GM Defense Goes International to Sell Its Military Supertrucks

Shortly after announcing it would market its vehicles in Canada, GM Defense will now sell its military supertrucks like the Heavy Duty Suburban and its Infantry Squad Vehicle to other countries.

GM Defense is planning to market its military vehicles to other countries. Just two weeks ago, GM Defense announced it will start marketing vehicles to Canada. Now, GM Defense has set up a new arm of the company called GM Defense International. It will still be a part of GM and report to GM President Mark Reuss.

GM Defense says it will sell vehicles globally to our partners and U.S. allies. It will help the other countries transition to a “more electric, autonomous and connected” future.

GM Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle

Right now, GM Defense is producing two main vehicles. One is the Infantry Squad Vehicle that it is building for the U.S. Army. The new military vehicle is based off the popular Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 midsize pickup. The chassis is transformed into an all-terrain troop vehicle that can carry an entire nine-Soldier infantry squad and their gear.

The Infantry Squad Vehicle or ISV uses 90 percent commercial parts, including some of Chevrolet Performance’s racing parts. GM Defense added a newly designed Rollover Protection System, to keep troops even safer while they are out on variable terrain on the battlefield. According to GM Defense, the 5,000-pound ISV “is light enough to be sling loaded from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and compact enough to fit inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for air transportability.”

GM Defense Heavy-Duty Suburbans

The other vehicle that GM Defense is building is a new Heavy- Duty Suburban that it is contracting to build for the U.S. State Department. Technically, they are calling the new Heavy-Duty Suburbans Large Support Utility Commercial Vehicles. The vehicle will be built to look like a Chevrolet Suburban but it will ride on a Heavy-Duty Silverado truck chassis. It will be bullet-proof and bomb-proof. Similarly, GM builds Cadillac Limos to transport the President and Vice President but those are also built on truck chassis, carry armor plating and are equipped to allow the president to communicate in the case of Armageddon.

Powered by GM, GM Defense vehicles use commercial technologies to develop customized solutions to military situations. Because the vehicles are mostly built with GM commercial parts, vehicles can be serviced nearly everywhere in the world. GM Defense will also have access to GM’s latest battery, EV, and autonomous vehicle technology as it develops future military vehicles.

“Forming GM Defense International will drive our continued expansion as we leverage GM’s rich legacy of innovation in support of global defense and government customers,” said Steve duMont, president of GM Defense. “As a non-traditional entrant to the defense market, we continue to receive positive feedback on our ability to bring commercial technologies forward at the speed that our customers require in these complex times. As we continue to explore opportunities across North America, Europe, the Middle East, the Indo Pacific region and beyond, we look forward to leveraging commercial technology to modernize the mobility capabilities of allied armed forces around the world.”

GM Defense is already planning to attend a global defense and security trade show called Eurosatory from June 13-17 in Paris, France. While much of Europe is pressuring automakers to switch to EVs, it makes sense that GM will be trying to market future military EVs there as well.

GM Defense Photo

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