Farnborough 2026: AI on the Shop Floor, Kratos Drone Expansion, and Quantum Computing in Aerospace Lead Industry News
Why It MattersThe moves signal aerospace manufacturers pairing factory-floor AI adoption with expanded physical production capacity to meet growing demand for uncrewed and defense aircraft programs.
At the Farnborough International Airshow, Accenture senior managing director John Schmidt and growth and strategy research leader Jeff Wheless discussed an Accenture survey finding that 42% of aerospace and defense manufacturers identified AI as the tool needed to address internal production problems. Schmidt noted that companies making measurable progress are those applying AI directly to factory operational data to stabilize output, improve first-pass yield, and reduce rework.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced an expansion of its Oklahoma City campus, adding 106,000 square feet of manufacturing and production space to a facility that currently produces approximately 165 high-performance jet drones annually. The expansion will support increased production of the Valkyrie collaborative combat aircraft, selected by the U.S. Marine Corps as the foundation of its collaborative combat aircraft program of record, along with the Mighty Hornet IV tactical unmanned system and the Firejet aerial target system.
Separately, CNC grinding and automation company ANCA appointed Edmund Boland as group CEO, while AMETEK Specialty Metal Products named Michael Marucci as division vice president and business unit manager and Dr. Rahul Bhattacharya as director of quality and technical at its Fine Tubes facility. The issue also covered precision CNC grinding techniques for aerospace turbine blades and outlined three applications of quantum computing in aerospace: accelerating aircraft design, optimizing logistics and air traffic management, and discovering next-generation aerospace materials.
