The history of military espionage between China and the United States is long-standing. In the current era, this rivalry has extended to cyber espionage, theft of military technology, and electronic surveillance. U.S. agencies accuse Chinese hackers and the People's Liberation Army of stealing data from American defense, aerospace, and high-tech companies. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice accused Chinese soldiers of stealing commercial and military information from American companies.
America's accusations against China have resurfaced. A missile engineer born in China has admitted to stealing American missile technology. This technology relates to detecting nuclear missile launches and tracking ballistic and supersonic missiles.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated that an individual from Santa Clara County and a former engineer from a Southern California company admitted to stealing trade secrets. This technology was used by the U.S. government for detecting nuclear missile launches and monitoring ballistic and hypersonic missiles. It assisted American fighter jets in detecting and avoiding missiles.
San Jose resident, 59-year-old Chenguang Gong, has pled guilty to stealing trade secrets. The court released him on a 1.75 million dollar bail.
Complete U.S. missile technology stolen by a Chinese engineer
According to the report, Chenguang Gong, holding dual citizenship in China and the U.S., last year transferred 3600 files from a research and development company in Los Angeles to his personal storage devices.
In January 2023, the company, victimized by Gong's fraud, hired him as an integrated circuit design manager. Gong was responsible for the design, development, and verification of infrared sensors. From March 30 to April 26, 2023, Gong transferred thousands of files from his work laptop to three private storage devices.
The files that Gong transferred included numerous blueprints related to space-based infrared sensors used to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
U.S. agencies seized some of these files from Gong's temporary residence in Thousand Oaks.
Blueprint for sensor development stolen
Gong transferred files containing trade secrets related to next-generation sensors capable of detecting low-visibility targets and sensors that could remain functional in space for extended periods.
The theft also included blueprints for the mechanical assembly meant to cool and house the sensors. This information was among the most significant trade secrets of the affected company, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. Many of these files were marked with "Proprietary," "Official Use Only," and "Export Controlled" tags.
Connected with Chinese companies through Talent Hunt Search Programs
Law enforcement discovered that from 2014 to 2022, Gong, while working for major American technology companies, applied for China's government-run 'talent programs.'
These programs aim to leverage advanced technical knowledge to bolster China's economy and military capabilities. While working for a U.S. IT company in Dallas in 2014, Gong proposed a business plan to a high-tech research institute in China to develop high-performance analog-to-digital converters.
In September 2020, Gong proposed developing military night vision goggles and "low light/night vision" sensors for civilian use as part of another talent program application. This proposal included a video showcasing the sensor model number developed by his company from 2015 to 2019.
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter has set September 29 for sentencing, where Gong faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
