F-35 parts diverted to Hong Kong: Has China gained access to US stealth tech?

Sensitive components of the F-35 fighter jet were unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong while being shipped from Australia to the United States for repairs, prompting a US investigation and congressional briefings over the possibility that highly classified technology could have fallen within China's reach.The shipment was rerouted while crossing the Pacific, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke to Politico on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon has confirmed that some of the F-35 components went missing.The parts were being transported by an intermediary for F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin but ended up in Hong Kong. It remains unclear why the shipment was diverted or who currently has possession of the components.The incident, which had not previously been reported, prompted State Department and Pentagon officials to brief congressional staff working on key national security committees. The first briefings took place in June, with further meetings expected in the coming weeks, according to Politico.F-35 canopy raises security concernsThe shipment included an F-35 cockpit canopy, according to two people familiar with the matter. The canopy incorporates stealth technology available only to the US and its allies.An adversary with access to the component could potentially study it and attempt to reverse-engineer aspects of the technology.The Pentagon's F-35 Joint Program Office said it was "aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components".The office said it was working with US authorities and industry partners "to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence".J.J. Gertler, a former House Armed Services Committee staff member and Congressional Research Service military aviation analyst, told Politico that China has sought F-35 data through espionage.Even if China already possessed technical specifications or other information about the components, Gertler said, access to an actual part could help verify or refine what it had obtained.Hong Kong diversion puts supply chain under scrutinyThe diversion to Hong Kong has raised concerns because the city is a special administrative region of China and Beijing has tightened its control over Hong Kong in recent years.The F-35 programme relies on a vast international supply chain involving the US and allied countries including the UK, Australia, Denmark, Norway and Poland. Lockheed Martin manages the programme's overall supply chain and uses commercial shipping providers to move components.Australia has maintenance facilities for F-35s, but none is currently equipped to repair the aircraft's canopies, according to Politico.The canopy is an acrylic cockpit enclosure coated with a thin layer of transparent radar-absorbent material designed to reduce the aircraft's visibility to enemy radar. The coating can degrade over time, requiring canopies to be repaired or replaced.Lockheed Martin said it could not discuss individual shipments for security reasons but follows US regulations governing the transportation 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," the company said.The State Department declined to comment on the report to Politico, while the Chinese embassy said it was not familiar with the incident.The episode has also drawn attention to longstanding concerns over F-35 spare-parts tracking. A 2023 government accountability office report found that more than one million F-35 spare parts had gone missing over a five-year period and said the Pentagon lacked adequate visibility into some losses because Lockheed Martin maintained the relevant records.The F-35 programme has also faced continuing concerns over spare-parts shortages and rising sustainment costs. The Pentagon expects the programme to cost nearly $2 trillion over its lifetime.