US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fighter jet
A Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter flies toward its new home at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in this U.S. Air Force picture taken on January 11, 2011. Lockheed Martin Corp on Monday said it has delivered the next version of the computer-based logistics system used to support the F-35 fighter jet to the U.S. military for flight testing. Reuters/Stringer

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has highlighted cyber risks of the reported theft of Chinese spies of Australia’s new warplane designs. Crucial informaion from top secret documents were allegedly obtained about the new Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35 built by the U.S.

Bishop told Sky News that she remains confident that the U.S. would protect its intellectual property. The foreign minister was responding to media reports citing the leaked U.S. documents containing sensitive information about the F-35.

The Australian government has placed an order for 72 units of F-35 jets to be operational in 2020, BBC reported. The new fighter jet has been described as the most expensive defence project the U.S. has in history. U.S.-based Lockheed Martin manufactures the stealth aircraft with a development cost estimated at $400 billion. The U.S., UK and Australian military forces were among the major buyers of the F-35s.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott had announced in April 2014 that Australia will be buying 58 more F-35 worth more than $12 billion as part of the country’s plan to acquire 72 aircraft. Mr Abbott said the new fighter planes will make an important contribution to Australia’s national security.

Aside from the 72 aircraft initially placed by the Australian government, an option to increase the order to 100 is being considered which could have billions of dollars at stake. Bishop told media the leaked documents involving stolen aircraft designs “highlight” the challenges of cyber attacks.

Former U.S. National Security Agency intelligence contractor Edward Snowden had leaked the confidential documents to German magazine Der Spiegel. The documents revealed that Chinese cyber spies had illegally acquired “huge volumes” of classified military information related to the new fighter jet. The stolen data includes details about the aircraft’s radar systems, cooling exhaust gas, engine schematics and aft deck heating contour maps, according to Fairfax Media.

Previous reports have indicated that the F-35 is being targeted by Chinese cyber spies, but the Snowden leaks may have provided the first public confirmation of how highly classified data has been compromised. According to military experts, the design of China’s new fifth-generation fighters such as the Chengdu J-20 and the Shenyang J-31 may have been heavily influenced by design information stolen from the U.S.

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