Chinese ‘spy’ arrested in California for ‘stealing nuclear secrets that can detect missile launches from SPACE’ – and sending them to the CCP

A suspected Chinese spy was arrested Tuesday for stealing American nuclear secrets.

Chenguang Gong, 57, of San Jose, California, allegedly transferred more than 3,600 files containing blueprints for advanced infrared sensors that detect missile launches.

The stolen information would be “worth hundreds of millions of dollars” and “dangerous to U.S. national security if obtained by international actors,” according to court documents.

Gong is a Chinese native who moved to the US around 1993 and became a citizen in 2011.

The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California said Gong “attempted to provide the People’s Republic of China with information to assist its military.”

Gong was released Wednesday on $2.5 million bail after a hearing in San Jose. He is due back in court on February 20 and faces ten years in prison.

Although Gong has been released on bail, the US does not have an extradition treaty with China.

An affidavit released this week details Gong’s case, background and alleged ties to China. His photo has not been released to the public.

The document calls the engineer’s former workplace ‘the Victim Company’, but Courthouse News Service reported that Gong was employed at HRL Laboratories in Malibu.

HRL is a research and development laboratory specialized in sensors.

The affidavit stated that Gong was hired in January 2023 with the task of developing and verifying infrared sensors. He was terminated on April 26, 2023.

Pamela Reese, director of marketing and communications for HRL Laboratories LLC, told Courthouse News Service: “When HRL became aware of suspicious activity by Gong, the company immediately initiated an investigation, terminated his employment and notified the relevant authorities.

“HRL has continued to cooperate with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations in its case against Gong and will provide ongoing support as needed.”

According to the affidavit, HRL has developed a Serrano Readout Integrated Circuit, an “integrated circuit that combines the functionality of infrared search and track and infrared countermeasures in a single chip.”

“The Serrano Readout Integrated Circuit can provide both high dynamic range (to track threats in low visibility conditions) and time-of-flight capabilities (to analyze how quickly the threat is approaching),” the statement reads.

The company has also designed the so-called Anaheim Readout Integrated Circuit, which combines several functions to reliably detect missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

The files Gong allegedly stole include designs for space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles,” the Justice Department said.

The transfer is also said to include “blueprints for sensors designed to enable U.S. military aircraft to detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures, including by jamming the missiles’ infrared tracking capabilities.”

The government also noted that Gong had accepted another position at another company developing similar technologies – and allegedly stole more than 1,800 files.

United States Attorney Martin Estrada said, “We will do everything we can to protect our country’s security, including from foreign threats.

“We know that foreign actors, including the People’s Republic of China, are actively trying to steal our technology, but we will remain vigilant against this threat by safeguarding the innovations of American companies and researchers.”

During the investigation, the affidavit states that the FBI discovered that between approximately 2014 and 2022, while employed at several major technology companies in the U.S., Gong submitted numerous applications to “Talent Programs” administered by the government of the People’s Republic of China. ‘

The affidavit explained that “the People’s Republic of China has established talent programs through which it identifies individuals outside the People’s Republic of China who possess expert skills, capabilities and knowledge that could help transform the economy of the People’s Republic of China, including its military capabilities .’

In 2014, while working at a Dallas-based information technology company, Gong sent a business proposal to a contact at a high-tech research institute in China that focused on both military and civilian products, the affidavit alleges.

“In his proposal, translated from Chinese, Gong described a plan to produce high-quality analog-to-digital converters similar to those produced by his employer,” the Justice Department said.

The FBI executed a search warrant to enter Gong’s home in Thousand Oaks, California on May 8, 2023.

Authorities say they “recovered several digital devices containing hundreds of documents marked as confidential or proprietary to the information technology company,” the affidavit claims.

Gong reportedly submitted another application for the Language Program in September 2020 with a proposal to that effect develop ‘low light/night vision’ image sensors for use in military night vision goggles and civilian applications.

The Chinese native reportedly traveled to his home country several times in search of financing develop advanced analog-to-digital converters.

The affidavit revealed that the filing stated that Gong could develop “high-performance analog-to-digital converters” in China, which “had military applications.”

The documented further explained that the technology “could determine the accuracy and range of radar systems and that (m)issile navigation systems also often use radar front-end systems.”

In a 2019 email translated from Chinese, Gong noted that he “took a risk” by traveling to China to participate in the Talent Programs “because (he) worked for… an American military industry company” and thought he could ‘do something’. to contribute to China’s ‘high-end military integrated circuits’.

Gong is believed to have been born in Zhejiang province in China.

His resume stated that he “received a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Clemson University and completed some PhD work at Stanford University,” the affidavit said.

“From the late 1990s through 2023, Gong worked for a number of leading U.S. technology companies, as well as an international defense, aerospace and security company,” the document continued.