Chinese authorities seized unserviceable Lockheed Martin F-35 components after a shipping error diverted the cargo to Hong Kong. The shipment included a cockpit canopy and a weapons-bay door coated with sensitive radar-absorbing materials. UPS mistakenly diverted the parts while transporting them from Australia to the U.S. for repairs or disposal.
The Pentagon, U.S. congressional committees, and the Australian government have launched investigations into the security breach. The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office and Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the mishap. Both nations are currently working with industry partners to retrieve the components and implement new shipping safeguards.
While the components were labeled unserviceable, the incident raises significant concerns regarding the potential reverse-engineering of stealth technology.