Cotton Presses Hegseth to Review Supply Chains After F-35 Parts Ended up in China
Cotton said a 2023 audit found one F-35 contractor had logged more than 1 million spare parts worth over $85 million as lost.
- On Tuesday, Sen. Tom Cotton urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to review military equipment shipping policy after U.S. F-35 fighter jet parts were lost to China in a recent diversion.
- F-35 stealth fighter components bound from Australia for U.S. repairs were diverted to Hong Kong over the summer, where the Chinese government took possession of the parts, Bloomberg reported last week.
- A 2023 Government Accountability Office audit found one F-35 contractor recorded more than 1 million spare parts worth over $85 million as lost since May 2018, with the Pentagon reviewing less than 2 percent of those losses.
- Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles confirmed the parts reached Hong Kong but denied the shipment included "sensitive" components, while the F-35 Joint Program Office said it is developing "safeguards to avoid a future occurrence."
- Cotton requested Hegseth examine five security areas, including chain-of-custody requirements and routing procedures for commercial shipments, to prevent future diversions of military materiel to adversaries.
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13 Articles
Top Republican Calls on Hegseth to Review & Provide Answers After F-35 Parts End Up in Chinese Hands
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'We can't afford for US military equipment to fall into the hands of a foreign adversary because of vulnerabilities in commercial transportation,' says Tom Cotton
The Epoch Times
Cotton Calls for Military Supply Chain Security Review After F-35 Parts Diverted to Hong Kong
The senator wants the Pentagon to examine tracking, route changes, foreign transit, and safeguards against military shipments being diverted to China.
Cotton presses Hegseth to review supply chains after F-35 parts ended up in China
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Cotton presses Hegseth to review supply chains after F-35 parts ended up in China Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday to review the military…
Cotton letter on review of military shipping channels
Tuesday, September 29, 2026In a Sept. 29, 2026 letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) calls on the Pentagon to "review the security of military equipment and supplies transported through commercial and contractor-managed supply chains." Featured: Related Documents Tags: F-35
Tom Cotton pushes Pentagon to investigate missing F-35 components
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to review its military equipment shipping policy in the wake of concerns that U.S. fighter jet parts were lost in China, making him the most senior Republican so far to weigh in on the debacle. Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a letter […]
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