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Richard Marles says the Department of Defence is examining how F-35 fighter jet parts bound for the US from Australia were unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong.
The acting prime minister said “very much everything that has occurred at the Australian end” will be reviewed, however, he claimed the technology parts were not “sensitive”, as first reported by Politico over the weekend.
The parts, which were being transported by another unknown third party on behalf of manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, still remain unaccounted for months later following their unplanned diversion to Hong Kong.
The last known location of the fighter jet components – in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China – has sparked concern that some of the program’s technology secrets could have been exposed.
“We are examining [Australia’s involvement], but the point I would make here is that we are confident about the way in which we’ve engaged with the program, and through the US’s prime contractor, Lockheed,” Marles said on Tuesday.
“My understanding is that there is a sense of comfort, and we’re not talking about sensitive equipment here, or sensitive parts.
“Ultimately, though, this is an issue which is going to be managed by the United States and by Lockheed in terms of what has occurred.”
Politico reported sources said the “sensitive” shipment contained on of the jet’s canopies, which reportedly contains stealth technology.
The Guardian has contacted the Pentagon.
While many details have not yet been revealed, Michael Shoebridge, a director for Strategic Analysis Australia who has worked in intelligence agencies, said there were two reasons why China, or another adversary, would want F-35 parts – to reverse engineer them, or to learn how to better exploit and attack them.
Shoebridge added the shipment’s pitstop in Hong Kong was “such an unexpectedly stupid thing” for the manufacturer or Australia to do.
“This is an act of incredible ineptitude and stupidity, and so it’s more the Chinese taking advantage of an incredible stroke of luck brought to them by the stupidity of the people involved,” he said.
Last week, the US State Department announced that the Trump administration would continue with the sale of 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia, despite reported concerns from the US intelligence community that China could obtain some of the stealth technology.
Australia was one of the early development partners in the F-35. The program spreads the development, supply, management and sustainment of the fighter jets across different countries.
More than 70 Australian companies have production and sustainment contracts with the F-35 program. In excess of 700 of the fighter jet’s “critical pieces” are manufactured in Victoria alone, according to the state government. Australia also hosts a regional distribution hub for F-35 parts in New South Wales.
Australian companies involved in the program’s supply chain have been awarded contracts valued at over $5.2bn, as of September 2025.
Shoebridge said the missing shipment of parts could mean the whole multibillion-dollar fleet is vulnerable to adversaries.
“They’re all now carrying the risk of whatever vulnerabilities this has brought to the to the aircraft,” he said.
“So it’s not just a US-Australia issue. It’s every operator of the F3-5 program [that] has an interest in understanding what happened and what was potentially exposed.”
