Inspiring the Next Generation of Mavericks

Aerospace & Defense

Decades of Excellence in Aerospace and Defense

Fort Worth companies have been building machines that dominate the skies since World War II – and these days, we’re expanding our arsenal.

As the longtime home of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II and more recently, Bell’s V-280 Valor, Fort Worth is leveraging its deep-rooted strengths in aerospace design, engineering, and manufacturing to support a broad range of commercial and defense applications that are reshaping the global economy.

Bell

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Bell – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc. – is headquartered in Fort Worth, and was the first company in the world to break the sound barrier in an aircraft in 1947. Today, the company supports 3,815 jobs in Fort Worth.

• Bell’s tilt-rotator V-280 Valor helicopter was recently selected as the new U.S. Army Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), a $1.3 billion contract that would replace the aging fleet of UH-60 Black Hawks.

• Bell is also pioneering the use of High-Speed Vertical Take-off and Landing (HSVTOL) technology that blends the hover capability of a helicopter with the speed, range and survivability features of a fighter aircraft.

• Bell recently made history by performing the first helicopter flight powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel.

Lockheed Martin

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Lockheed Martin has had a strong presence in Fort Worth for more than 75 years, quite literally making history at Air Force Plant 4.

• Formerly home to the B-24 Liberator and the F-16, Air Force Plan 4 is currently producing three varieties of the F-35 Lighting II – the world’s most advanced multi-role fighter jet, which provides unmatched capabilities and represents more than $3 billion in economic impact to the state of Texas.

• The entire fleet of aircraft has collectively accrued more than 623,000 flying hours to date, and it is built and sustained by more than 1,650 suppliers around the world – creating 298,000 direct and indirect jobs in the U.S. alone. (22,950 of those jobs are located in Fort Worth.)

• The local presence of Lockheed Martin’s famous Skunk Works continues to drive the company’s innovation forward.

You're In Good Company

GKN Aerospace

GKN Aerospace is a global company that develops, builds, and supplies an extensive range of advanced aerospace systems, and is an industry leader in additive manufacturing for materials, engines and other technologies.

The company has committed to relocating its North American additive manufacturing center of excellence to Fort Worth by 2024.
The 100,000 square-foot facility is expected to expand into the company’s fourth Global Technology Center – the only one of its kind in the U.S.

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Elbit Systems of America

Elbit Systems of America recently celebrated 40 years at their corporate headquarters in Fort Worth. This international high-tech company has a particular focus on developing and supplying a variety of airborne, land and naval systems and support services.

Their portfolio includes military aircraft / helicopter systems, commercial aviation systems and aerostructures, among others.
The company is now worth $1.6 billion, supplying 800 jobs to Fort Worth.

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An Environment for Innovation

• Fort Worth is home to the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ).

• Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) proving grounds allow public and private stakeholders to accelerate the development and commercialization of air mobility solutions.

• Partner organizations include Google’s Wing, Bell, NASA and others.

• Among Fort Worth’s other incentives, its unique R&D tax credit program allows the City to provide companies with grants that are equal to a percentage of their Fort Worth-based research and development costs. The performance-based grants are limited to the value of new property taxes created by the project, and can also be sold or assigned to other commercial projects.

• UTA Research Institute in Fort Worth (UTARI) offers the most thorough engineering program in North Texas and is an accredited Carnegie R-1 research institution, with a history of prototype development and patent production.

• UTARI is also home to the Institute for Predictive Performance Methodologies, where students and researchers model and study the performance of different advanced composites and polymers used in aerospace materials – ultimately reducing development time and maintenance costs for companies.

• Texas A&M University-Fort Worth – a Tier 1 research organization – is expanding its footprint in Downtown Fort Worth to become a mixed use urban campus and research center. Partnerships are already in the works with local companies like Lockheed Martin and Elbit Systems of America, among others.

To learn more about business opportunities available in Fort Worth, please get in touch.

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