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F-35 parts diversion to Hong Kong under probe in US Congress

Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News on

Published in Political News

A U.S. House committee that oversees defense policy is investigating the diversion of potentially sensitive F-35 fighter jet components this year from Australia to Hong Kong, a spokesperson said.

“The committee is aware of this issue and we’ve received multiple briefings on it,” said House Armed Services Committee spokesperson Heather Vaughan, adding the group is “continuing to look into the incident and conduct oversight.”

The Pentagon’s F-35 program office said in a statement that “we are aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 components and we are actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence.”

Politico reported on Friday that a shipment of F-35 parts bound for the U.S. for repairs was rerouted from Australia and ended up in Hong Kong, sparking concerns over reverse engineering of classified components of the fighter jet.

The program office declined to disclose the components or explain the term “unserviceable,” including whether the items were damaged beyond repair. Program officials are scheduled to brief committee staff as early as Tuesday, a U.S. official said.

The diversion of the parts is separate from the long-standing problem of inadequate Pentagon visibility into the program’s inventory. For the sixth straight year, failures in tracking spare parts and equipment for the fighter jet were a “material weakness” contributing to the continuing inability to achieve a successful account of the military’s finances, according to the Pentagon comptroller and inspector general.

 

Politico said an intermediary transported the parts on behalf of manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. The shipment ended up in Hong Kong, though it’s not clear why it was rerouted or who has possession of the components now.

The shipment included one of the jet’s canopies, which covers the cockpit and contains stealth technology that only the U.S. and its allies have access to, the publication said. Lockheed Martin manages the program’s overall supply chain and uses commercial shipping providers to transport parts.

Lockheed Martin said in a statement that the company “for security reasons can’t discuss the status of specific shipments or shipping procedures. Our teams handle every shipment with the utmost diligence and safeguards to ensure the integrity of the program and the security of our allied partners.”

Australia is the Indo-Pacific inventory hub for parts and maintenance of F-35s flown by Asian allies in the world’s largest aircraft program.


©2026 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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