Freight forwarder’s instructions might not have even got to the UPS agent, say insiders.
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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.
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.
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/china-allegedly-intercepted-ups-shipped-f-35-parts-after-employee-missed-email-warning-worker-decided-to-divert-through-hong-kong-to-speed-up-delivery#main
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