His cockpit instruments locked onto a control tower, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner fired a GPS-controlled missile without enemy fighters detecting his presence.

A minute later, the missile struck its target. Gardner turned his F-35 Lightning II jet back home and safely landed on a U.S. Navy carrier to cheers and applause.

While Gardner did not actually fly the next generation stealth fighter – he sat in a demonstration cockpit at Ball Aerospace‘s Westminster facility on Monday, Oct. 10 – the experience was appreciated by the Republican lawmaker.

“It has incredible technology,” Gardner told The Statesman after his “flight.” “They combine modern digital imagery with GPS and computers, and enemy planes can’t intercept your communications.”

The F-35 cockpit demonstrator simulates the fighter aircraft’s advanced technologies and combat capabilities in an interactive environment. “Pilots” experience how advanced stealth, fighter agility and integrated operations make the F-35 the most capable multi-role fighter in the world.

Gardner said he has not actually flown in a fighter jet, but has been in the cockpit of a F-15.

Gardner visited the Ball facility on Monday, Oct. 10, to help honor the aerospace company for its selection by Lockheed Martin as a Top 25 supplier. Lockheed Martin selected Ball Aerospace to design, develop, manufacture and test the communications, navigation and identification integrated body antenna suite for the F-35 Lightning II.

The F-35 is described as the world’s most advanced military aircraft, according to information from Ball, and for over a decade, the U.S. and its allies have “invested in developing this 5th generation, international, multi-role fighter aircraft that will serve as a cornerstone of global security in the 21st century.” More than 180 F-35 are being flown by six nations, with close to 60,000 flight hours.

The F-35 is built for the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy, and the fighters are expected to be six times more effective than legacy fighters in air-to-air combat, five times more effective in air-to-ground combat, and six times more effective in reconnaissance and suppression of air defenses, all with better range and less logistic support, according to information from Ball.

The F-35 project involves 200 of Ball’s 500 employees in Westminster and generates $60 million a year in economic activity in the state, said Ball Vice-President and General Manager of Tactical Solution Robert Freedman. To date, Ball has manufactured 4,700 antenna suites for the F-35 and will make a total of 49,600 through 2040.

Gardner told officials and guests that while Colorado ranks third in the country for its aerospace presence, he’s more impressed with the state’s highest concentration of aerospace workers. With more than 3,000 defense contractors, Colorado employs 5.2 percent of those workers.

“Protecting the U.S. is our number one priority and every U.S. soldier, airman and all the others deserve to have the best equipment possible,” Gardner said. “We see so many provocative actions about every day that highlights the dangers. You should be proud that every F-35 flying today has Ball antennas to help protect our country.”

Gardner also said the Buckley Air Force Base is under consideration to host a squadron of F-35s.

Updated on Oct. 13 to clarify the number of Ball workers involved in the F-35 project and number of antennas expected to be manufactured through 2040.