The F-35, America’s most advanced fighter jet, has again found Chinese-made parts. Washington considers the Chinese-made equipment in its fighter jets a security breach. With this, the Pentagon has stopped the delivery of new F-35 aircraft from September 7.
The United States has discovered that a part of the F-35 fighter jet’s engine was made in China. A rare mixture of cobalt and samarium has been used for its construction. The US military has found that it is from China. The vice president of Lockheed Martin responded to Defense News that the delivery of the F-35 fighter jets has been suspended but its construction work is continuing. F-35 fighter jets are manufactured by Lockheed Martin, an American aviation manufacturing company.
At the same time, the American assessment is that the Chinese part found in the F-35 did not leak information. However, this part of the F-35 will be replaced due to the ongoing strain of relations with China and the existing embargo against Chinese products. This is not the first time that Chinese-made objects have been found on US aircraft. Chinese-made parts have been found in Boeing B1B bombers and F-16 fighter jets.
Meanwhile, the US Air Force Chief of Staff has expressed concern over the incident. Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr. has noted concerns about the supply chain for the manufacture of American defense equipment. He also raises the question of how to rely on such supply chains in case of any kind of crisis or conflict.
Fu Quanzhou, who retired from the Chinese Air Force, has criticized the American action. Fu Quanzhou raises the question of how fully the US can manufacture parts for something like the F-35 locally. Doing so would make the construction work more time-consuming and expensive, he says. “This is America’s dilemma. “The United States needs to recognize its own mistakes without criticizing China,” Fu said.
English Summary: The trouble with trying to keep Chinese parts out of US military hardware