GM Defense teams up with NP Aerospace for British Army vehicle requirement

US company GM Defense, a division of the giant General Motors, has signed an agreement with the UK’s NP Aerospace to offer the former’s Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) for the UK’s LMV requirement, as both companies look beyond meeting the requirement to future projects.

LMV is the first of the LMP procurements to theoretically get off the ground after a Request for Information (RfI) for the segment was launched in January 2025 ahead of plans to launch a Request for Tender in November and selection a year later. Caution is the industry watchword, however, as the programme has struggled in the past.

It is an effort to replace predominantly smaller, lighter vehicles such as Pinzgauer and the Land Rover variants Snatch and RWMIK (Revised Weapons Mounted Installation Kit), with a gross vehicle mass of less than 3,500kg.

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Along with ISV other potential runners and riders are the Thales Hawkei, Babcock’s General Logistic Vehicle (GLV) built around the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 and Rheinmetall’s Caracal.

The RFI highlighted the opportunity for off-the-shelf solutions, investigating current capabilities, cost of procurement and through-life costs and further market engagement. The Hawkei is an existing vehicle without a production line, the GLV is a proven commercial platform but not in service and the Caracal fits many of the RfI’s desired specifications.

The ISV and its utility variant are both based on the commercial Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and both types will be offered in the LMV bid.

It is a substantially commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) vehicle and is in service with US Army infantry and special forces and Canadian Armed Forces. It has also been used by British Army personnel as part of Project Convergence this and last year.

Speaking to Shephard, GM Defense President Steve duMont pushed the case for ISV and noted that the parent company makes millions of vehicles per year and has a substantial support chain for its vehicles.

“The original contract for the ISV [for the US Army] was for hundreds of vehicles, and because of the success that it is demonstrating with the light and mobile Brigade Combat Teams [the army has decided] they'll buy in the 1000s,” duMont said.

“By the time the UK will accept initial vehicles on this programme, we will have delivered upwards of 4,000 vehicles and they're not just going in and sitting in motor pools.

“We have had them operating in the muddy and frozen Bavarian Forest of Germany, very difficult terrain, and a couple of years ago, we took the vehicles through their paces across the deserts of the UAE.”

Vehicle programme to drive industry growth

The UK Government is pushing hard across defence procurement for industry to be an engine for economic growth, focusing on local manufacture, support and export potential and this will be key in the LMP decisions overall.

It is this area that the partnership with NP Aerospace comes into play as the UK company has extensive experience. It is in fact supplying Belgium’s Light Tactical Transport Vehicle fleet after acquiring Jankel Armouring’s assets.

Additionally, NP Aerospace last year received a four-year £71 million (US$94.6 million) contract to support British Army legacy utility and combat vehicles. It is also supporting the MoD’s fleet of more than 2,000 protected mobility vehicles including Mastiffs, Wolfhounds, Ridgebacks, Buffalos, Chokers, Foxhounds, Jackals and Coyotes.

NP Aerospace CEO James Kempston highlighted the size of this work as a key aspect of partnerships effort to win the contract.

“We're now on more than 18,000 platforms in the UK, doing the through-life support upgrades and post-design services,” Kempston said.

“That's critical for the UK economic benefit, which is a key component of the Strategic Defence Review. But it also allows that rapid spiral incremental development, which is key to operating in the current environments around the world.

“Technology and threats change so quickly that the UK needs agile, quick domestic capability to do these upgrades,” Kempston added.

The companies are continuing to build the team leading duMont to state: “We'll be adding some additional notable teammates…in the coming weeks and months, [and] we'll identify additional large and small companies to [join the team].”

The partners would be in areas such as mission kit which includes weapons’ rings, communications, radars and counter-uncrewed aerial systems.

The further market engagement and export possibilities are key to the UK Government’s way of thinking and once again GM Defense is arguing that it is in a strong position both with its commercial supply chain supporting potential European operators.

Alongside side is the mass of vehicles entering North American service and the support this provides for spiral development and economies of scale.

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