"China bought B-2 bomber secrets"

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China bought bomber secrets
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published November 23, 2006

China obtained secret stealth technology used on B-2 bomber engines
from a Hawaii-based spy ring in a compromise U.S. officials say will
allow Beijing to copy or counter a key weapon in the Pentagon's new
strategy against China.
Details of the classified defense technology related to the B-2's
engine exhaust system and its ability to avoid detection by infrared
sensors were sold to Chinese officials by former defense contractor
Noshir S. Gowadia, an Indian-born citizen charged with spying in a
federal indictment released by prosecutors in Hawaii.
Additionally, Mr. Gowadia provided extensive technical assistance
to Chinese weapons designers in developing a cruise missile with an
engine exhaust system that is hard to detect by radar, according to
court papers made public recently.
He also helped the Chinese modify a cruise missile so that it can
intercept U.S. air-to-air missiles, and helped Chinese weapons
designers improve testing and measurement facilities, the court papers
state.
Most of the indictment, handed up Nov. 8, outlines how the engineer
helped China develop a radar-evading stealth exhaust nozzle for a
cruise missile engine.
Additionally, the court papers indicated that Mr. Gowadia sent
e-mails to Israel, Germany, and Switzerland in 2002 and 2004 that
contained data labeled "secret" and "top secret" that was related to
U.S. stealth technology intended for use in the TH-98 Eurocopter and
for foreign commercial aircraft.
One computer file found in Mr. Gowadia's Maui, Hawaii, home was a
file containing the radar cross-sections of U.S. B-1 and F-15 jets and
the Air Force's air-launched cruise missile, information that would be
useful to countering those systems by anti-aircraft missiles or other
air defense weapons.
The case is the second major military technology espionage case
involving China. Earlier this year, two Chinese-born brothers in Los
Angeles were arrested as suspects in passing Navy warship and submarine
weapons secrets to China.
In all, Mr. Gowadia is charged with making at least six secret
visits to China from 2002 through 2005, and being paid at least
$110,000 by Chinese officials for highly classified defense technology
supplied through January, according to court papers. Investigators
think he was paid as much as $2 million, some of which remains in
foreign bank accounts.
The first known compromise was Mr. Gowadia's lecture in a foreign
country in 1999 that involved the disclosure of defense secrets. He
offered classified defense information to as many as eight foreign
nations, the court papers state.
Mr. Gowadia was first indicted in November 2005 in connection with
passing information to several countries that were not identified. The
new indictment states that Mr. Gowadia continued to be engaged in a
conspiracy to sell classified technology through January 2006.
Mr. Gowadia worked for B-2 developer and manufacturer Northrop
Aircraft Inc. from 1968 to 1989 as part of an ultrasecret special
access program for the B-2, and later as a Northrop contractor involved
in classified research on missiles and aircraft. He also worked at Los
Alamos National Laboratory in the 1990s.
He developed the still-secret method used by military aircraft to
suppress infrared signals from the engine that blocks heat-seeking
missiles from targeting the jet.
U.S. officials familiar with the case said the compromise of the
B-2 technology is extremely damaging because it will give China key
secrets on the bomber.
A defense official said the case highlights China's intelligence
efforts to counter key weapons systems that give the United States
strategic advantages over Chinese forces. "The B-2 is at the head of
the list of their intelligence targets," said the official.
The Pentagon recently completed a major upgrade of bomber storage
facilities on the Pacific island of Guam as part of a new strategy
designed to position forces in Asia for a swift defeat of China in a
future conflict.
B-2 bombers are regularly deployed for short periods of time on
Guam as part of what the Pentagon is calling its "hedge" strategy to be
ready to deal with a Chinese threat in the future.
According to the indictment, Mr. Gowadia, who lives on an estate on
the island of Maui, conspired with two men, Tommy Wong and Henri Nyo,
to sell the technology.
Mr. Wong was identified in court papers as an official of the
Chinese Foreign Experts Bureau who met the other men during meetings in
Chengdu, China. The bureau is a center that conducts "research and
development of Chinese fighter aircraft and cruise missiles."
During the six visits, Mr. Gowadia was there "for the specific
purpose of assisting the [People's Republic of China] in designing,
testing and analyzing a low observable exhaust nozzle ... for a PRC
cruise missile," the indictment said.
In the earlier indictment, Mr. Gowadia was quoted as telling
investigators that he "disclosed classified information and material
both verbally and in papers, computer presentations, letters and other
methods to individuals in foreign countries with the knowledge that
information was classified."
"The reason I disclosed this classified information was to
establish the technological credibility with the potential customers
for future business," he said. "I wanted to help these countries to
further their self aircraft protection systems. My personal gain would
be business."
Mr. Gowadia has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his son,
Ashton Gowadia, told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that the charges
against his father are false. A trial is scheduled for July.