Aviation News – Northrop Grumman has delivered its 1,500th center fuselage for the F-35 Lightning II from its Palmdale, California facility, underscoring major gains in factory automation and manufacturing efficiency that support the global fighter program.
The milestone was achieved at the company’s Integrated Assembly Line, where Northrop Grumman produces the center fuselage for all three F-35 variants. The program reflects years of investment in digital manufacturing and process optimization as part of the broader F-35 industrial partnership, with the Palmdale site playing a central role in sustaining high-rate production.
Using advanced manufacturing techniques, the Integrated Assembly Line delivers one center fuselage every 30 hours while maintaining precision and consistency. Augmented reality and virtual reality tools guide technicians through complex assembly tasks, reducing assembly time by 35 percent and cutting the technician learning curve by 20 percent, directly improving throughput and quality.
