Nestled in the cockpit of a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II demonstrator in Kinston, an instructor watches as you get comfortable with the gadgets.
“Prepare for takeoff,” he says calmly before launching a supersonic simulation.
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Gripping a control stick in your right hand and modulating throttle in your left, the runway rushes toward you with the help of afterburners producing 43,000 pounds of thrust.
In an instant, you’re flying at 23,000 feet, faster than the speed of sound.
“This is the most advanced, survivable and lethal platform that’s in existence in the fighter world,” the instructor reminds you before launching into his spiel on how to deploy a missile.
What feels like a fancy video game is an important tool not just for the military, but also for North Carolina’s economy.
The F-35 is one of the world’s most advanced fighter jets. It generates more than $600 million annually for North Carolina’s economy and supports almost 5,000 jobs and about two dozen companies across the state producing components for the aircraft, according to Lockheed.
The demonstrator at the Lenoir Community College’s Aviation Center for Excellence at the North Carolina Global TransPark helps develop the aerospace maintenance workers and engineers who work on jets attached to North Carolina squadrons at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and elsewhere in the state.
The aviation center provides hands-on aviation training through classrooms, maintenance laboratories, flight simulators and a heated aircraft hangar designed to prepare students for careers in aviation, aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
“This is very important for North Carolina,” U.S. Rep. Don Davis, an Air Force veteran who represents a northeastern North Carolina district, said at the aviation center on Wednesday. “We’re open and we’re trying to do everything we can to create some real opportunities."
Statewide effort
North Carolina has one of the nation’s biggest populations due to installations such as Cherry Point, Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro. But the state ranks in the bottom half of states in total defense-related economic activity and research-and-development spending, state officials said in a strategic economic development plan released this year.
“As federal defense agencies increasingly prioritize rapid commercialization, domestic manufacturing, and operational deployment, states with coordinated innovation ecosystems are best positioned to capture emerging opportunities,” officials said in the plan.
In the past few years, the state has landed a host of expansions by private defense companies. Air Force-backed JetZero last year said it would create a U.S. manufacturing hub in Greensboro with plans to employ more than 14,000 people. That’s on top of several other expansion announcements by makers of everything from jet engines to rare-earth metals.
Last month, Gov. Josh Stein and the state Department of Commerce announced the launch of an advisory group — North Carolina Advisory Leaders for Innovation Growth in National Security — focused on strengthening North Carolina’s position in defense research, innovation, advanced manufacturing and technology commercialization.
“North Carolina’s future economic success depends on our ability to connect research, innovation, talent, and industry to emerging national security solutions,” Stein said in a statement last month. “NC ALIGN brings together exceptional leaders from across sectors to help ensure our state remains competitive for the investments, technologies, and high-quality jobs that will continue to evolve our defense economy and drive growth for decades to come.”
In the weeks since that announcement, Skyeton Inc., a manufacturer of unmanned aerial systems, said it would invest $3.1 million and create 162 jobs at its first flagship manufacturing operation in the U.S.
On Tuesday, Silentium Defense, an Australian maker of surveillance radars, opened its U.S. headquarters in Apex. The company considered Huntsville, Alabama, and other cities in states with economies that are more entrenched in the aerospace and defense sectors. But the company chose Apex in part because of its proximity to Fort Bragg and better infrastructure. “And Apex offered a lot of talent,” Matthew Ratnesar, Silentium’s chief executive for North America, said Tuesday. “There's a lot of tech in the area, and obviously, it's about where we can raise families and our employees can raise families and have a good culture.”
He added in a statement: “With its growing defense ecosystem, highly skilled technical talent, and partner network, we are committed to creating value for the local North Carolina community and supporting U.S. defense customers at scale.”
Aviation center
In Kinston, the federal government is expected to create more than 400 defense jobs at Global TransPark. The U.S. Navy signed a 10-year lease at the park, where it plans to fix and overhaul planes for all branches of the military at the airfield and industrial site through its Fleet Readiness Center East.
State lawmakers in 2023 approved a $350 million loan for improvements at Global TransPark to accommodate the Navy. The deal is expected to bring in about $15 million per year. The project emerged as an aircraft repair facility at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point began running out of space. Cherry Point will be home to six F-35 squadrons, which will provide high-paying jobs in this region of the state.
That’s why the simulations Wednesday were more than just show-and-tell.
“The future of aerospace is being built right here in North Carolina,” Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt said in a statement. “When we invest in partnerships between our communities and our industries, we create more economic opportunities across our state. The F-35 program represents the kind of innovation and collaboration that keeps North Carolina leading the way.”
Back at the simulator, an enemy jet flashes across the screen.
The instructor presses buttons on the touchscreen control panel.
A virtual missile fires. The enemy threat is neutralized.
Moments later, more instructions: Push the control stick forward to bring the nose down.
Straighten out.
You’re on your final descent, even if you’re still a bit crooked.
