Australia investigates after F-35 fighter jet parts bound for US land up in Hong Kong
Por Maroosha Muzaffar — – World RSS Feed
Australia investigates after F-35 fighter jet parts bound for US land up in Hong Kong
Australian defence minister says the country is working with US and Lockheed Martin to investigate what happened
Maroosha Muzaffar Tuesday 22 September 2026 08:58 BST
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Australia has confirmed that F-35 fighter jet components shipped from the country were diverted to Hong Kong, prompting a security investigation into how the parts ended up there and whether sensitive military technology could have been exposed.
Australian defence minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday that Australia was working with the US and F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin to investigate what happened.
He said there was no indication that technologically sensitive equipment had been lost.
“We are obviously working with the United States and obviously its prime contractor here, Lockheed Martin, in respect of this.
“We are examining very much everything that has occurred at the Australian end,” he said.
open image in galleryThe shipment reportedly included an F-35 canopy containing stealth technology that only the US and its allies have access to. The canopy is covered with a transparent radar-absorbent material designed to reduce the aircraft’s visibility to enemy radar.
However, Mr Marles said that the parts were not technologically sensitive. “My understanding is that there is a sense of comfort, that we’re not talking about sensitive equipment here, or sensitive parts,” he said.
“Ultimately though, this is an issue which is going to be managed by the US and Lockheed.”
Australia’s confirmation comes after a report in Politico said a shipment of F-35 components bound for the US for repairs was diverted to Hong Kong while travelling from Australia earlier this year. Three people familiar with the matter told the outlet that the Pentagon had confirmed some components were missing.
China has previously been accused of espionage targeting classified US defence programmes, including the F-35.
The diversion raised concerns in Washington about whether China could gain access to technology from the F-35 programme. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China.
It remains unclear why the shipment was rerouted or who currently has possession of the components.
Politico reported that the parts were being transported by an intermediary working for Lockheed Martin, the US company that manufactures the F-35.
The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office said it was “aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components”.
open image in galleryIt said it was working with US authorities and industry partners “to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence”.
Lockheed Martin said in a statement that it could not “discuss the status of specific shipments or our shipping procedures” for “security reasons”.
“What I can tell you is that Lockheed Martin follows all US regulations established by the Department of War and regulated by the Defence Logistics Agency (DLA) regarding the shipment of aircraft components,” they said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Our teams handle every shipment with the utmost diligence and safeguards to ensure the integrity of the F 35 program and the security of our allied partners.”
Australia operates 72 F-35 aircraft and is among the countries that share access to a global pool of spare parts for the programme.
The F-35 supply chain spans multiple countries, with Lockheed Martin responsible for managing the wider network and commercial companies involved in transporting components.
Australian facilities maintain F-35 aircraft but are reportedly not currently equipped to repair canopies.
A 2023 US Government Accountability Office report found that more than one million F-35 spare parts had gone missing over a five-year period. The watchdog found that the department was unable to fully account for spare-part losses worth tens of millions of dollars because Lockheed Martin controls the relevant records.
Defence analyst John Conway told ABC that the F-35 programme contains thousands of components, many of which are routine rather than technologically sensitive.
“There are thousands of components in an F-35. Some are routine in what they are and what they do, others are more sensitive,” he said.
“I’m sure it will be readily investigated … but a lot of the F-35s components are not sensitive in their own right.
“This is a highly regulated supply chain. Defence will have sufficient visibility to conduct a proper investigation.”
The Independent has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
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F-35AustraliaUSHong KongLockheed MartinChinaPentagon
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