Expect to see several hundred fighter jets assembled in Fort Worth under a new decadelong military contract.
Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. will produce at least 850 F-35 Lightning II stealth jet fighters under a self-funded $7 billion, 10-year deal with the Pentagon announced Oct. 22.
The agreement — which still needs to be authorized by Congress — will strengthen the F-35 global operations as the long-term procurement helps expand the nation’s fifth-generation aircraft fleet, officials said.
More than 1,375 F-35 aircraft operate from 42 bases worldwide.
OJ Sanchez, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said the buildup of the F-35 family will aid in collaborative sharing of information and training protocols to keep nations safer.
“This production line is fierce,” Sanchez said at a ceremony last month for Germany’s first F-35. “We produce between 150 to 160 airplanes. That’s five times more than any other fighter production line in any country anywhere in the world.”
In 2025, Lockheed Martin set a new record for F-35 production when it assembled 191 jets at its plant at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.
Pentagon officials said the agreement will help produce planes faster.
“We have fundamentally changed how we stabilize the American defense industrial base to produce at speed and scale,” said Michael P. Duffey, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment who uses the title undersecretary of war. “This agreement with Lockheed Martin proves it. By aligning financial incentives with actual performance, we are ensuring our warfighters are equipped with the lethal capabilities they need to fight and win.”
Lockheed Martin expects to continue F-35 production at a rate of 156 aircraft per year. The agreement includes associated spares, modification kits and international customer orders across Lots 21-30.
Jim Taiclet, chairman and president of Lockheed Martin Corp., said the multiyear framework will strengthen the company’s F-35 investments.
“With the greater certainty that comes from the U.S. government’s transformative approach to F-35 production and sustainment, we can make the upfront investments needed to expand capacity, improve efficiency, and build a more resilient supply chain,” Taiclet said in a statement. “That’s good for the taxpayer, good for our suppliers and, most importantly, good for the United States and its allies.”
If Congress approves the agreement, Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office will work to finalize contract terms, pricing and schedules through a formal contract award, officials said in a news release.
“This effort is expected to save taxpayers billions of dollars over F-35’s lifecycle through long-term pricing and industry volume discounts,” officials said in the release.
OJ Sanchez, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., speaks to reporters after the country’s first F-35A was unveiled Sept. 18, 2026. (Eric E. Garcia | Fort Worth Report)
Under the agreement, annual supplemental appropriations awards from the Pentagon would be eliminated. F-35 readiness would be supplemented by high-volume procurement and discounts as well as real-time analytics for parts inventory and readiness metrics.
Long-term contracts with suppliers will enable bulk purchases of raw materials and critical parts to reduce logistics bottlenecks, officials said.
The framework gives suppliers stability to plan for the future and make needed investments, Sanchez said.
“This, in addition to the investments Lockheed Martin is making to the global spares pool, will directly translate into higher mission capable rates and a more resilient supply chain — critical capabilities the warfighter needs to meet today’s mission and prepare for tomorrow’s threats,” he said.
The F-35 program will support more than 317,000 jobs and is expected to generate about $79 billion in annual economic activity over the next decade. The program contracts with more than 1,800 suppliers across 48 states and Puerto Rico.
Sanchez said Lockheed Martin is expanding its suppliers since there is a backlog of at least 300 aircraft as more nations commit to the F-35 program.
“The core of that F-35 family is right here in Fort Worth,” he told the Fort Worth Report. “We’ll continue to see demand right here in Fort Worth.”
Sanchez, who was named to his role in May, said he loves working in the city.
“I love the community, I love the people,” he said. “The mission that we have here at Lockheed Martin is amazing and the people who do it are equally so.”
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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