GM Defense establishes UK entity and accelerates Team LionStrike delivery planning

US tactical vehicle manufacturer GM Defense has launched GM Defense UK, creating a dedicated presence to support its business focusing on UK defence programmes, the company announced on 19 January 2026.

Operating from GM’s sites in Leamington Spa and Silverstone, the new entity will lead all UK Ministry of Defence engagement and anchor GM’s wider NATO and European defence activity.

The launch comes as GM Defense intensifies its delivery and support planning for Team LionStrike: the entity in which GM Defense joins NP Aerospace and BAE Systems in bidding for the UK’s upcoming Land Mobility Programme (LMP).

The announcement builds on a strong year of momentum for Team LionStrike, including the debut of GM Defense’s General Support Utility Platform (GSUP) at the UK’s DSEI 2025 defence exhibition in September 2025 and a UK ‘ride and drive’ event in November 2025 that highlighted a number of LMP contenders, including for the British Army’s Light Mobility Vehicle (LMV) requirement.

Team LionStrike aims to deliver modern, scalable mobility solutions for the British Army while supporting the UK’s Land Industrial Strategy. The team is currently building a sustainable UK supply chain, backed by GM’s global parts distribution network, the new UK hub, and the experience of NP Aerospace and BAE Systems in sustaining UK defence requirements.

“Standing up GM Defense UK is a major milestone in our long‑term commitment to the United Kingdom,” Bradley Watters, vice president of international business development at GM Defense, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “Team LionStrike is different because GM – backed by more than a century of engineering excellence – is directly embedded as the vehicle OEM. That level of involvement delivers real capability, efficiency and long‑term assurance for the UK armed forces. Establishing a UK business is essential to providing that through‑life support.

“We are fully committed to the UK LMV programme and to investing in British industry and communities,” Watters added. “GM Defense UK strengthens our ability to fully support Team LionStrike and deliver exactly what the British Army needs, now and for decades to come.”

GM Defense’s Chevrolet S10 Work Truck-based contender for the British Army’s General Support Utility Platform (GSUP) requirement. [GM Defense]