- Trump plans to sell F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia.
- Australian parts essential for the fighter jets.
- Experts warn Australia risks complicity in abuses.
The US president revealed the contract during a meeting with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, this week, despite consistent worries about the Saudi regime’s human rights record including bombing raids on civilian targets and suspicions it could share the technology with China.
Although Australia participates in the construction of the F-35, it has no control over the shipping of parts, including those that leave the country.
The F-35 program has production and sustainment contracts with over 70 Australian businesses. The state government claims that more than 700 of the fighter jet's "critical pieces" are produced in Victoria alone. Additionally, NSW serves as a regional delivery center for F-35 parts in Australia.
“Every F-35 contains crucial parts made in Australia,”
said Duncan Frewin, the clerk of the pacifist group Quakers Australia, which researches arms exports.
“Any bomb dropped by these planes can only do so because the Australian government has written a blank cheque to Lockheed Martin, selling them Australian-made parts with no human rights restrictions or monitoring.”
Although Frewin and Wareham promote peace and disarmament, more hardline defense analysts share their worries that Australia is losing control over the military it backs.
“We will be supporting the Saudis’ use of the aircraft however they choose to use it, and the Saudis’ involvement in the Yemeni civil war in recent years shows this isn’t a hypothetical,”
said Shoebridge.
The sale of up to 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia raised concerns for Australia that "we've tried desperately to ignore with the Israelis," according to Michael Shoebridge, founder of the defense and security think tank Strategic Analysis Australia.
The intricate F-35 supply chain, according to Shoebridge, a former senior defense policy official at the Australian embassy in Washington, enables governments to refuse direct backing for foreign armies.
305 (1.6%) of the 18,143 export authorizations that were authorized were the subject of targeted scrutiny. Thirty percent of those examined were deemed "unfavorable," indicating that there were discrepancies between the items sent and what the license permitted.
The US Government Accountability Office concluded this year that measures to prevent US-made weapons from being used in violations of human rights were insufficient.
Due in part to Saudi-led bombing assaults against Yemeni targets, the Trump administration's plan to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia has generated controversy around the world.
Additionally, a report from the Pentagon's US Defense Intelligence Agency raised fears that Saudi Arabia's security cooperation with Beijing might allow China to obtain F-35 technology.
The F-35, which costs between US$80 million and $100 million (A$123 million to $155) per and has been dubbed the "most lethal" warplane in the world by Lockheed Martin, is already a contentious platform that has been linked to a UN commission of inquiry's conclusion that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
According to Wareham of the Medical Association for Prevention of War, Australia was prohibited by the arms trade treaty from shipping "weapons or associated items" if there was a possibility that they might be used to violate international law.
“There is no doubt at all that such a risk exists in the case of Saudi Arabia,”
Wareham said.
“This makes Australia complicit in any crimes in which the F-35s are used.”
Wareham said Australia could have no confidence in US defence export controls.
“The US economy is so dependent on weapons sales that there appear to be few constraints. While spruiking democracy, the US in fact sells weapons to over half the world’s autocracies. It is an industry out of control.”
Which Australian components are used in the F-35 supply chain?
Australia is a critical supplier of numerous factors in the F- 35 Joint Strike Fighter force chain, with further than 70 Australian companies contributing corridors ranging across the aircraft, including essential and frequently sole- sourced factors.
The uplock selector system supplied by RUAG Australia, which is responsible for opening and closing the munitions bay doors snappily and stealthily, allowing the F- 35 to emplace its cargo efficiently. Over 700 critical pieces are manufactured primarily in Victoria alone, covering flight control systems.
Australia’s part is significant because some corridors are sole- sourced locally, making the country an essential link in the global force chain. This involvement has sparked contestation and human rights enterprises due to the deployment of F- 35 spurts equipped with Australian factors in conflict zones.