John added. GM said it will spend $7 billion on research and development in the U.S., according to Brown.

The executives said the partnership will be focused on “high-rate manufacturing” at scale and expanding production capacity. They added that the collaboration is still in early stages and that they need to further define what the potential for future contracts may be. They are working under a memorandum of understanding.