Texas-sized factory pumping out very cool planes

FORT WORTH, Texas - Everything is bigger in Texas -- the cowboy hats, the belt buckles, the steaks, and the factories.

Lockheed Martin's production line here, where the U.S. defence giant manufacturers the F-35 stealth fighter jet, is actually more than two kilometres long.

And putting aside the mounting concerns of the program, the F-35 and the factory here have a very high cool-factor. If it weren't so restricted, a visit to the facility should definitely be on the to-do list of anyone who's ever had a fighter jet poster on his wall.

But critics aren't swayed by the cool quotient, and are sounding the alarm bells that the jets' price will skyrocket.

In Canada, the Parliamentary budget officer released a report earlier this year cautioning the planned purchase of 65 F-35s to replace the country's aging fleet of CF-18s could double to nearly $30 billion.

And a U.S. Senate committee heard recently the U.S. planes, which are expected to total nearly 2,500, could hit $1 trillion over the next 50 years.

But Lockheed Martin is pushing back, and this week opened its doors to the international media to showcase the plane, its capabilities, and what the company insists is an affordable price tag, despite the reports.