The components included a cockpit canopy and weapons bay door, both coated with radar-absorbing material that enhances the F-35's ability to evade radar. The technology behind the aircraft's stealth capabilities took the United States decades to perfect.
China said it was not aware of any such incident. However, the development has drawn attention to China's influence in Hong Kong, where Beijing has strengthened its grip in recent years through strict national security laws that allow authorities to crack down on dissent in the city.
The F-35 is the centrepiece of American air power, and much of its value rests on secrecy. China's access to such components could potentially provide its military with insights into sensitive US technologies that help the F-35 evade radar and could expose vulnerabilities.
Over the years, the US has closely guarded F-35 technologies. This is why Washington has been reluctant to sell the jet to countries other than its NATO allies. However, Donald Trump, in a rare move, approved the sale of 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia last week.
The concern within US security circles is that China could reverse-engineer the F-35 components to improve its own stealth aircraft, such as the J-20 and J-35. China could also potentially develop countermeasures that weaken the advantage the F-35 was built to provide.
"It is no secret that China has been aggressively trying to get F-35 data through electronic espionage, among other means," JJ Gertler, a military aviation analyst, told Politico.
"However, possessing a real one (jet parts) can give them even more to go on and can verify or refine whatever they already had learned," he further said.
The potential breach in the shipping chain has therefore become a serious matter for Australia and the US.
But how did the F-35 parts reach Hong Kong in the first place?
The Australian air force fleet includes 72 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets. In May, shipping giant UPS was tasked with transporting the components to the US.
Data showed that the shipment stopped in South Korea while en route to the US. From there, it was inexplicably diverted to Hong Kong.
Bloomberg reported that the Chinese government later took possession of the parts and has not returned them so far.
Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the F-35, manages the overall supply chain and uses commercial shipping providers to transport parts.
So far, neither Australia nor the US has been able to explain why and how the equipment was rerouted, despite four months having passed.
The Pentagon has said in a statement that it was aware of a "shipment issue" involving unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components. It said efforts were underway to retrieve the components and "place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence".
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles admitted that the parts were in Hong Kong but underlined that they were not sensitive.
"This is ultimately a matter for the US and Lockheed, as its prime contractor and the contractor that is responsible for managing the global supply chain," Marles told the media.
One thing to note is that while the US Defence Department oversees the F-35 supply chain, the spare parts are accounted for by Lockheed Martin.
According to a 2023 accountability report, more than 1 million F-35 spare parts have gone missing over the past five years, Politico reported. The losses of spare parts extend to tens of millions of dollars.
However, the latest incident marks possibly the first time that such sensitive US technology has fallen into China's hands, putting renewed focus on how F-35 components are tracked and transported through the global supply chain.
About The Author
Comment List