Northrop Grumman Leverages Advanced Tech to Build All Three F-35 Lightning II Variant Center Fuselages

PALMDALE, Calif., July 2. Northrop Grumman manufactures center fuselages for all three variants of the F-35 Lighting II stealth fighter at its Integrated Assembly Line (IAL) in Palmdale, California. Employing advanced manufacturing technologies, the IAL delivers one F-35 center fuselage every 30 hours to meet U.S. and international customer needs. The IAL came online in 2011 and has enabled Northrop Grumman to deliver over 1,400 center fuselages for the F-35 program. Northrop Grumman is a principal partner and teammate on the F-35 Lightning II industry team, that is developing, producing and sustaining three variants of this stealthy, supersonic, multirole fighter aircraft.

Learn more about Northrop Grumman’s role on the F-35 program here.

With nearly 100,000 employees and over 30 million square feet of manufacturing space – more than 500 football fields – Northrop Grumman has the capacity, scale, and agility to drive innovation at unprecedented speeds. The company’s manufacturing approaches do more than just produce; they accelerate and enhance the entire process from design and development to production and testing. Northrop Grumman has invested in U.S. infrastructure, R&D, its workforce, and its supply chain to deliver today and tomorrow’s national security needs.