US Stock Market Move | General Motors Company (GM.US) rises over 3%, returning to the missile supply chain after nearly 29 years.

On Thursday, General Motors Company (GM.US) rose over 3% to $87.48. On the news front, Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the Patriot system's interceptor missiles, announced today that General Motors Company has successfully delivered the first batch of Patriot interceptor missile components. The statement specifically emphasized that General Motors Company completed the delivery of the first batch of PAC-3 MSE interceptor missile casing components just 22 days after formally signing the contract, whereas "these components typically took months or even years to produce." This is not General Motors Company's first foray into missile manufacturing. The company acquired Hughes Aircraft Company in 1985 and once produced multiple types of guided missiles through it, until it sold the related defense business to Raytheon in 1997. This delivery means General Motors Company has re-entered the missile manufacturing supply chain after nearly 29 years. General Motors Company is working to develop its defense business, which, though small in scale, has good momentum. General Motors Company re-established its defense subsidiary GM Defense in 2017, focusing on military vehicles, power propulsion, and other areas. The U.S. Army announced in 2020 a $214.3 million purchase of the ISV infantry squad vehicle modified from a Chevrolet pickup truck. Since then, GM Defense has also begun producing ISV derivative models and heavy armored SUVs. Company CEO Mary Barra expected this summer that the business would reach $700 million in revenue this year, with profit margins also at double-digit levels. There were earlier reports that, in addition to Lockheed Martin, General Motors Company had also held talks with RTX and L3Harris for similar cooperation. The former produces the Patriot GEM-T, Tomahawk, AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles, and others, while the latter is a solid rocket motor supplier for weapons such as the PAC-3 MSE.