A shipment of classified Australian F-35 parts is missing after being unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong earlier this year.
First reported in Politico and later confirmed by the Pentagon, the shipment of components from Australia was bound for the United States for repairs before it was rerouted to Hong Kong and disappeared.
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China.
The shipment reportedly included an F-35 canopy, which is covered in a sensitive radar-absorbent material that degrades over time and requires subsequent repair or replacement. The nature of prior generations of radar-resistant canopy materials, such as gold used on the F-16 fighter jets from the late 1980s, were classified.
Australia does not possess a facility capable of repairing the canopies for the RAAF’s fleet of 72 F-35 fighters.
This shipment’s disappearance has triggered ongoing briefings throughout the US government as well as an American effort to retrieve it.
It is not clear why the shipment was diverted to Hong Kong, nor is it known which intermediary shipping provider carried the shipment on behalf of Lockheed Martin.
The F-35 program has long been a target for Chinese intelligence agencies. The acquisition of a F-35 canopy might allow China to copy the radar-resistant design on its own fleet of advanced fighter aircraft, or validate the quality of existing intelligence sources that may have previously supplied it with information on the jets.
ADM submitted a series of questions to the Department of Defence enquiring how the error was made and what action Defence is taking to protect classified information on Australia’s fighter fleet from foreign intelligence.
This is Defence's response in full:
“The Australian Government takes the protection of classified and export-controlled technologies extremely seriously.
“Australia maintains a robust export control regime administered by Defence in accordance with Australia’s export control legislative framework.”
The F-35 program stores spare parts around the world under the ownership of the Pentagon and the management of Lockheed Martin until the parts are installed on non-American jets.
Lockheed Martin is responsible for management of the spares pool and transports these components through commercial shipping providers.
“For security reasons, we can’t discuss the status of specific shipments or our shipping procedures," a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said to ADM. "What I can tell you is that Lockheed Martin follows all US regulations established by the Department of War and regulated by the Defense Logistics Agency regarding the shipment of aircraft components.
"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.”