Small company, big impact: Mansfield firm celebrates F-35 production role

Jake Ellzey slipped off his blazer and hopped into an F-35 flight simulator at a Mansfield parts manufacturer.

The North Texas congressman — a former U.S. Navy helicopter and fighter jet pilot — warned he might not do well since he’s never flown F-35 Lightning II aircraft. Minutes later, as he simulated a takeoff, his faux flight abruptly veered to the right and crashed.

“I told you!” Ellzey said to a small crowd at Gamma Aerospace observing him.

He improved on the simulator, a modified F-35 cockpit filled with video screens. A controller on the right side features a red button to fire weapons and a throttle on the left. The simulator was on display Aug. 14 as Gamma Aerospace celebrated its decades as a defense manufacturer.

Gamma Aerospace, founded in 1971, moved to Mansfield in the early 1980s and became a defense contractor in the 1990s by supplying parts for F-16 and F-22 aircraft. The company, which has more than 100 employees with an average tenure of 10 years, now supplies two Fort Worth-based defense companies, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. and Bell Textron Inc., in addition to Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Northrop Grumman and others.

“We’ve grown over the years,” said Jason Jackson, president of Gamma Aerospace, adding that about 85% of the company’s business is military-related with another 10% dedicated to aerospace.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program, assembled at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, receives billions in defense military contracts and helps support more than 1,900 subcontractors. Among them are over 17 local suppliers that represent 49,000 direct and indirect jobs. 

“The impact goes beyond our factory walls,” Jackson said. “The F-35 supports small businesses like ours across the country, sustains jobs, fostering innovation (and) strengthening our communities.”

Since March 2004, Gamma Aerospace has manufactured 2,500 different parts for the F-35 stealth fighter jet, ranging from metal plane panels to hydraulic brackets. In the last year, Jackson said, the company delivered nearly 20,000 individual pieces for the F-35, covering 350 different part numbers.

Jason Jackson, president of Gamma Aerospace in Mansfield, speaks at a celebration of the firm’s F-35 Lightning II fighter jet work on Aug. 14, 2025. The event included remarks from U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey as well as a cockpit demonstration of the F-35. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)

“They’re not just part numbers. They represent the precision, skill and commitment of my team,” Jackson said.

Edward “Stevie” Smith, director of F-35 strategic initiatives for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said F-35 aircraft would not be able to fly without the work of suppliers such as Gamma.

“I love to go out and talk to our suppliers because you are integral to this capability,” Smith said. “When that airplane flies off, whether it’s the flight deck of an aircraft carrier (or) off of an airfield into combat, we rely on the quality and precision of the parts you make to make sure that our men and women who strap this airplane on and do our nation’s bidding come back day in and day out.”

Smith, who served for 22 years as a naval officer, said he has seen the same spirit of service during his almost 10 years at Lockheed Aeronautics and its Skunk Works division.

“I get to work day in and day out with our men and women in uniform to make sure we continue to make this product a great and a most exceptional fighter for decades to come,” Smith said. “And that’s pretty important.”

In the nearly two decades since the first aircraft was first delivered to the military, the F-35 program “really has hit its stride and maturity,” Smith said.

Smith said Lockheed Martin has delivered north of 1,200 aircraft worldwide to a growing list of allies, partners and U.S. military branches.

“We’re very proud of that. It is now only strengthening our U.S. alliances, both over in Europe and in the Pacific theater as well, but also bringing up new customer sets and aligning very well with this current administration’s policy of having our allies and partners being able to fight their own fights in their backyard alongside our U.S. servicemen. … We are raising the strategic capabilities of all of our partners worldwide.”

Smith said Lockheed Martin’s 2025 production of the F-35 surpassed 110 deliveries this year — better performance than any other fighter jet’s production.

“That is more production capacity than the rest of the world’s fighter capacity combined, bar none, built right here in Fort Worth, Texas,” he said.

Lockheed Martin recognized $1.8 billion in losses during the second quarter of this year. The losses include a $950 million charge on a classified program involving its Skunk Works division, which has a Fort Worth office. A lawsuit has been filed regarding company losses.

Smith said the recent performance of F-35s during strikes on Iran showed the fighter jet’s capabilities and deterrence to threats to peace.

“Don’t get me wrong, there are countries out there right now planning, equipping and manning up to take away those freedoms that we and our allies and partners hold so dear,” he said. “That vigilance and that guard cannot come down, whether it’s in the everyday jobs y’all do, whether it’s in the fight that our great congressman does up on the Hill, to make sure these programs are fully funded, fully modernized and are sustained so that equipment stays the best and that blade stays the sharpest as they fight around the world.”

U.S. Rep. Kay Granger strikes a pose with her new flight jacket in front of the restored YF-16 on May 30, 2024, at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. The plane was named after Granger because of her support of the YF-16 program. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)

Ellzey, now in his third term representing parts of Tarrant County, credited former Fort Worth mayor and retired U.S. Rep. Kay Granger for her longtime support of the F-35 and other defense programs.

“None of us would be here if it were not for the efforts of the great Kay Granger, a spectacular lady who has a lot to do with the fact that this program continues and is very successful. We send prayers her way for her health and her family,” he said.

Ellzey, a former commercial pilot who serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the Defense Subcommittee, credited Lockheed Martin for bringing out its F-35 simulator “so I can embarrass myself later.”

The F-35 is one of the best fighter jets in the world, better than combat drones, he said.

“Everybody wants this aircraft,” Ellzey said.

Jackson said F-35 production supports hundreds of small companies that supply parts for the aircraft.

“This program doesn’t just build cutting-edge aircraft,” Jackson said. “It builds careers, supports families and drives economic growth across the nation. It’s a reminder that when we invest in programs like the F-35, we’re investing in the future of America’s manufacturing and the strength of our communities.”

Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org. 

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