US Congress investigates diversion of sensitive F-35 parts to Hong Kong: report
Por Simpson Cheung — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Hong Kong politics Hong Kong US Congress investigates diversion of sensitive F-35 parts to Hong Kong: report
Jet’s canopies among components missing, sparking fears of potential reverse engineering, as city’s authorities decline to comment
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Simpson Cheung Published: 3:08pm, 20 Sep 2026
The United States Congress has reportedly launched a probe after a shipment of sensitive F-35 fighter jet parts was said to have been unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong and went missing, with the city’s authorities declining to comment on the case.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong government said over the weekend that it would not comment on individual cases, a day after US media outlet Politico published the report.
Citing three anonymous sources, Politico said the F-35 parts were shipped from Australia to the United States for repairs and were diverted to Hong Kong as they transited the Pacific Ocean this summer.
The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office confirmed it was “aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components”, saying it was working with US authorities and industry partners “to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence”.
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