FORT WORTH, Texas — In fiery remarks at Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter aircraft plant in Fort Worth, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke Monday of prioritizing defense spending, saying it was imperative to rebuild the “arsenal of freedom” by getting advanced weapon systems into the hands of the military.

Last week, President Donald Trump said the defense budget will increase by more than 50% in 2027, rising to $1.5 trillion. At Lockheed Martin, Hegseth said that money will be spent re-establishing America’s military might, stressing that the administration is looking to unleash the country’s defense resources in the preservation of peace.

But Hegseth cautioned that defense contracts will be granted to companies based on their ability to deliver a superior product quickly, and he promised that large and small manufacturers will compete for those contracts on an equal playing field.

“We ultimately don’t care what the name is on the side of the missile or the plane,” Hegseth said, before adding that he hopes Lockheed Martin wins “a lot” of new defense contracts, pointing to the company’s decades-long track record of success, which goes back to World War II.

Speaking on the factory floor in front of a newly finished F-35, Hegseth thanked the roughly 1,000 plant employees in attendance for their contributions in providing weapons for America’s military.

Hegseth received a warm reception from the crowd, who cheered many of the secretary’s points, including his remarks about social issues.

‘No more dudes in dresses’

On Jan. 7, President Trump issued an executive order barring defense contractors from paying stockholder dividends or buying back stocks if their production speeds lag or if they are deemed to be underperforming on their contracts, among other requirements.

“Although some contractors have made critical investments in increased production capacity and been responsive to our Nation’s vital interests, far more have not,” read part of the executive order. “Many large contractors — while underperforming on existing contracts — pursue newer, more lucrative contracts, stock buy-backs and excessive dividends to shareholders at the cost of production capacity, innovation and on-time delivery.”

During his remarks, Hegseth — whom Trump gave the title secretary of war in September — said he wanted to revive the “warrior ethos” in the U.S. That means eliminating bureaucratic red tape at the Pentagon and rewarding defense manufacturers that take risks in developing new products.

It also means, Hegseth said, eliminating “distractions” around what the Trump administration has referred to as “woke ideology.”

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

F-35 is nation’s ‘most ambitious and costly weapon system’

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The visit to Fort Worth was part of Hegseth’s “ Arsenal of Freedom” tour, which has taken him to defense industry facilities in Virginia and California in recent days. Hegseth also visited SpaceX in Brownsville on Monday.

Final assembly of the F-35 takes place in Fort Worth, and its production directly and indirectly supports an estimated 49,000 jobs in this area. The estimated regional economic impact is north of $9 billion. All told, 1,900 companies contribute to the F-35 project, according to Hegseth.

But following President Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory, there were worries the F-35 program could be sunset.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who was preparing to lead a newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, publicly said the F-35 was too expensive and suffered from design flaws. At the time, Musk advocated for greater investment in drone technology as opposed to manned fighter aircraft.

A report put out last year by the U.S. Government Accountability Office called the F-35 the nation’s “most ambitious and costly weapon system.” The report went on to say the aircraft will cost the U.S. roughly $2 trillion over the coming decades in production and sustainment costs.

Meanwhile, the same report said the F-35 has suffered from reliability issues in recent years. Between fiscal year 2019 and 2024, the aircraft, which is used by the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, never met its readiness target. In 2024, the Navy’s F-35C aircraft were only available to perform at least one mission task 22% of the time.

However, a Lockheed Martin spokesman said a lot of variables go into the readiness metric. For example, he said if an aircraft doesn’t have a certain minimum amount of fuel, it could be deemed unready. As far as what Lockheed Martin controls, the spokesman said company engineers are working to make the F-35 easier to maintain in the field.

Last summer, the U.S. Department of Defense reduced its order of F-35s for the 2026 fiscal year from 74 to 47. For 2025, though, Lockheed Martin broke a record in delivering 191 F-35s, surpassing the previous by nearly 50 aircraft.

In September, Lockheed Martin received a contract worth $24.3 billion to deliver 294 of the F-35s for the U.S. and allied nations.

Late last year, Trump said the U.S. would begin selling the F-35 to Saudi Arabia. In addition to the U.S., 19 countries fly or have placed orders for the aircraft.

Politicians who attended Hegseth’s speech included Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Mayor Mattie Parker, and U.S. Reps. Roger Williams and Craig Goldman.

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