Indian-American faces life imprisonment for trading US defence secrets

An Indian-American former stealth bomber engineer has been found guilty by a US federal jury in Hawaii of selling classified military information to China for $110,000 and faces life imprisonment.

Noshir S Gowadia, 66, was found guilty of five criminal offences of providing China the design of a cruise missile exhaust system enabling a Chinese cruise missile to prevent detection by infrared missiles.

The verdict follows six days of deliberation and a 40-day trial. Chief US States District judge Susan Oki Mollway set November 22 as date of Gowadia's sentencing.

He faces a maximum term of life imprisonment for "wilfully communicating classified national defence information to China with the intent that it be used to the advantage of China or to the injury of the United States".

"Gowadia provided some of our country's most sensitive weapons-related designs to the Chinese government for money. Today, he is being held accountable for his actions," assistant attorney general for National Security, David Kris said.

Evidence at the trial revealed that from July 2003 to June 2005, Gowadia took six trips to China to provide defence services in the form of design, test support and test data analysis of technologies for the purpose of assisting the Chinese with its cruise missile system by developing a stealth exhaust nozzle. He was paid at least USD 110,000 by China.

The court also convicted Gowadia of illegally communicating classified information on three other occasions and unlawfully exporting technical information on those three occasions, illegally retaining defence information, and filing false tax returns between 2001 and 2002.

"This prosecution should serve as a warning to others who would compromise our nation's military secrets for profit. I commend the many prosecutors, analysts, and agents --including those from the FBI and the Air Force -- who were responsible for this investigation and prosecution," Kris said in a statement.

Gowadia was first arrested in October 2005 on a criminal complaint alleging that he wilfully communicated national defence information to a person not entitled to receive it.

He was charged with additional violations in a 2005 indictment, a 2006 superseding indictment and a 2007 second superseding indictment.

Gowadia was an engineer with Northrop Grumman Corporation from 1968 to 1986, during which he contributed to the development of the unique propulsion system and low observable capabilities of the B-2 Spirit bomber, sometimes referred to as the 'Stealth' bomber, according to information made available during the trial.

He also continued to work on classified matters as a contractor with the US government until 1997, when his security clearance was terminated.