Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said Sept. 22 that Canberra is working with Washington and Lockheed Martin to investigate a shipment of F-35 spare parts that was diverted from Australia to Hong Kong, but said he does not believe the parts are “sensitive.”
POLITICO first reported Sept. 18 that a collection of F-35 parts handled by a Lockheed “intermediary” bound for the U.S. for repairs was diverted after leaving Australia and wound up in Hong Kong. The shipment included one of the F-35’s canopies, coated in radar-absorbing material, which was still missing, according to the outlet.
“We are examining very much everything that has occurred at the Australian end, 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,” Marles said, according to a government transcript. He said his “understanding” is “we’re not talking about sensitive parts here.”
The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office said officials “are aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components. We are actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence.”
A Lockheed spokesperson said the company “continues to work closely with the U.S. Government following this incident and we have complied fully with all laws, policies, and export‑control regulations.” The spokesperson added that the missing components “are unserviceable and deemed low risk for exploitation.”
The parts may have been sent from the F-35 Aircraft Sustainment Hub at Williamtown in New South Wales, which controls the transfer of spare parts for the F-35 across the Asia-Pacific region and was originally set up by BAE Systems, according to The Aviationist. The identity of the contractor responsible for transporting the components has not been publicly disclosed.
Australia operates 72 F-35A aircraft.
The incident follows a 2023 Government Accountability Office report that found over 1 million F-35 parts collectively valued at $85 million were unaccounted for, warning that number could be much higher.
Sources: Defense News · Breaking Defense