General Motors [GM] this month launched a new defense subsidiary to support its defense customers and also introduced a new commercially-developed electric platform that can accommodate host of military applications ranging from utility vehicles to radar carriers.
The new military products unit is GM Defense LLC. GM, which once owned the former Hughes Aircraft defense company, sold that business to Raytheon [RTN] in the late 1990s.
The new defense unit will help the company better focus on its customers’ needs.
“This new business structure will enhance GM’s productivity, agility and affordability in a very dynamic customer environment,” Charlie Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuel Cell Business, said in a statement.
GM Defense LLS is part of the company’s Global Product Development organization. Freese is leading the defense unit.
GM announced the formation of the defense unit on Oct. 6 as part of its introduction of its Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure, or SURUS, which is essentially a truck chassis powered by hydrogen fuel cells that costs less to operate than military fuel. The chassis can accommodate a wide variety of applications up to 7,000-pound payloads, such as a light utility vehicle, ambulance, mobile power generator, utility truck, radar, cargo carrier, and direct energy weapons, according to a glossy handout provided by the company.
SURUS is being displayed this week at the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington, D.C.
GM’s Hydrotec system used to power SURUS builds on the company’s 50-year heritage in fuel cell technology and offers zero emissions and an energy storage system that provides more than 400 miles of range. The vehicle also has a low-heat signature, operates quietly and odor free.
“SURUS Redefines fuel cell electric technology for both highway and off-road environments,” Freese said. “General Motors is committed to providing new high-performance, zero-emission systems to solve complex challenges for a variety of customers.”
GM is also bringing its capabilities in mobile autonomy to SURUS, saying that multiple vehicles can be operated in a leader-follower configuration.
The company said it has been discussing SURUS with the Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center. The two organizations have also worked together to develop the fuel cell-powered Colorado ZH2, going from contract to concept in less than a year. GM is also displaying the Colorado ZH2 at AUSA.
The 6-foot five-inch tall vehicle sits on a stretched midsize pickup chassis and can be operated in on-road and off-road conditions. The Colorado ZH2 will be provided to the Army early next year to test it “in extreme field conditions to determine the viability of hydrogen-powered vehicles on military missions.”
“Over the next year, we expect to learn from the Army the limits of what a fuel cell propulsion system can do when really put to the test,” Freese said.
The Colorado ZH2 is one application of GM’s SURUS platform.