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Simpson Cheung

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 reported the story.
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 Programme 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”.
The US State Department declined to comment when reached by Politico, while the Chinese embassy reportedly said it was not aware of the incident.
According to the report, US State Department and Pentagon officials first briefed congressional staff on key national security committees about the incident in June, with multiple additional briefings expected in the coming weeks.
Two sources told Politico that the shipment included one of the jet’s canopies, which covered the cockpit and contained stealth technology that only the US and its allies had access to, sparking fears of potential reverse engineering.
F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin managed the programme’s overall supply chain and used commercial shipping providers to transport parts.
The company said in a statement it would not discuss the status of shipments for security reasons but stressed it followed all US regulations for shipping aircraft components.
“Our teams handle every shipment with the utmost diligence and safeguards to ensure the integrity of the F-35 programme and the security of our allied partners,” it said.
In recent years, the US Defence Department has stepped up oversight of the F-35 supply chain. However, Lockheed Martin, rather than the department, accounted for spare parts in the pool.
A 2023 Government Accountability Office report found that more than 1 million F-35 spare parts had gone missing in the past five years.
The watchdog agency concluded the department had not been able to review spare part losses worth tens of millions of US dollars because Lockheed Martin controlled the information.


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A pilot prepares an F-35A Lightning II aircraft at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. Photo: AFP

The Pentagon in Washington. The Pentagon has said it is working with US authorities and industry partners “to retrieve these components, investigate the incident and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence”. Photo: AFP

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Jet’s canopy among components missing, sparking fears of potential reverse engineering, as city’s authorities decline to comment


Jet’s canopy among components missing, sparking fears of potential reverse engineering, as city’s authorities decline to comment.


US Congress investigates diversion of sensitive F-35 parts to Hong Kong: report

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Jet’s canopy among components missing, sparking fears of potential reverse engineering, as city’s authorities decline to comment

Jet’s canopy among components missing, sparking fears of potential reverse engineering, as city’s authorities decline to comment