Congress is investigating the diversion of sensitive F-35 fighter-jet equipment to Hong Kong after a shipment intended for repairs in the United States was rerouted while crossing the Pacific Ocean from Australia this summer.
The Pentagon has confirmed that some components disappeared from the shipment, which was being carried by an intermediary acting for Lockheed Martin, the F-35 manufacturer. The equipment ultimately reached Hong Kong.
The shipment included an F-35 canopy, the structure over the cockpit. The canopy contains stealth technology available only to the United States and its allies. The case has therefore brought particular scrutiny to the handling of parts from the fighter programme.
State Department and Pentagon officials first briefed congressional staff in June. Further briefings are expected in the coming weeks as lawmakers seek information about the diversion and the effort to recover the equipment.
The Pentagon's F-35 Joint Program Office said it knew of a problem involving a shipment of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components. It said it was working with US authorities and industry partners to retrieve the components, investigate what happened and put safeguards in place to prevent a future occurrence.
Several central details remain unclear. The available information does not establish how the shipment was redirected, whether through technical interference, human error, an intentional diversion or a customs breach. It also does not establish whether any party in Hong Kong retained or used the technology, whether the equipment travelled onward, or whether other highly sensitive components were involved.
The identity of those who made decisions at the transport intermediary, and any possible co-conspirators, has also not been made public. Nor is it known whether the case was an isolated failure or part of a wider pattern of diversions.
The incident comes against an established record of problems in the Pentagon's accounting for F-35 equipment. A 2023 report by the Government Accountability Office found that more than 1 million F-35 spare parts had gone missing in the past five years.
The Government Accountability Office, Congress's audit body, concluded that the Department of Defense had been unable to examine spare-part losses worth tens of millions of dollars because Lockheed controlled the relevant information. That finding preceded the diversion now under investigation.
The Hong Kong case gives those earlier concerns a more immediate security dimension. The Pentagon's recovery effort and investigation will determine whether the rerouting exposed further weaknesses in the supply chain and whether the safeguards it has promised can address them.
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