AUSA 2026: Industry looks to make commercial platforms a military reality
The uncrewed GM Defense Silverado on display at AUSA 2026. (Photo: author)
With a production rate of more than 10 million vehicles annually, the US commercial car and vehicle manufacturing base is second only to China. Defence companies are looking at how the vehicles, technology and manufacturing capability can support programmes.
The conversion of commercial technology and platforms into military capability is nothing new, but this month’s AUSA 2026 exhibition in Washington, DC showed how the effort has moved beyond simply adding armour and C2 into civilian platforms and manufacturing lines.
Three companies on the exhibition floor – Oshkosh Defense, American Rheinmetall and General Motors (GM) Defense – showed how they were turning commercial vehicles and factories into assets to meet US Army requirements, with these options potentially offering additional supply and surge security.
American Rheinmetall and GM Defense both showed uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) derived from commercial platforms with busy production lines. Oshkosh, meanwhile,
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