F-35 canopy found in Hong Kong, US fears stealth tech may have reached China

A missing part of the F-35, one of the most advanced fighter jets in the US arsenal, has been found in Hong Kong. The part is a crucial element of the aircraft's stealth technology. It was being sent from Australia to the United States for repair, but while crossing the Pacific Ocean its route was changed and it ended up in Hong Kong. The biggest question is who diverted it and why.

Three people familiar with the matter said the US Department of Defense has confirmed that some F-35 parts have gone missing. The matter is considered serious enough that staff of national security committees on Capitol Hill have been briefed on it since June. It has previously been feared that if the F-35 is sold to Saudi Arabia, its technology could reach China.

The shipment was being handled by another company on behalf of Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35. The Pentagon has also acknowledged that some parts went missing. However, it is still not clear who diverted the shipment's route, and it is also not known who currently has possession of these parts.

The shipment reportedly included an F-35 canopy. The canopy is the transparent cover fitted over the cockpit. It looks like just a piece of glass, but it carries special technology that boosts the aircraft's stealth capability. The canopy has an extremely thin coating of radar-absorbent material whose job is to hide the aircraft from enemy radar. Over time this coating's effectiveness declines, which is why canopies need repair or replacement. This is why the real F-35 canopy reaching enemy territory has become a major worry for US officials.

J.J. Gertler, a former staff member of the House Armed Services Committee and a military aviation analyst, said China has long tried to gather information on the F-35 through various means, including electronic espionage. He said that if someone already has information about this part, getting hold of the actual part could help confirm and strengthen that information. However, there is no confirmation yet that China has obtained the part.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. In recent years China has tightened its grip there and enforced strict national security laws. This is why such sensitive military technology reaching Hong Kong has become a serious concern for US officials. The matter has now reached discussions related to US national security. The Chinese embassy has said it has no knowledge of the incident, while the US State Department has declined to comment on the matter.

This incident had not previously been made public. According to people familiar with the matter, officials from the US State Department and the Pentagon briefed staff of Congress's national security committees in June. This briefing process is ongoing, and further details are expected in the coming weeks. The Pentagon's F-35 Joint Program Office said it is aware of a discrepancy in a shipment of decommissioned F-35 parts. The department is working with US agencies and industry partners to recover the parts, investigate the incident and prevent future occurrences.

The Hong Kong incident has also revived old questions about the tracking of F-35 spare parts. A 2023 Government Accountability Office report found that more than one million F-35 spare parts had gone missing over five years. The report said the Pentagon could not fully investigate the loss of parts worth millions of dollars because that information was controlled by Lockheed Martin. The F-35 Joint Program Office itself does not maintain a complete record of these spare parts in any system that continuously tracks each part's location and condition.