Australia Assists US in Investigation of Misrouted F-35 Parts to Hong Kong

Defence Minister Richard Marles has confirmed Australia is helping the US investigate how F-35 jet fighter parts were mistakenly diverted to Hong Kong, but says no technologically "sensitive" components have been lost.

Politico reported over the weekend that a shipment of F-35 parts, including a canopy with radar-resistant technology, were 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.

Mr Marles told journalists in Adelaide the federal government had been "made aware" of the issue and was helping the US investigate what happened.

"We are obviously working with the United States and obviously its prime contractor here, Lockheed Martin, in respect of this," he said.

"We are examining very much everything that has occurred at the Australian end."

But he played down the significance of the apparent security breach.

"Ultimately though this is an issue which is going to be managed by the United States 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 jet fighter 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 which the government maintains at Williamtown, just north of Newcastle.

Politico reported that Lockheed Martin used a "third company" to ship the components, which were meant to be flown to the United States.

In a statement a spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said they could not "discuss the status of specific shipments or our shipping procedures" for "security reasons".

"What I can tell you is that Lockheed Martin follows all U.S. regulations established by the Department of War and regulated by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) regarding the shipment of aircraft components," they said.

"Our teams handle every shipment with the utmost diligence and safeguards to ensure the integrity of the F 35 program and the security of our allied partners."

The ABC has requested comment from the Pentagon, but has not yet received a response.

But Politico quoted the Pentagon as saying it was "aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components" and that it was working "to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence".

John Conway, defence analyst and managing director of consultants Felix Defence, said there were "very strict" rules around F-35 components, but many of the parts were "routine".

"There are thousands of components in an F35. Some are routine in what they are and what they do, others are more sensitive," he said.

"I'm sure it will be readily investigated … but a lot of the F35s components are not sensitive in their own right."

Mr Conway said even if canopy parts were sent to Hong Kong, China would not necessarily have access to secret technology it could exploit.

"The canopy is made up of multiple elements. It might be a composite frame, or a bolt. Without more information, it's impossible to know [how sensitive] these missing parts are," he said.

"But this is a highly regulated supply chain. Defence will have sufficient visibility to conduct a proper investigation."