Boeing Reveals First of New Innovative Defense Factories

The Department of the Air Force awarded a nearly $1.2 billion contract for its first lot of eight F-15EX fighter aircraft, July 13, 2020. The contract, awarded to Boeing, provides for the design, development, integration, manufacturing, test, verification, certification, delivery, sustainment, and modification of F-15EX aircraft, including spares, support equipment, training materials, technical data, and technical support. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo)

MESA, AZ—Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security business unit has unveiled its new Advanced Composite Fabrication Center here, which has been purpose-built to produce advanced composite components for future combat aircraft.

The secure production facility will be operated by Phantom Works, Boeing’s proprietary research, development and prototyping division. The construction phase of the 155,000 square-foot facility is complete, and the center is expected to be fully operational this fall.

“Boeing pioneered a new era of digital aerospace engineering on programs like the T-7, MQ-25 and MQ-28, and now we’re leading the way again by digitally transforming our entire production system to build the next generation of advanced combat aircraft,” says Ted Colbert, Defense, Space and Security president and CEO. “The new Advanced Composite Fabrication Center and the factories that will follow it position Boeing to deliver the most digitally advanced, simply and efficiently produced and intelligently supported aircraft to military customers.”

Leveraging best practices from recent new-start programs like the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, MQ-25 Stingray, T-7A Red Hawk and proprietary efforts, the factory will enable Boeing to scale a platform-agnostic, modular and flexible digital production system across future Boeing Defense programs. Additional new factories supporting subsequent phases of production are under construction in the St. Louis region and slated to come online over the next few years.

“The center capitalizes on the latest in digital engineering—from initial concept and design to the production floor and sustainment—and its capabilities are aligned directly with our customers’ need to design, build and field advanced combat aircraft on dramatically accelerated timelines,” says Steve Nordlund, Boeing Phantom Works vice president and general manager. “We are committed to a future where our platforms are more modular and adaptable, our software is more modifiable and scalable, and where our customers have a common experience across all of our products—providing disruptive advantages from seabed to space.”

The ASSEMBLY Show South

ASSEMBLY is thrilled to return to the Music City Center in Nashville, TN for The ASSEMBLY Show SOUTH on May 1-2, 2024. This is a booming time for manufacturing and the U.S. South is right in the heart of the action. According to ASSEMBLY’s most recent annual capital spending survey, the South is projected to account for 31 percent of total spending this year, marking the fifth straight year this region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.

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