Boeing Reveals Classified Composite Fabrication Center.

• Author: Luckenbaugh, Josh
• Position: DISPATCHES

MESA, Arizona -- Phantom Works, Boeing's research, development and prototyping division, recently opened a new, classified facility to produce advanced composite components for future combat aircraft.

Situated on Boeing's campus in Mesa, Arizona, the 155,000-square-foot Advanced Composite Fabrication Center is expected to be fully operational this fall as the company looks to further digitize its production system, company executives said.

While the work done at the center will be classified, the facility will leverage "best practices" from new programs like the unmanned aerial vehicles MQ-28 Ghost Bat and MQ-25 Stingray, as well as the T-7A Red Hawk jet trainer. The facility will "enable Boeing to scale a platform-agnostic, modular and flexible digital production system across future [Boeing] programs, providing unprecedented speed, agility and cost efficiency," a statement said.

The fabrication center is the first in a series of innovation factories Boeing is constructing. The company is building several new facilities in the St. Louis region--including a specialized laboratory, advanced assembly facilities and a post-production assembly center--which will come online over the next few years, Steve Nordlund, Phantom Works vice president and general manager, said at the opening event for the Advanced Composite Fabrication Center on Sept. 12.

All told, these new facilities represent "well over half a billion dollars" of investment for Boeing, he added.

Digitally modeling products will lead to greater manufacturing efficiency, Boeing Defense, Space and Security CEO Ted Colbert said.

"When you start with... a model-based engineering approach to developing our products, it gives you a digital product definition that serves as the foundation for yielding value across the entire value stream, from engineering to manufacturing, through the supply chain, and, of course, out into the sustainment world," he said.

"It is all informed by the next generation of...