F-35 jets: Chinese-owned company making parts for top-secret UK-US fighters

An expert said it's possible to embed technology such as a chip without a customer's knowledge that could change how it functions.

A Chinese-owned company is making circuit boards for the top-secret next generation F-35 warplanes flown by Britain and the United States, Sky News can reveal.

Exception PCB, a printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer in Gloucestershire, south west England, produces circuit boards that "control many of the F-35's core capabilities", according to publicity material produced by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).

This includes "its engines, lighting, fuel and navigation systems", it said.

When asked about the firm's Chinese ownership, the MoD said Exception PCB is an established manufacturer of circuit boards to the defence industry and presents "no risk" to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter supply chain.

A director from the company said there are "clear firewalls in place" between Exception PCB and its Chinese parent company Shenzhen Fastprint.

But defence experts, including former defence ministers, expressed concern that a Chinese-owned company is producing any parts for such a classified, British and American fifth generation programme, because of long-standing fears about Chinese espionage and rivalry.

https://news.sky.com/story/f-35-jets-chinese-owned-company-making-parts-for-top-secret-uk-us-fighters-11741889

Feds to warn immigrants about welfare use

Officers handling legal immigration cases will now warn people that they are under an obligation to support themselves rather than end up on the public dole, under a new policy implemented Friday by acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli.

The warning will be issued both to the immigrant and his or her sponsor, who under the law has signed an agreement not to let the immigrant become a public charge.

In the new warning, UCSIS officers will “remind” sponsors that they can — and now will — be asked to pay back “every dollar” of welfare that the immigrants take.

“The president has made it a priority to ensure that every individual who seeks to come to the United States is self-sufficient, temporarily or permanently,” Mr. Cuccinelli said in a memo to agency employees.

It’s the first major public move by Mr. Cuccinelli, who became acting director this week.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jun/14/feds-warn-immigrants-about-welfare-use/