Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson arrives at Trump Tower for meetings with President-elect Donald Trump on January 13. | Getty ‘Close to a deal’ to cut cost of F-35, Lockheed CEO says after Trump meeting

After meeting with Donald Trump on Friday, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson said the company is “close to a deal” that will bring down the cost of the F-35 fighter jet — a favorite target of the president-elect.

“We had the opportunity to talk to him about the F-35 program and I certainly share his views that we need to get the best capability to our men and women in uniform and we have to get it at the lowest possible price,” Hewson told reporters after the meeting at Trump Tower in New York. “So I'm glad I had the opportunity to tell him that we are close to a deal that will bring the cost down significantly from the previous lot of aircraft to the next lot of aircraft and moreover it's going to bring a lot of jobs to the United States.”

She added: “When you think about the supply chain across 45 states in the U.S. it's going to be thousands and thousands of jobs,” she said. “And I also had the opportunity to give him some ideas on things we think we can do to continue to drive the cost down on the F-35 program so it was a great meeting.”

Hewson added that as production of the aircraft increases Lockheed will increase jobs in Fort Worth, Texas, by 1,800.