A significant milestone for Lockheed Martin and the F-35 program in Fort Worth.
The Secretary of the Air Force was on hand as the 100th Air Force F-35 prepares to go into production.
While the program has been maligned over the years for its cost and delays, the program is starting to soar in terms of production and toward the battlefield.
The Air Force hopes to deem the F-35 combat ready by next August. On Wednesday, Secretary Deborah Lee James signed her name to the forward fuselage of the Air Force's 100th F-35 currently in the production line.
"The F-35 is going to be a crucial part of our future Air Force because, of course, all you have to do is read at your morning news and when you see the threats that are surrounding America and our allies around the world," Secretary James said.
The Air Force is Lockheed Martin's biggest purchaser of the F-35, receiving 73 so far and slated to acquire more than 1,763 in total from the assembly line. It's an assembly line that will look to add jobs as the program expands.
"As we ramp up this program, there's projected to be 1,000 direct jobs right here at the factory for people in the DFW area," said Mike Rein, director of F-35 communications for Lockheed Martin.
Rein says there will be an additional 3,000 local jobs outside of the plant connected to those 1,000 inside Air Force Plant No. 4. But Secretary James says the threat of sequestration with the defense budget in Congress could impact those jobs and the program itself.
"If sequestration remains with us, [what it means] is that we in the U.S. Air Force will buy fewer of these aircraft over the near term," James said. "That's bad."
James says even a one-year continuing resolution for the defense budget won't help.
"It is crucial that we get over these budget humps in Washington. If we don't, then all bets may be off," she said.
The secretary's visit to Lockheed Martin on Wednesday and to Bell Helicopter on Tuesday are important signs of support for the various defense programs and contractors in the DFW area.
Secretary James says she meets with Fort Worth Rep. Kay Granger to discuss the issues regularly about the budget.
As for the F-35 program on its own, the Air Force and Lockheed officials are confident the major hurdles are out of the way for the next generation aircraft.
"The fact that we now have 40,000 hours flown in the program, the fact that costs have come down 57-percent in the last four years alone, we believe we're on the right track," Rein said.
The F-35 is being purchased by not just the Air Force, but the Navy and Marines, as well as 11 partner nations.
