Lockheed Martin has opened its smart factory in Palmdale, California, at its Skunk Works® campus. This 215,000-square-foot intelligent, flexible factory is one of four transformational manufacturing facilities the company is opening in the U.S. The facility has been set up with digital foundations to be able to embed smart manufacturing components, leverage the Internet of Things, and give rapid, effective, and affordable solutions to keep the United States and its allies ahead.
Jeff Babione, the vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, drew on his company’s history with California, “Our partnership with the state has helped us remain competitive and has positioned us for long-term growth.” He added this new Palmdale facility represents not just the next step in optimizing manufacturing but a leap into the next digital revolution that will drive innovation and maintain California’s lead in the aerospace industry.
This facility pulls together human ingenuity and the latest digital tools, from robotics to artificial intelligence and augmented reality, in a way that increases efficiency while fostering innovation. The method minimizes hard tooling while enhancing the human experience characteristic of Skunk Works. The facility will also contain office and break areas for more than 450 employees, adding to the creation of more than 1,500 new jobs in California since 2018.
It is for this reason that the Skunk Works at Lockheed Martin has become a popularly recognized name for ground-breaking achievements in aerospace, producing the United States’ very first jet fighter, the P-80; the world’s first stealth fighter, the F-117; and the world’s first 5th generation fighter, the F-22. Skunk Works still leads the future of aerospace from a proven way of working underpinned by 14 simple rules, with eight Collier trophies and a National Medal of Technology and Innovation from the office of the President of the United States.
In related news, the U.S. Air Force recently unveiled a secret fighter-jet demonstrator flying wing aircraft that has sparked speculation over its origins. Will Roper, chief of Air Force acquisition, confirmed the plane has flown and some systems have been flight tested but would not identify the manufacturer. Boeing-Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman are seen as the most likely bidders with Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works a good bet due to the company’s history of advanced aircraft development often in secret for the U.S. military.
Officially opening this Lockheed Martin facility and the secrecy surrounding the Air Force’s new fighter-jet demonstrator point to how fast the advent of digital engineering and manufacturing is changing the aerospace landscape. The integration of digital tools and smart components for manufacturing is the path by which each company will continue to innovate, securing the technological edge of the United States in military aviation.