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Chinese-born California researcher pleads guilty to stealing space-based missile tech
The US Justice Department said Monday (July 21) that a Chinese-born US researcher admitted guilt to stealing trade secrets, including technology for detecting nuclear missile launches.
The man, identified as a 59-year-old Chenguang Gong, is a resident of San Jose, California.
Gong was charged with transferring over 3,600 files from his employer, a research and development company, to his personal storage devices.
In a central California district court, Gong pleaded guilty to one count of theft of trade secrets, facing up to 10 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for September 29.
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Having become a US citizen in 2011, Gong briefly worked as an engineer in 2023 at a Los Angeles-area research and development company, which was not named, the Justice Department stated.
The stolen files included blueprints for infrared sensors used in space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, per the Justice Department. Additionally, Gong took blueprints for sensors enabling US military aircraft to detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and deploy countermeasures.
'The files Gong transferred include blueprints for sophisticated infrared sensors designed for use in space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, as well as blueprints for sensors designed to enable US military aircraft to detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures, including by jamming the missiles' infrared tracking ability,' the Justice Department wrote in a press release.
Between 2014 and 2022, while employed at various major US technology companies, Gong applied to join Chinese government-funded 'Talent Programs,' the Justice Department noted. These programs aim to recruit individuals with 'expert skills, abilities, and knowledge of advanced sciences and technologies' to bolster China's economy and military capabilities.
'Gong also transferred files containing trade secrets relating to the development of 'next generation' sensors capable of detecting low observable targets while demonstrating increased survivability in space, as well as the blueprints for the mechanical assemblies used to house and cryogenically cool the victim company's sensors. This information was among the victim company's most important trade secrets that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars,' the department noted.
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