The U.S. Dept. of Defense awarded $14.6 million to GM Defense LLC for an unspecified number of heavy-duty “suburban sport utility vehicles.” Funding for orders of individual vehicles will be determined will be determined individually, along with the manufacturing location and delivery date.
The five-year contract (through 2029) was solicited online, with GM Defense submitting the only bid.
Earlier this month GM Defense announced it is supplying Suburban Shield armored vehicles to the Qatar Armed Forces and Special Forces Command, to be used for protected diplomatic security and VIP transport.
The Suburban Shield is modeled on General Motors’ full-size pickup truck and sport utility vehicle platform, and incorporates a high percentage of commercial parts, including the body, exterior, propulsion, interior, and brakes.
What is distinctive is a new body-on-frame chassis and suspension system designed to support increased vehicle weight and performance requirements. It was developed using GM digital engineering and quality management system, to achieve program efficiencies quality, and performance.
Steve duMont, president of GM Defense noted, “We engineered the Suburban Shield from the ground up as a protected vehicle using GM’s world-class process and tools to deliver the reliability and quality expected from a GM vehicle.”
