China Obtained F-35 Canopy and Weapons Bay Door — Bloomberg

China obtained access to the canopy and weapons bay door of an F-35 stealth fighter, which had been sent from Australia to the United States.

Bloomberg reported this, citing sources close to the matter.

According to the publication, UPS was transporting the components in late May for inspection and possible repair or disposal.

Both components manufactured by Lockheed Martin were covered with radar-absorbent material, which is one of the elements of the fighter’s stealth technology.

During transit, the cargo initially arrived in South Korea before being rerouted to Hong Kong.

The reasons for the route change remain unclear. It is also unknown whether the rerouting was the result of an error or was done intentionally.

According to two Bloomberg sources, the components subsequently came into the possession of Chinese authorities, who had not returned them as of September 24.

The Pentagon confirmed that it is working to recover the components and investigating the circumstances of the incident together with U.S. government agencies and industry representatives.

“We are aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 components. We are actively working with US authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence,” the Pentagon officials stated.

UPS also reported the incident to the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate’s Defense Trade Controls, which is responsible for enforcing export regulations on defense articles.

The circumstances surrounding how the components ended up in Hong Kong are already being reviewed by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees. The incident is also being examined by the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland.

As Militarnyi previously reported, the disappearance of the F-35 components during transit to the United States became known on September 18.