The F-16 production line continues to turn out Falcons at a rate of about six per month, according to June Shrewsbury, Lockheed’s vice-president for F-16 programs. There are now five different configurations—bound for nine countries—intermixed on the assembly line. Lean manufacturing techniques allow a mass-production approach to what are essentially customer-specific versions. Lockheed calls this “mass customization.” In all, the company has produced more than 120 different configurations.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, one of two National Guard members shot in a Washington, D.C., attack, will soon be awarded the Purple Heart.
