An Australian F-35 Canopy and Weapons-Bay Door Shipped to the U.S. for Repair Are Diverted to Hong Kong and Seized by China — Tom Cotton Says "We Can't Afford for U.S. Military Equipment to Fall Into the Hands of a Foreign Adversary," and Raja Krishnamoorthi Warns Beijing Could "Reverse Engineer U.S. Stealth Technology"

September 29, 2026

In late May 2026, a cockpit canopy and a weapons-bay door from a Royal Australian Air Force F-35A — both coated in radar-absorbing material — were shipped by UPS on behalf of Lockheed Martin from Australia to the United States for inspection and possible repair or disposal. The shipment was rerouted through South Korea to Hong Kong, and on Sept. 23 Bloomberg reported that Chinese authorities had taken possession of the parts and not returned them. Australia's defense minister, Richard Marles, said his understanding was that the parts were not sensitive; the F-35 Joint Program Office said it was "actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence." On Sept. 29, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking the department to reassess chain-of-custody requirements, real-time shipment tracking, approval procedures for altered routes, and safeguards against transit through foreign jurisdictions. The same day, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), ranking member of the House China select committee, demanded answers from Hegseth, citing a 2023 GAO report that more than a million F-35 spare parts had gone missing over five years.