New Delhi: An engineer of Chinese origin living in the US has pleaded guilty to stealing highly sensitive military technology related to US missile detection systems, the US Department of Justice said in a press statement released on 21 July.
According to the statement, Chenguang Gong, aged 59, confessed to “stealing trade secret technologies developed for use by the US government to detect nuclear missile launches, track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, and to allow US fighter planes to detect and evade heat-seeking missiles”. Gong, whom the Office of Public Affairs of the US Department Of Justice described as “a dual citizen of the United States and China,” is scheduled to be sentenced on 29 September. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years.
According to the US Department Of Justice, Gong admitted to unlawfully transferring over 3,600 proprietary files from a California-based research and development firm specialising in advanced infrared missile detection systems.
The statement said the stolen material included classified blueprints and schematics used in space-based systems capable of detecting nuclear and hypersonic missile launches, as well as infrared sensors for military aircraft designed to evade heat-seeking missiles.
Gong, a former engineer at an unnamed Southern California company, was employed for less than a month in early 2023 before being terminated. During his tenure, he allegedly downloaded thousands of files marked “Proprietary Information”, “For Official Use Only”, and “Export Controlled” on his personal storage devices. The stolen files were later recovered from Gong’s residence in California, the Department of Justice said.
Among the compromised materials were detailed designs for mechanical assemblies used to cryogenically cool sensitive equipment, as well as blueprints for next-generation sensors with the ability to detect low-observable threats in space. The stolen intellectual property was estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and the US Justice Department estimated the total intended economic loss exceeds $3.5 million, the statement added.
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Role of China’s ‘talent programmes’
Further investigation also revealed that Gong had longstanding ties to the Chinese government’s controversial ‘talent programmes’. These are initiatives that recruit global experts to contribute to China’s technological and military development.
The Thousand Talents Plan (TTP), launched by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2008, was originally designed to address China’s brain drain which saw an exodus of top Chinese researchers and scholars to countries like the US, Canada, and the UK.
Initiated by Li Yuanchao, a former member of the CCP Politburo, the programme aimed to foster an “innovative society” rather than facilitate the theft of US technology. However, over time, the TTP has raised serious concerns within the US government over its potential role in intellectual property theft and the unauthorised transfer of sensitive technologies.
A 2019 US Senate report revealed that some participants were required to prioritise Chinese interests and share research developed abroad.
Authorities in the US and Australia have tied these programmes to corporate espionage, with cases of unauthorized tech transfers and IP theft reported by partner firms, especially in sectors like Artificial Intelligence, biotech, and aerospace.
Between 2014 and 2022, Gong submitted multiple applications to these programmes while working at major US tech firms.
In one 2014 proposal, Gong offered to develop high-performance analog-to-digital converters similar to those produced by his US employer and emphasised their military utility for radar and missile systems.
He later proposed developing low-light image sensors for military-grade night vision goggles and included information about equipment developed by a major defence contractor he had previously worked for, the Department of Justice statement said.
In a 2019 email, he acknowledged the risks of participating in the talent programme, writing that he “took a risk” by traveling to China while employed by an American defence contractor, but believed he could “contribute to China’s high-end military integrated circuits”.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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