Defence Minister Richard Marles has confirmed Australia is assisting the United States in investigating how F-35 jet fighter parts were mistakenly diverted to Hong Kong, but he played down the significance of the apparent security breach.
Marles told journalists in Adelaide the federal government had been 'made aware' of the issue and was cooperating with the US and Lockheed Martin, the program's prime contractor. 'We are examining very much everything that has occurred at the Australian end,' he said.
Politico reported over the weekend that a shipment of F-35 parts, including a canopy with radar-resistant technology, was unexpectedly sent to Hong Kong after leaving Australia earlier this year. That sparked concerns that China might have accessed technological secrets from the US jet fighter program, which is also used by 19 other American allies and partners, including Australia.
Marles downplayed the risk. 'My understanding is that there is a sense of comfort, that we're not talking about sensitive equipment here, or sensitive parts,' he said, adding the issue would ultimately be managed by the US and Lockheed.
Australia maintains a fleet of 72 F-35s and is one of seven other countries sharing a pool of spare parts for the program. It is not clear how or why the parts were mistakenly diverted after being shipped from Australia, or whether they were sent from the F-35 Aircraft Sustainment Hub at Williamtown, north of Newcastle. Politico reported Lockheed used a 'third company' to ship the components, which were meant to be flown to the United States.
A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said they could not 'discuss the status of specific shipments or our shipping procedures' for 'security reasons'. They added that Lockheed Martin follows all US regulations regarding aircraft component shipments and handles every shipment 'with the utmost diligence and safeguards'.
The ABC has requested comment from the Pentagon but has not yet received a response. Politico quoted the Pentagon as saying it was 'aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components' and was working 'to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence'.
Defence analyst John Conway, managing director of consultants Felix Defence, said there were 'very strict' rules around F-35 components, but many were 'routine'. 'There are thousands of components in an F-35. Some are routine in what they are and what they do, others are more sensitive,' he said. He added that even if canopy parts were sent to Hong Kong, China would not necessarily have access to secret technology it could exploit, as the canopy is made up of multiple layers.