How F-35 Parts Bound for the US Ended Up Missing in Hong Kong

Australia's Defence Department is examining how F-35 parts sent to the United States for repairs were diverted to Hong Kong and stayed missing months later.

Richard Marles, serving as acting prime minister, confirmed the review at an Adelaide doorstop on 22 September 2026. Asked what help Defence was giving the US after the parts went missing in Hong Kong, he said Defence was looking at the Australian leg of the movement. "Very much everything that has occurred at the Australian end" will be reviewed, he said.

The shipment left Australia in summer 2026 bound for the United States for repairs. It was rerouted while transiting the Pacific Ocean from Australia, according to reporting by Politico. The Pentagon confirmed the disappearance of some components. As of 18 September, it was unclear why the equipment was rerouted to Hong Kong or who possessed it.

What exactly went missing is disputed. Marles said the diverted material was not sensitive equipment or sensitive parts. That differs from US reporting. Politico, citing sources, reported the shipment contained one of the jet's canopies, which reportedly contains stealth technology. The canopy is the clear cover over the cockpit. No Australian maintenance depot was yet capable of repairing canopies, which is why the parts were US-bound.

Marles also set out the limits of Australian ownership. The parts were shipped from Australia on behalf of Lockheed Martin by another third party, and he said the matter will ultimately be managed by the United States and Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin manages the F-35 program's overall supply chain. The Pentagon's F-35 Joint Program Office has described the issue as involving unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components. It said it was working with US authorities and industry partners to retrieve the components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence.

In Washington, the incident has led to congressional scrutiny. State Department and Pentagon officials first briefed congressional staff on the key national security committees in June 2026, beginning an ongoing series of briefings. Multiple additional briefings were expected in the coming weeks as of 18 September. US lawmakers are investigating the diversion, an inquiry first detailed by Politico on 18 September and subsequently picked up in Canberra and Jerusalem.

The broader context here is the scale of Australia's integration in the program. Australia was one of the early development partners in the F-35 program. More than 70 Australian companies hold production and sustainment contracts, valued at over $5.2 billion as of September 2025, according to The Guardian. Australia hosts a regional distribution hub for F-35 parts in New South Wales. In excess of 700 of the jet's critical pieces are manufactured in Victoria.

In my view, that integration is what makes Marles's language worth parsing. "Not sensitive" calms the politics. "Australian end" narrows the liability. "Ultimately managed by the United States and Lockheed Martin" points to where the contract and the custody chain sit. None of that answers the questions that follow: who had custody when the reroute occurred, who authorised it, and what assurance system allowed unserviceable but still controlled components to go missing in transit and stay missing for months.

Looking ahead, Canberra will want this to remain a logistics failure inside someone else's supply chain. Washington may not let it. A missing canopy with reported stealth technology, congressional staff being briefed since June, and components still unaccounted for is not the sort of file that closes with a doorstop line. Expect the Defence examination of the Australian end to be tested less on what it finds than on what it cannot compel Lockheed Martin's third party to produce.