Amid an ongoing row between Huawei and the US, evolving around Washington’s allegations that the Chinese tech giant poses a security threat because of its ties with Beijing, it turns out that a UK-based subsidiary of a Chinese company is part of the supply chain for Lockheed Martin’s fighters, flown by the Americans and its allies.
England-based Exception PCB (which stands for printed circuit boards), whose parent company is China’s Shenzhen Fastprint, produces circuit boards for the US-UK next-generation F-35 fighter, the British broadcaster Sky reports, citing publicity materials from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Among other things, its March publication Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Action Plan specifically mentioned that Exception PCB is part of the F-35 supply chain.
“Gloucestershire-based Exception PCB manufactures the circuit boards that control many of the F-35’s core capabilities”, the document reads.
Another publication is a news article, dating back to last November that praised the Chinese-owned firm’s F-35 credentials. It said that its staffers “manufactured the circuit boards that control many of the F-35’s core capabilities, including its engines, lighting, fuel and navigation systems”.