On Tuesday, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed that a batch of F-35 stealth fighter jet spare parts belonging to the Royal Australian Air Force mysteriously diverted to Hong Kong while en route to the United States for repairs. This rare arms transport incident has shocked both the United States and Australia.
Authorities in the US Congress, Pentagon, and Australian Ministry of Defence have initiated a multinational investigation to prevent any leakage of top-notch stealth technology to China.
According to the US political media outlet Politico, which first reported the incident on September 18, three sources confirmed the rerouting of the faulty parts. The planned shipment of these parts from Williamtown in New South Wales, Australia to the US for repair in the summer was drastically altered during its Pacific transit and instead ended up in Hong Kong.
The parts, including an F-35 fighter jet canopy, were reported missing. The canopy is coated with highly specific radar-absorbing material, a core technology for the stealth capabilities of the fifth-generation aircraft.
Military analysts warn that even in a state of disrepair, if obtained by potential adversaries like China, analysis of the material and coating could potentially compromise the stealth technology of US fighter jets and lead to the development of counter-radar systems.
Minister Marles, when interviewed in Adelaide, confirmed being informed of the incident. He stressed that Australia’s export control system is functioning properly and mentioned that sensitive components were not included in the missing shipment. Australia is collaborating fully with the US and Lockheed Martin to investigate the incident.
The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office and US Department of Defense spokespersons confirmed awareness of the transportation issue of the parts. Efforts are underway to retrieve and establish preventive measures regarding these components. The US State Department and Department of Defense officials have been brief to Congress’s National Security Committee since June to investigate national security flaws in commercial logistics chains.
Lockheed Martin mentioned in their statement to the media that due to security reasons, they couldn’t discuss the specific status of the transportation. They emphasized strict adherence to US military and Defense Logistics Agency regulations and are fully cooperative in the investigation.
The Hong Kong government declined to comment to media outlets such as CNN. There is no concrete evidence yet that Chinese officials have obtained or dismantled the components.
This unusual transport incident once again raises concerns about the global supply chain security of the F-35. A previous report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that due to inventory tracking system flaws between the military and commercial contractors, the F-35 project had previously encountered situations where significant spare parts were “lost track of.”
The current focus of the Pentagon and US-Australian investigators, besides attempting to recover the diverted parts in Hong Kong, is to determine whether this was an act of “human error in the logistics system” or a deliberate “covert transport event involving hostile intelligence agencies.”