China allegedly intercepted UPS-shipped F-35 parts after employee missed email warning — worker decided to divert through Hong Kong to speed up delivery
China allegedly intercepted UPS-shipped F-35 parts after employee missed email warning — worker decided to divert through Hong Kong to speed up delivery
A fortnight ago we reported on the curious case of top-secret F-35 advanced fighter parts getting swiped by China as a shipment from Australia to the U.S. transited Hong Kong. The decision to route through the Chinese territory was said to be ‘inexplicable’ at the time. Now, insiders talking to Bloomberg have revealed that a UPS worker missed an important email about securely routing these parts and opted for a Hong Kong transit to hasten the shipping time.
The F-35 parts were said to be sensitive military technology, not just because they were serviceable parts of one of the world’s most advanced fighter jets. These Royal Australian Air Force F-35 stealth fighter cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door were also “coated with radar-absorbing material that enhances their stealth capabilities,” noted the original report. In other words, the stealth coating’s secret recipe may have been more sensitive than the actual airplane parts.
The parts were being sent from Australia to San Francisco for inspection. According to U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, also known as ITAR, certain countries and territories must be avoided when shipping such equipment. Hong Kong, as a special administrative region of China, is on the blacklist.
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An email making clear that the cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door should be shipped according to ITAR rules was sent from heavy cross-border freight specialist DSV to global parcel distribution specialist UPS. Sadly, with the shipment leaving Australia late and the UPS agent reportedly not getting sight of the DSV email, reports Bloomberg, mistakes were made. Instead of routing from Australia via South Korea and/or Taiwan, the UPS agent pushed it through HK for speed. All this because “The DSV email may have been sent through a different IT system than the one used by the UPS agent,” according to Bloomberg’s unnamed sources.
Now these advanced allied warplane parts are in China’s hands, and there have been no subsequent reports indicating it admits to having them or intends to release them.
A series of unfortunate shipping events (updated)
Late May 2026: Australia sends F-35 cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door to the U.S. for inspection, possible repair, or disposal.
On its way to the U.S., the cargo plane stopped in South Korea.
Then the F-35 parts consignment was diverted through Hong Kong “inexplicably,” says the original source.
NEW: Reportedly, an email from DSV that notified the UPS agent that the consignment had to be handled under ITAR rules never reached the correct person.
NEW: The UPS agent noticed the parts shipment from Australia was late/delayed, so they decided to ship it through Hong Kong to save time.
The Chinese government took possession of the parts in Hong Kong.
China hasn’t returned or released the parts. The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing said it is unaware of the missing parts.
The details of the missing shipment were embarrassing for the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin. Bloomberg’s new information shifts the blame somewhat to a shipping firm’s miscommunication. Even though it has now been explained, the error seems pretty amateurish, though. Bloomberg contacted DSV and UPS spokespersons, but neither provided comments.
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Though the Pentagon has sought to downplay the missing parts incident and characterize them as “unserviceable F-35 components,” others don’t shrug off the loss so lightly. Bloomberg quoted a representative from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office who thought the loss was “a big deal” that would see Chinese reverse engineering teams celebrating.
