Anyone who has ever painted a bedroom or a car knows that the most difficult and time-consuming part of the process is actually the prep work: repairing damage, sanding, cleaning and masking. Now, imagine if you had to paint a passenger jet.

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Aerobotix and Automated Solutions Australia (ASA) are partnering to develop, test and manufacture hypersonic missiles. The partnership follows the 2021 signing of the AUKUS security pact between the U.S., U.K. and Australian governments, which includes provisions for the allies to work together on hypersonic and counter-hypersonic weapons.

FRANKFURT, Germany—A new technology that promises to make robotic painting of cars faster, more flexible and less wasteful has earned an international award for innovation.

One way for a manufacturer to enter a new market is through acquisition. However, one downside of the strategy is that the manufacturing assets you acquire do not always mesh perfectly with how you like to do things.

FLINT, MI—GM has begun construction on a $600 million paint shop project at the Flint Assembly plant.

YOKOHAMA, Japan—Ninety-six percent of the production process at Toyota’s Motomachi assembly plant is completed by robots. The plant employs 760 robots and produces one vehicle every 135 seconds.

EVERETT, WA—Inside Boeing’s assembly plant here, two robots glide along tracks on either side of a 106-foot wing for the 777. The robots wash the wing, apply solvent to remove dirt, rinse and then spray two different types of paint. They even reach into complex spaces inside the open wing root that must be painted for corrosion protection.