{"id":445428,"date":"2026-09-23T19:22:48","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/445428\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T19:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:22:48","slug":"germanys-first-f-35a-rolls-out-at-lockheed-in-fort-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/445428\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany\u2019s First F-35A Rolls Out at Lockheed in Fort Worth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Front<\/p>\n

Lockheed Martin presents Germany\u2019s first F-35A to the German government during a ceremony in Fort Worth on Sept. 18. [Photo: Lockheed Martin]<\/p>\n

Driven in part by conflicts in Ukraine and the Persian Gulf, Lockheed Martin\u2019s North Texas operations are flying high.<\/p>\n

The defense and aviation contractor recently rolled out Germany\u2019s first F-35A fighter jet at its Fort Worth plant. In addition, its Grand Prairie-based missile program recently achieved two milestones. Lockheed Martin employs roughly 22,800 people in North Texas.<\/p>\n

New military era in Germany<\/p>\n

Last week, Lockheed Martin officials celebrated the completion of Germany\u2019s first F-35A Lightning II in Fort Worth \u2014 also home to the company\u2019s aeronautics business \u2014 alongside German government and military leaders. Officials said the advanced fighter will strengthen NATO\u2019s defense capabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe F-35 is more than a fighter aircraft. It is a strategic capability that enables allies to operate together, adapt faster and stay ahead of emerging threats,\u201d OJ Sanchez, president of aeronautics at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement. \u201cAs Germany prepares to take ownership of its first F-35A, we are proud to build on more than 50 years of partnership and deliver a capability that will strengthen European security and support the Luftwaffe for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Germany ordered 35 stealth F-35As from Lockheed Martin in an $8.8 billion deal<\/a> signed in 2022. Later this fall, the first eight aircraft will be delivered to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas. There, German pilots will undergo flight training. Lockheed said fighter jets should start arriving in Germany before the end of 2027.<\/p>\n

The 35 jets will replace Germany\u2019s aging fleet of Panavia Tornado fighter-bombers.<\/p>\n

Lockheed worked with German companies on the country\u2019s F-35 order and said it will explore more partnerships in Germany.<\/p>\n

Germany joins 19 other nations, including Belgium<\/a> and Poland<\/a>, that already operate F-35 fighter jets. Several other European nations are acquiring F-35s, Lockheed Martin said.<\/p>\n

In May, the Navy awarded Lockheed Martin<\/a> more than $879 million to support F-35 deliveries.<\/p>\n

\u2018World\u2019s most advanced combat aircraft\u2019<\/p>\n

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany\u2019s first fighter jets would be delivered later this year. Germany expects them to be fully operational in 2029.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the beginning of a new era for the German Air Force: The new F-35A fighter jet is the world\u2019s most advanced combat aircraft,\u201d Pistorius said in a statement. \u201cIt is characterized by its stealth capabilities, close integration with other platforms and exceptionally powerful sensor technology. The F-35A can gather vast amounts of data and rapidly synthesize them into a comprehensive operational picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advanced long-range missiles<\/p>\n

Lockheed Martin also recently made headway in its Grand Prairie-based missile business.<\/p>\n

\"PrSM<\/p>\n

Lockheed Martin launches PrSM Increment 2 during an August flight test. [Photo: U.S. Army]<\/p>\n

This week, Lockheed said the Army awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion for the Increment 2 Precision Strike Missile, developed in Grand Prairie and produced in Camden, Arkansas. The U.S. used the missile\u2019s previous version for combat missions in Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re ready to move from flight testing into production and provide the Army with an expanded long-range precision fires capability,\u201d Dave\u00a0Griser, vice president of Lockheed Martin\u2019s Precision Fires Launchers and Missile business, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The new contract adds to a $4.9 billion Army contract awarded last year and an $8.4 billion contract increase approved this year.<\/p>\n

Lockheed said the Increment 2 Precision Strike Missile completed its first test flight in March and its second in August. Additional test flights are scheduled for 2027.<\/p>\n

\u2018Extraordinary 22-day turnaround\u2019<\/p>\n

In another milestone, Lockheed Martin received the first delivery of components GM Defense produced for the PAC-3 MSE interceptor. The delivery came less than one month after the two companies signed the component contract.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis extraordinary 22\u2011day turnaround underscores Lockheed\u00a0Martin\u2019s relentless focus on execution \u2014 delivering for our troops faster, with greater capacity,\u201d Tim\u00a0Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin\u2019s Missiles and Fire Control business, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Lockheed Martin\u2019s new Rapid Fielding Center<\/a> played a role in the speedy delivery. The defense contractor opened the center in March at its Grand Prairie campus.<\/p>\n

The company said the center enables it to quickly develop and produce missiles for the U.S., \u201csetting a new industry standard for speed to field as the country builds the \u2018Arsenal of Freedom.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

To help build that \u201cArsenal of Freedom,\u201d Lockheed Martin said it is investing $8 billion to $9 billion to expand munitions production. The initiative includes adding jobs and buildings at more than 20 sites, including the Grand Prairie campus.<\/p>\n

\tR E A D\u00a0\u00a0 N E X T\t<\/p>\n

\t\"conference<\/a><\/p>\n

The DEC Network’s updated Fort Worth space accommodates Spanish-language workshops, coworking and more.<\/p>\n

\t\"air<\/a><\/p>\n

TxDOT\u2019s Project Nexus aims to bring air taxi service to Dallas-Fort Worth and the rest of the Texas Triangle by 2029.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ranchbot, a provider of real-time, satellite-based technology for water monitoring for livestock producers, plans to use some of the funding to grow its agtech portfolio.<\/p>\n

\t\"Anthem<\/a><\/p>\n

The Washington, D.C.-based company is ramping production of its Anthem long-range cruise missile in North Texas. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, 8VC, Aleph and Lightspeed Venture Partners.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

New CBRE research points to a maturing tech workforce in North Texas, fueled partly by the Y\u2019all Street financial services boom.<\/p>\n

\t\"National<\/a><\/p>\n

The airline is opening its collection of more than 1,000 9\/11 artifacts to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City. It also is supporting The Never Forget Fund and the planned National 9\/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center.<\/p>\n

\t\"Joseph<\/a><\/p>\n

Joseph Rainone previously served as CEO of the e-commerce furniture company Ubique Group. He also held leadership roles at Melissa & Doug, Bayer and Hasbro.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lockheed Martin presents Germany\u2019s first F-35A to the German government during a ceremony in Fort Worth on Sept.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[4019,116,118,117,1279,4020,79129,153755,55750],"class_list":["post-445428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-f-35","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-grand-prairie","tag-lockheed-martin","tag-lockheed-martin-aeronautics","tag-lockheed-martin-missiles-and-fire-control","tag-u-s-army"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}