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.
Newly elected Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has indicated he desires warmer relations with Beijing, saying he is even open to military ties with China, a move that would complicate Pacific Air Forces efforts to protect U.S. interests in the first and second island chains. “We have our relationship not…