F-35 parts were sent from Australia to Hong Kong: How a shipping error put sensitive US stealth technology near China

A consignment of parts for the F-35 Lightning II, one of the most highly classified combat jets globally, took a surprising route via Hong Kong after a failure to receive a warning about US export controls, Bloomberg reported. The incident has raised questions about how a standard logistics process allowed the shipment of sensitive F-35 parts through an area US law sought to avoid.

The consignment carried an F-35 cockpit canopy and a weapons bay door that were allegedly covered with radar-absorbent material. They were meant to be transported from Australia to the United States for either repair or disposal, but something went awry in the process.

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Initially, it was agreed that the parts should have been shipped via South Korea and Taiwan before getting to San Francisco, sources close to the issue told Bloomberg. They are both defence allies of the US.

However, due to a delay in shipping the consignment from Australia, the route through South Korea and Taiwan was scrapped in favour of Hong Kong.

The fact becomes especially delicate since Hong Kong falls under the control of China, which has always tried to obtain information about the technology behind the F-35, the most advanced stealth fighter in service of America.

A missed warning changed the shipment's route

The alleged problem started with an email.

As reported in Bloomberg, a freight forwarder, DSV A/S, had raised the concern about F-35 parts being covered under the United States' International Traffic in Arms Regulations ITAR, which is a set of regulations that control how the defense technology of America moves and is designed to stop the sensitive material from reaching unauthorised locations.

DSV was the agent for Lockheed Martin, the maker of the F-35.

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The email stated that the parts would not go through certain countries, but this information did not seem to have been heeded by the UPS employee. As noted in one of the sources quoted by Bloomberg, it is possible that the email sent by DSV arrived via a different system than the one used by the agent at the UPS station.

This seemingly trivial mistake became crucial in the context of re-routing the shipment to Hong Kong.

The example shows that even though the security restrictions can be implemented via very modern and advanced technologies, they remain subject to the basic principles of logistics and human decision-making. The ban can be written down, but unless it is seen and respected, it does not have any effect.

Why the F-35 components matter

The design of the F-35 is based on stealth, and its capability to minimise radar detection is one of the characteristics of the jet.

The components sent through Hong Kong allegedly carried radar-absorbent materials meant to assist in minimising the jet’s radar signature. These do not make up the whole of the stealth system of the F-35, but their inclusion makes this delivery much more sensitive than an ordinary aircraft component.

These components were allegedly being shipped back to the US at the end of May in anticipation of repairs or disposal.

Diana Maurer, who supervises F-35 support reviews at the Government Accountability Office, informed Bloomberg that the fact that China had an F-35 canopy was very worrying.

She stated that Chinese experts would try to examine the material and find out what sort of information the material may contain on the plane.

That is one of the reasons why this case has received much attention in Washington.

China has been working for many years on its fifth-generation fighter planes and it has been following the technology behind the American F-35. Its J-20 is operational, and there is competition in the region through other stealth aircraft.

Hence, the F-35 project is all about technology that is considered strategic by Washington.

Pentagon and State Department examine what went wrong

The unexpected transit of the ship has sparked an inquiry which involves US officials.

The Pentagon and State Department are looking into the issue, while members of Congress have also urged an audit of the supply chains that carry American military equipment.

It is not only the two F-35 components that raised concerns.

The United States runs an extensive international logistics system for its defence sector. It involves contractors, transport firms, military facilities and allies. F-35 project supports 20 countries; thus, parts regularly cross borders.

Thus, ensuring logistics compliance becomes an integral part of the F-35 programme protection.

Logistics of most of the parts for the F-35 project is the responsibility of Lockheed Martin. According to the statement quoted by Bloomberg, the company said that logistics decisions were not unilaterally made and that it used the carriers in accordance with governmental requirements.

Also, the company stated that it worked with its logistics partners in order to tighten control over the situation and avoid such incidents in the future.

When confronted by Bloomberg with more information about Hong Kong transshipments, the company did not see anything to add or change in the sequence of events.

The bigger concern is the F-35 supply chain

In all probability, the issue will not be considered simply an error made with respect to one cargo shipment.

An international chain of command is necessary in the F-35 program because the planes are flown and serviced in several countries. In the course of movement of parts from manufacturers to maintenance facilities and military consumers, there appear various possibilities of making an administrative error.

US export controls are designed precisely to prevent such sensitive goods from being shipped to unauthorised destinations.

The route of the Hong Kong shipment demonstrates how one shipment gets off track in case of delays, miscommunications and transport issues.

However, it is necessary to separate the question of availability of the hardware component from the question of availability of the technology of the whole F-35. There are no proven facts suggesting that China got the secrets of the F-35 plane from this reported shipment.

What the episode does establish is a vulnerability in the process used to move sensitive military material.

One of the costliest military programs in the history of the US, the F-35 has not just the aircraft at stake but also the technology, software, sensors, and manufacturing capabilities incorporated into them.

For Washington, this investigation, therefore, should not only explain how these parts made their way to Hong Kong. The officials must also find out who approved this shipping route, how this ITAR warning went unnoticed, where the parts end up, and whether such vulnerabilities exist somewhere else in the F-35 supply chain as well.

A shipment which originally started off as a normal return from Australia now turns out to be the test of how safely the United States can secure its most sophisticated military technology after it leaves the factory premises and joins the international logistics network.