Northrop Grumman Cuts Avionics Assembly Time for US F-35 Fighters from Hours to Minutes with Cobot.

Northrop Grumman has introduced a collaborative robot into F-35 avionics production, cutting a precision CNI fastening operation from several hours to a few minutes. The automation could reduce assembly time and improve production consistency for F-35 avionics.

The new collaborative robot performs a high-precision fastening task on the F-35’s Communications, Navigation and Identification module, while AI-assisted inspection systems are being added to identify manufacturing defects before completed equipment leaves the factory. Although the change does not alter the aircraft’s combat performance directly, it could help Northrop Grumman accelerate selected production steps and standardize the quality of critical avionics components across the wider F-35 manufacturing network.

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A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II in flight. Northrop Grumman is introducing collaborative robots and AI-assisted inspection into F-35 avionics production to reduce selected assembly tasks from hours to minutes and improve manufacturing consistency.  (Picture source: US DoD/ Northrop Grumman)

The change does not directly alter the F-35’s combat capabilities, but it could help standardize production of avionics equipment required for U.S. and international aircraft. Northrop Grumman is combining the new automated assembly process with AI-assisted inspection tools intended to identify manufacturing defects before completed modules leave the factory.

According to information published by Northrop Grumman on September 30, 2026, the collaborative robot, or cobot, operates alongside technicians rather than replacing the wider assembly process. It installs the bolts securing the front housing of the Communications, Navigation and Identification, or CNI, module, reducing this specific operation from several hours to only a few minutes. The F-35 uses Northrop Grumman’s AN/ASQ-242 CNI system to combine functions including Identification Friend or Foe, precision navigation, voice communications and tactical data links within a largely software-defined avionics architecture. These functions are integrated with the aircraft’s wider mission systems and provide communications, navigation and information exchange required during flight operations.

Producing these modules consistently is therefore important for maintaining the supply of avionics equipment to the F-35 production line. Northrop Grumman is also expanding AI-assisted quality-control systems that examine completed CNI modules for potential manufacturing anomalies before shipment, adding an additional inspection stage before the equipment reaches aircraft integration. The industrial effect will depend on whether these systems can reduce rework, production delays and quality issues across a larger number of components. Northrop Grumman has not announced any Pentagon-approved increase in overall F-35 production rates directly linked to the introduction of the cobot or its AI inspection systems.

The company has also not disclosed how much the technology reduces the total manufacturing time of a complete CNI module. The reduction from several hours to several minutes concerns one fastening operation and does not mean that an entire avionics module can now be assembled within that timeframe. The approach is part of a wider use of automation across Northrop Grumman’s F-35 manufacturing activities. At the company’s integrated assembly line in Palmdale, California, more than 3,000 tools and as many as 115 assembly positions are involved in processing around 10 million parts each year for the aircraft’s center fuselage.

More than 20 automated systems operate within the Palmdale production line alongside technicians. Although an individual center fuselage remains within the manufacturing process for approximately eight months, the continuous production flow allows Northrop Grumman to complete one center fuselage roughly every 30 hours. That figure refers only to the production interval between completed center fuselage assemblies, not to the construction time of an entire F-35. Aircraft production relies on a distributed industrial network in which different suppliers manufacture airframe structures, avionics, sensors, propulsion equipment, and other components before final assembly.

Northrop Grumman states that it contributes to the development, production, or sustainment of approximately 40% of each of the three F-35 variants. Its responsibilities include center fuselage production, radar equipment, communications systems and other mission-system components, placing the company at the center of efforts to sustain F-35 production as U.S. and international delivery requirements continue. This structural manufacturing capacity is also expanding outside the United States. Rheinmetall and Northrop Grumman have established a second F-35 center fuselage production line in Weeze, Germany, adding European manufacturing capacity to the program as deliveries continue to U.S. forces and foreign operators.

The need to maintain production volumes coincides with changes to the aircraft’s electronic architecture. Technology Refresh 3 and Block 4 introduce additional computing capacity, sensors, and requirements for future weapons integration, requiring manufacturers to manage new hardware configurations while continuing deliveries of aircraft already under contract. The transition toward the AN/APG-85 under Block 4 adds further requirements for component manufacturing, testing and configuration management across a fleet that includes several production standards and national operators.

At the same time, component obsolescence represents another constraint for the F-35 supply chain, as unavailable parts may require replacements to be identified, tested and qualified before entering production. Automation cannot eliminate these supply-chain issues, but it can reduce the time required for repetitive manufacturing operations and potentially identify defects earlier. In the case of the CNI module, the cobot transfers a high-precision fastening task from technicians to an automated system while AI-assisted inspection provides an additional means of checking completed equipment.

If comparable time savings can be reproduced across other avionics or structural manufacturing operations, they could help Northrop Grumman maintain more consistent production as F-35 deliveries and modernization work continue in parallel. The extent of that effect remains to be demonstrated through wider production, rework, and quality data, as the figures released so far concern specific manufacturing processes rather than an increase in the overall F-35 production rate.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests include security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.