WASHINGTON — Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to review its military equipment shipping policies after U.S. fighter jet parts were lost to China. Cotton is the most senior Republican to address the incident.
Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The letter outlined concerns after a shipment of F-35 stealth fighter components, bound for the U.S. from Australia for repairs, was rerouted this summer and was lost after arriving in Hong Kong.
“Sensitive components should receive heightened protections, but all U.S. military material can provide adversaries valuable insight into U.S. weapons systems, logistics, and readiness, as well as access to American troops,” Cotton wrote.
The Pentagon is already investigating why the shipment was diverted to Hong Kong. The F-35 Joint Program Office said it is working to develop safeguards to avoid a future incident.
The Chinese government has taken possession of the F-35 parts. These components included a cockpit canopy and a weapons-bay door, parts described as potentially sensitive last week.
Cotton’s letter specifically asked Hegseth to examine the chain-of-custody requirements for military equipment shipped via third parties. He also requested a review of the Pentagon’s ability to track these shipments and the safeguards in place to prevent military materiel from being diverted to China and other adversarial nations.
It remains unclear why the parts were rerouted to Hong Kong. UPS appeared to ship the components to the U.S. from Australia in late May.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles confirmed last week that the parts arrived in Hong Kong. However, Marles denied that any sensitive components were part of the shipment.
Marles told reporters that Australia is working with the United States and the prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, regarding the situation.
