Australia probes disappearance of F-35 parts diverted to Hong Kong

Politico reports diverted shipment included a stealth-technology canopy

The parts, which were being transported by another unknown third party on behalf of manufacturer Lockheed Martin, still remain unaccounted for months later following their unplanned diversion to Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. The last known location of the fighter jet components has sparked concern that some of the program’s technology secrets could have been exposed.

Marles told reporters on Tuesday that the Department of Defence would examine “very much everything that has occurred at the Australian end” of the shipment. “We are examining [Australia’s involvement], but the point I would make here is that we are confident about the way in which we’ve engaged with the program, and through the US’s prime contractor, Lockheed,” he said. “My understanding is that there is a sense of comfort, and we’re not talking about sensitive equipment here, or sensitive parts.” He added that, “ultimately, though, this is an issue which is going to be managed by the United States and by Lockheed in terms of what has occurred.”

Politico, which first reported the incident over the weekend, cited sources saying the “sensitive” shipment contained one of the jet’s canopies, a component that reportedly contains stealth technology. The Guardian has contacted the Pentagon for comment.

Michael Shoebridge, a director for Strategic Analysis Australia who has worked in intelligence agencies, said there were two reasons China, or another adversary, would want F-35 parts: to reverse engineer them, or to learn how to better exploit and attack them. He described the shipment’s stop in Hong Kong as “such an unexpectedly stupid thing” for the manufacturer or Australia to do.

“This is an act of incredible ineptitude and stupidity, and so it’s more the Chinese taking advantage of an incredible stroke of luck brought to them by the stupidity of the people involved,” Shoebridge said.

Shoebridge warned that the missing shipment could leave the whole multibillion-dollar F-35 fleet vulnerable. “They’re all now carrying the risk of whatever vulnerabilities this has brought to the aircraft,” he said. “So it’s not just a US-Australia issue. It’s every operator of the F-35 program [that] has an interest in understanding what happened and what was potentially exposed.”

Australia was one of the early development partners in the F-35 program, which spreads the development, supply, management, and sustainment of the fighter jets across different countries. More than 70 Australian companies hold production and sustainment contracts with the program; in excess of 700 of the fighter jet’s “critical pieces” are manufactured in Victoria alone, according to the state government. Australia also hosts a regional distribution hub for F-35 parts in New South Wales, and Australian companies in the program’s supply chain had been awarded contracts valued at over $5.2 billion as of September 2025.

Separately, the US State Department announced last week that the Trump administration would continue with the sale of 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia, despite reported concerns from the US intelligence community that China could obtain some of the stealth technology.