Pentagon officials have reportedly asked Detroit automakers Ford and General Motors to consider producing weapons for the U.S. military in the near future, according tThe Wall Street Journal .
Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, and Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, have met with senior defense officials and discussed producing weapons and other military supplies, WSJ reports. People familiar with the discussions said they were wide-ranging, and focused on American automakers’ ability to serve as a backstop for traditional defense companies. The automakers were specifically asked if they could rapidly shift to defense work amid munitions shortages following the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
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Traditional defense companies such as GE Aerospace and Oshkosh were reportedly involved in these discussions, which started before the current conflict in Iran began. The impetus for employing automakers as defense manufacturers is a reported need to bolster supplies of munitions and tactical hardware, a move defense officials have framed as a matter of national security; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also recently called for military manufacturing to develop its “wartime footing.” Auto executives were reportedly asked to identify barriers to taking on defense contracts, ranging from bidding process logistics to contract requirements.
A Pentagon official told WSJ that the Defense Department “is committed to rapidly expanding the defense industrial base by leveraging all available commercial solutions and technologies to ensure our warfighters maintain a decisive advantage.” Such rhetoric has ratcheted up following the start of large weapons shipments to Ukraine in 2022. Similarly, the Pentagon recently requested a record $1.5 trillion budget, a portion of which would be dedicated to munition and drone manufacturing.
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There is a long precedent of automakers stepping in to produce weapons and other military materiel, dating back to World War I and reaching prominence during World War II. Domestic automakers produced tanks, bombers, aircraft engines, and trucks during World War II, diverting factory space and manpower as a lever in the “Arsenal of Democracy.” More recently, Volkswagen has been pondering a partnership with Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to produce logistics components for Israel’s Iron Dome interceptor array, potentially retooling one of its German plants to do so. Additionally, General Motors is reportedly in contention to build the next large infantry squad vehicle through its GM Defense wing.
It’s not immediately clear if or when such manufacturing changes would take place. Reporting from WSJ indicates defense officials were primarily focused on automaker’s ability to rapidly transition to producing missiles and counter-drone technology, indicating that the Trump Administration, it seems, wants automakers to be at the ready.
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A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022 and Road & Track in 2024. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a BMW 318i E30 street parked in his Queens community.
