For decades, automotive engineers have looked to the aerospace industry for new ideas. Back in the 1930s and 1950s, Detroit was inspired by the sleek designs of innovative airplanes such as the Northrop Alpha and the Grumman F4F Wildcat.

SAMLESBURY, UK—BAE Systems has switched on a new assembly line here that will be integral to the assembly of F-35 fighter jets. The line will boost production from one jet per week to one per day by 2016.

WASHINGTON—The rate of scrap, rework and repair on production of Lockheed’s F-35 fighter jet is currently around 16 percent, higher than on other military aircraft programs at similar stages of production, says the Pentagon.

PINELLAS PARK, FL—Lockheed Martin has opened a new assembly plant here to produce aircraft canopy components for the F-35 fighter.