Hegseth Brings 'Arsenal of Freedom' Tour to Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth F-35 Plant

Hegseth Brings 'Arsenal of Freedom' Tour to Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth F-35 Plant


by Fort Worth Inc. Staff

Jan. 12, 2026

5:45 p.m.



Lockheed Martin


Speaking on the factory floor in front of a newly completed F-35, Hegseth thanked the more than 600 employees in attendance for their role in equipping the U.S. military.

Lockheed Martin on Monday welcomed U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to its F-35 Lightning II production facility in Fort Worth as part of his nationwide Arsenal of Freedom Tour, a visit that highlighted the company’s central role in U.S. defense manufacturing and a record year for the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft.

Hegseth toured the F-35 final assembly line, met with Lockheed Martin executives, and addressed more than 600 employees inside the sprawling North Texas facility, which employs roughly 19,000 workers. The Fort Worth plant is the sole final assembly site for the F-35 and anchors a national supply chain of more than 1,900 suppliers, over half of them small businesses.

“I’m looking out into an incredible audience of Americans here who are committed to an incredible company that’s building incredible platforms,” Hegseth told employees. “Thank you for accepting and grasping the challenge of President Trump as well as our department. We are shoulder to shoulder with you because we can’t deter the next conflict without the skills and capabilities you have.”

Lockheed Martin executives emphasized the scale and maturity of the F-35 program, which delivered a record 191 aircraft in 2025, surpassing the previous high of 142 jets. Annual production is now running at a pace five times faster than any other allied fighter currently in production, underscoring the program’s global footprint and industrial capacity.

“The F-35 is the most advanced multi-mission fighter jet in the world, as clearly shown in many recent and successful military engagements,” said Jim Taiclet, chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin. “Our U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps pilots, along with those of our allies, ensure air superiority and are critical contributors to President Trump’s strategy of peace through strength.”

Taiclet said the Fort Worth workforce was instrumental in delivering the record output. “Every one of our 19,000 employees here, and many more at our own and our suppliers’ factories around the country, are totally dedicated to building these jets faster and more efficiently,” he said.

Beyond aircraft production, Lockheed Martin recently announced a framework agreement with the U.S. Department of War to accelerate production and delivery of PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors, described by the company as the first major example of its Acquisition Transformation Strategy being put into action.

Globally, more than 1,290 F-35s are now operational, with the fleet surpassing 1 million cumulative flight hours in 2025. The aircraft operates from 50 bases worldwide, including 11 nations flying the jet from home soil. In 2025, the program also completed delivery of its most advanced software upgrade to date, Technology Refresh 3, while sustaining a global fleet approaching 1,300 aircraft.

The visit, naturally, also carried a broader political message. In remarks on the factory floor, Hegseth framed the Fort Worth plant as a modern “arsenal of freedom,” arguing that rebuilding U.S. military strength requires speed, accountability and results. He pointed to President Trump’s pledge to raise defense spending by more than 50% in 2027 and said future contracts would be awarded based on performance and delivery, not brand names.

“We ultimately don’t care what the name is on the side of the missile or the plane,” Hegseth said, while adding he hoped Lockheed Martin would win “a lot” of future contracts.

Building a stronger War Department requires rewarding defense manufacturers that take risks in developing new products, while also cutting bureaucratic red tape at the Pentagon. Moreover, he said, it requires eliminating what Hegseth described as the distractions of “woke ideology."

“No more DEI, no more dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship and social justice and political correctness,” Hegseth stumped. “We’re done with that. We’re unleashing the war fighter to be ready, trained, disciplined, accountable, and lethal."

The Fort Worth stop followed recent Arsenal of Freedom Tour visits to defense facilities in Virginia and California and underscored the region’s outsized role in U.S. defense production, with the F-35 program supporting an estimated 49,000 jobs locally, and generating more than $9 billion in regional economic impact. A stop in Brownsville was also on his schedule Monday.

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