Robots Can Build Weapons

Faster, cheaper and more accurate. Raytheon has changed the way it builds deadly missiles.

In the Raytheon plant, the robotic arm glided up and down a 30-foot track,carrying Small Diameter Bomb seekers to testing stations.

Robots may be taking over many manufacturing jobs, but Raytheon executives say that’s not the case with their Tucson missile division, where a 10,000-person workforce will swell by 2,000 jobs over the next five years.

US Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work went to see how Raytheon has changed the way it builds missiles. Among the changes: robots are freeing up humans to work on other tasks, increasing the company’s production flow.

Raytheon invested hundreds of millions in robotics and other improvements at its Tucson plant, which builds much-in-demand missiles for the US military and American allies. The mechanical yellow arms dramatically reduce the time it takes to test each weapon.

The quality-control testing that used to take humans eight hours per missile has been robotically reduced to one hour. 

On top of that, four missiles can simultaneously pass through different tests, such as shaking and extreme temperature, according to Victor Florez, a factory manager.

It “used to be a very laborious process, with humans, on a bench,” Work said after getting a tour of the factory.

Companies need robots to drive down manufacturing costs. In the past, the government owned all of the tools needed to make a specific weapon or piece of equipment. That’s no longer the case. Raytheon’s automation efforts have allowed it to stay competitive when it bids on projects, Florez said.

The “robot does everything,” Work said. “It allows Raytheon to clear missiles faster, and it’s much more accurate over time. It was really, really impressive.”

Raytheon is also using robots to build small satellites. Lockheed is also adding robots at its Sunnyvale, California, satellite factory. And in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter plant in Fort Worth, Texas, robots are painting the stealth jets and doing other tasks.

Deputy Secretary Work has been talking a lot about human-machine teaming on the battlefield. It’s clearly already happening before the weapons get there.

Pictured: Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile.

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