Hill investigates after F

Hill investigates after F-35 parts diverted to Hong Kong The incident raises the possibility that top secret weapons technology may have been exposed to a foreign adversary — including China. 09/18/2026 11:55 AM EDT Sensitive F-35 fighter jet technology was unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong this summer, sparking an inquiry on Capitol Hill and raising the possibility that China could have access to key components of the highly classified weapon system. A shipment of F-35 parts bound for the United States for repairs was rerouted as it transited the Pacific Ocean from Australia, according to three people familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. The Pentagon confirmed the disappearance of some components. The parts, which an intermediary was transporting on behalf of F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin, instead wound up in Hong Kong. It’s not clear why the equipment was rerouted or who has possession of it now. The incident, which has not been previously reported, triggered an ongoing series of briefings for congressional staff on key national security committees. State Department and Pentagon officials first briefed staff in June, according to the people, and multiple additional briefings are expected in the coming weeks. The shipment included one of the jet’s canopies, which covers the cockpit and contains stealth technology that only the U.S. and its allies have access to, according to two of the people. An adversary could study the parts and potentially reverse-engineer the prized technology if it had one of the canopies. The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement it was “aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components.” The office is working with U.S. authorities and industry partners “to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence,” it added. The shipment’s unexpected diversion to Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, would have brought it into Beijing’s sphere of influence. China has in recent years tightened its grip on the city and enacted increasingly strict national security laws that allow Chinese authorities to influence Hong Kong’s political system and crack down on dissent. China has already engaged in widespread espionage on secret Pentagon programs, including the F-35. “It’s no secret that China has been aggressively trying to get F-35 data through electronic espionage, among other means,” said J.J. Gertler, a former House Armed Services Committee staff member and Congressional Research Service military aviation analyst. “But even if they already had specifications or other data about the part, possessing a real one can give them even more to go on and can verify or refine whatever they already had learned.” The F-35 supply chain is a vast, global operation that relies on facilities across multiple countries to move and repair parts. And while there are Australian maintenance depots for the jet, none are yet capable of repairing canopies. F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin manages the program’s overall supply chain and uses commercial shipping providers to transport parts. Lockheed said in a statement it couldn’t discuss the status of shipments for security reasons but follows all U.S. regulations for shipping 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,” it said. The canopy, a critical component of the F-35’s stealth capabilities, is an acrylic bubble that tops the cockpit and is coated with a thin layer of transparent radar absorbent material that helps hide the plane from enemy radar. According to the Air Force’s own description, that layer of stealth protection can degrade over time, prompting the repair or replacement of canopies among the more than 1,300 fighter jets that have been produced for the U.S. and its allies. The State Department declined to comment. The Chinese Embassy said it was not familiar with the incident. The F-35 program, which includes the U.S. and other nations such as the U.K., Australia, Denmark, Norway and Poland, has a unique way of managing the flow of aircraft parts. Countries have access to a shared pool of spare parts stored around the globe that the Defense Department owns until the parts are on the fighter jet. Although the Defense Department has stepped up oversight of the F-35 supply chain in recent years, it does not account for spare parts in the pool — Lockheed does. A Government Accountability Office report from 2023 found that more than 1 million F-35 spare parts have gone missing in the past five years. The watchdog agency concluded the department hasn’t been able to review spare part losses worth tens of millions of dollars because Lockheed controls the information. “The F-35 Joint Program Office does not track or enter these spare parts into an accountable property system of record that would enable it to capture and store real-time changes to property records,” the report said. “The prime contractors maintain this information.” Spare parts shortages mean the fighter jet is often grounded. While sustainment costs have continued to increase, the F-35 has not met performance goals and performance “has trended down,” according to a GAO report from this year. The program is on track to be the world’s costliest, and the Pentagon expects to spend almost $2 trillion over the course of its lifespan.