Pentagon Pushing to Minimize Chinese Presence in Defense Department Supply Chains

An F-35 jet arrives at its new operational base at Hill Air Force Base in northern Utah on Sept. 2, 2015. Rick Bowmer/AP Photo

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is taking steps to ensure that U.S. defense companies decouple from supply chains involving China as much as possible.

The U.S. military’s reliance on Chinese inputs came into the spotlight earlier in September, when the Pentagon halted deliveries of fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets after it was found that a component used in the engines came from China. The component was a magnet made from a samarium and cobalt alloy originating in China.