US waived laws for Chinese-made F-35 parts

The Pentagon waived laws prohibiting Chinese-made parts on U.S. weapons repeatedly for Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter program in order to keep it on track, Reuters reports.

{mosads}Chief Pentagon weapons buyer Frank Kendall allowed two subcontractors, Northrop Grumman and Honeywell International, to use Chinese magnets for the plane’s radar, landing gears and other hardware, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is now investigating the waivers issued in 2012 and 2013 for the F-35, with a report due in March.

Kendall told Reuters the waivers were needed to keep production and testing on track, and to avoid millions in retrofit costs and potential delays.