Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 4% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 96% of the time, stays with people.
Assemble, fit, fasten, and install parts of airplanes, space vehicles, or missiles, such as tails, wings, fuselage, bulkheads, stabilizers, landing gear, rigging and control equipment, or heating and ventilating systems.
34,020 people do this job in the US. $65,380 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on1 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people39 h
Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 1 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 39 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Read blueprints, illustrations, or specifications to determine layouts, sequences of operations, or identities or relationships of parts (about 1 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 4%
- 0%
- 96%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 4%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 26 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.018% to 0.0021% (released February and March 2025); none to 0.003% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.018% | 456 of 708 | 3 of 26 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0021% | 655 of 703 | 1 of 26 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 26 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0023% | 630 of 672 | 1 of 26 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.003% | 611 of 677 | 1 of 26 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 26 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 26 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 93% of this job's working time as physical work. For 78% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 78% in a purpose-built cell. 0.78 of 3, the 235th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 7%
- No robot shown 15%
- In a purpose-built cell 78%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 26 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Join structural assemblies, such as wings, tails, or fuselage.Done yearly or less by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Broetje-Automation Multi Panel Assembly Cells (MPAC) and Frame Clip Assembly Cells (FRAC) at MHI Hiroshima/Nagoya (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 14% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Assemble prototypes or integrated-technology demonstrators of new or emerging environmental technologies for aircraft.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Align, fit, assemble, connect, or install system components, using jigs, fixtures, measuring instruments, hand tools, or power tools.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Quadbots (Electroimpact Accurate Robot + multi-function end effector) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Set, align, adjust, or synchronize aircraft armament or rigging or control system components to established tolerances or requirements, using sighting devices and hand tools.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Fabricate parts needed for assembly or installation, using shop machinery or equipment.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, TruBend Cell 5000 with BendMaster robot (TRUMPF) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Assemble parts, fittings, or subassemblies on aircraft, using layout tools, hand tools, power tools, or fasteners, such as bolts, screws, rivets, or clamps.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, E4100 wing panel assembly cell (Airbus A340-500/-600, Broughton UK) (Electroimpact) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Assemble prefabricated parts to form subassemblies.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Electroimpact E4320 wing panel assembly/fastening machine (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.1 h17 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Position and align subassemblies in jigs or fixtures, using measuring instruments and following blueprint lines and index points.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Coordinated Accurate Robot stringer-placement cell (two Electroimpact-enhanced KUKA robots on Siemens CNC) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Fit and fasten sheet metal coverings to surface areas or other sections of aircraft prior to welding or riveting.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Electroimpact LTD machine / automatic temporary fastener installation system (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Adjust, repair, rework, or replace parts or assemblies to ensure proper operation.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect or test installed units, parts, systems, or assemblies for fit, alignment, performance, defects, or compliance with standards, using measuring instruments or test equipment.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Hexagon PRESTO XL automated inspection cell (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Read blueprints, illustrations, or specifications to determine layouts, sequences of operations, or identities or relationships of parts.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers9% now, 9% by 2028
- Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters4% now, 4% by 2028
- Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers8% now, 8% by 2028
- Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic13% now, 13% by 2028
- Avionics Technicians13% now, 15% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 4% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 4% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Read blueprints, illustrations, or specifications to determine layouts, sequences of operations, or identities or relationships of parts (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Join structural assemblies, such as wings, tails, or fuselage; Assemble prototypes or integrated-technology demonstrators of new or emerging environmental technologies for aircraft; and Align, fit, assemble, connect, or install system components, using jigs, fixtures, measuring instruments, hand tools, or power tools. Together such tasks are about 96% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 5%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 93% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 78% of the working time. Its index is 0.78 of 3. One example: Broetje-Automation Multi Panel Assembly Cells (MPAC) and Frame Clip Assembly Cells (FRAC) at MHI Hiroshima/Nagoya for "join structural assemblies, such as wings, tails, or fuselage". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 26 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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