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Friday, September 18, 2026
F-35 parts lost after rerouted to Hong Kong, raising prospect China has hands on key tech — report
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Sensitive F-35 parts went missing after being suddenly diverted to Hong Kong on their journey from Australia to the United States, raising the prospect that China may have obtained highly classified fighter jet technology, Politico reports, citing three people familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss the private discussions.
Politico says the Pentagon confirmed the disappearance, which occurred during the summer, saying it is “aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components” and is working to retrieve them.
One of the missing parts includes one of the jet’s canopies, which benefits from unique stealth technology available only to the US and its allies (among them Israel), two of the sources tell Politico. A rival could reverse-engineer the part if they obtained it.
According to Politico, it is unclear why the components, which were being transported by an intermediary on behalf of F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin, were diverted to Hong Kong.
Key Congressional national security committees and State and Defense Department officials were briefed on the matter in June, with additional meetings to be held in the upcoming weeks, sources tell Politico.
The Times of Israel Community.