BMW Keeps Accidentally Showing Up in Defense Settings
By Frank B. · November 17, 2025 · Don't Trust The Man
A recurring theme is developing here, and I’m unsure whether BMW’s marketing department is aware of it or if this is just a coincidence: German engineering continues to appear in defense settings. I've written about the M2 chase cars following U-2s down runways — a role BMW inherited after decades of Ford Mustangs and Chevy Camaros proved that the Air Force needed something that could hit 100 mph while guiding a pilot through a landing in a plane with bicycle-style landing gear. The M2's 470 hp straight-six handles it without breaking a sweat. And I've shown you that X5 in Belfast sitting under a C-32A's nose gear, positioned there as part of a security cordon during a U.S. presidential trip. But there's a third BMW-defense story that deserves attention--one involving luxury sedans, foam pyramids, and the world's largest anechoic chamber. Taken together, these three instances suggest BMW has accidentally built a defense portfolio.In 2003, BMW did something no other automotive manufacturer had done before: they brought three production vehicles, a 530i, a 545i, and the then-new 645i; to Edwards Air Force Base to test them inside the Benefield Anechoic Facility. The BAF, if you're unfamiliar, is where the Air Force tests whether its aircraft can survive electronic warfare. It's a massive echo-free chamber lined with polyurethane pyramids designed to absorb radio frequencies from 100 MHz to 40 GHz. It's where they brought the B-1 Lancer, the F-22 Raptor, and pretty much every sensitive military aircraft that needed to prove it could handle the electromagnetic spectrum without its systems going haywire.3 BMWs arranged within the Anechoic Chamber at BAF. Credit: Phillip KocurekSo naturally, BMW showed up with their luxury sedans.A RQ-4 Global Hawk suspended within the BAF’s chamber. Credit: Edwards AFBThe facility itself is remarkable--imagine a building inside a building, with the interior structure functioning as a giant Faraday Cage. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out.…