WASHINGTON D.C.: Democratic and Republican governors have contacted President Joe Biden, urging him to continue the manufacturing of F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin Co.

Biden’s $753 billion national security budget request, expected to be delivered to Congress on Friday, will increase research and development spending to prepare for future warfare.

However, states became concerned following comments by Pentagon officials seeking to reduce expenditures.

At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Frank Kendall, Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Air Force, said “The key to keeping the cost down in an air fleet is getting the numbers up. There is a strong correlation between the size of the fleet and the cost of the fleet. In my view, we should get the cost down and keep the procurement at a rate that makes sense.”

Letters sent to Biden, according to Reuters, were written by four Democrats and one Republican governor. The governors noted that the F-35 fighter jet included components made in 48 states and Puerto Rico.

Further, the manufacturing of the jet is responsible for more than 245,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The F-35 is the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program, expected to cost over $1.7 trillion during its service life.

Earlier, Republican and Democratic Senators wrote to the heads of the Appropriations and Armed Services committees urging the purchase of additional fighter jets.

The 2022 budget submitted by the Biden administration is expected to request 85 F-35 jets for the U.S. armed services, with 48 going to the U.S. Air Force. The jets would be delivered in 2024.

In 2021, plans call for Lockheed to deliver 133 to 139 F-35 jets to both U.S. and international customers and partners.