Ex-Raytheon engineer sentenced to prison for giving China military technology secrets
Despite having been trained to handle these materials correctly, authorities said Wei Sun knowingly transported the information to China without an export license.
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A Chinese national who was employed for 10 years by Raytheon Missiles and Defense in Arizona will spend more than three years in federal prison for handing over sensitive military-related technology to China, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
Wei Sun, 49, received a 38-month prison term after previously pleading guilty to one felony count of violating the Arms Export Control Act, according to the Department of Justice.
Raytheon corporation corporate office entrance sign in Northern Virginia with an American flag. (iStock)
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Sun was employed by Raytheon Missiles and Defense in Tucson as an electrical engineer with Raytheon Missiles and Defense, which develops and produces missile systems for the U.S. military.
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During his employment with the company, prosecutors said Sun had access to information directly related to sensitive defense technology.
From December 2018 to January 2019, Sun traveled to China on a personal trip and brought along unclassified defense-related technical information in his company-issued computer.
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Prosecutors said the technical information included data associated with an advanced missile guidance system that was controlled and regulated under the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Despite having been trained to handle these materials correctly, authorities said Sun knowingly transported the information to China without an export license in violation of the AECA and the ITAR.
RAYTHEON DISCLOSES CRIMINAL SUBPOENA FROM JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
“Sun was a highly skilled engineer entrusted with sensitive missile technology that he knew he could not legally transfer to hostile hands,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers. “Nevertheless, he delivered that controlled technology to China. Today’s sentence should stand as a warning to others who might be tempted similarly to put the nation’s security at risk.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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