Two recent developments offer a window into the state of Fort Worth’s important contributions to the national defense.
On Dec. 17, Gov. Greg Abbott was in town to herald a huge Bell Textron Inc. development in north Fort Worth. Buoyed by a massive Army contract for the V-280 Valor helicopter, Bell will add more than 500 good-paying jobs in its hometown. Mayor Mattie Parker and other local leaders, who worked to entice Bell to do the work here, took a well-deserved victory lap, too.
Then, there’s been days of chatter about the future of the F-35 fighter program, built substantially at Lockheed Martin’s venerable Fort Worth facility. Elon Musk, the electric car/tech magnate advising President-elect Donald Trump on reductions to federal spending, singled out the fighter project as wasteful on his X platform.
We’re tempted to say that one represents the real world and the other virtual blather. But any threat to Fort Worth’s vital defense programs (and jobs) must be met forcefully with facts and, well, a strong defense. The F-35, according to Lockheed, supports nearly 50,000 jobs in the area .