US weapons plans downloaded by China

The Post, citing a confidential report prepared for the Pentagon, said the breaches were part of a broad Chinese campaign of espionage against US defence contractors and government agencies.

The newspaper said the Defence Science Board, a senior advisory group with government and civilian experts, said the systems breached included the designs for two dozen major weapons systems critical to US missile defenses and combat aircraft and ships.

The Pentagon advisory report stopped short of accusing the Chinese of stealing the designs, but the conclusions help explain the increased US warnings to the Chinese government.

The Post said the conclusions were in a previously undisclosed section of a confidential report prepared by the Defence Science Board.

It said the breaches gave China access to advanced technology and could weaken the US military advantage in the event of a conflict.

A public version of the report disclosed in January said the United States is ill-prepared in the case of a full-scale cyberwar.

The Post said it obtained a confidential version of the report with a list of the designs hacked including the advanced Patriot missile system; an Army system for shooting down ballistic missiles; and the Navy's Aegis ballistic-missile defence system.

Also breached, according the newspaper were designs for combat aircraft and ships, including the F/A-18 fighter jet, the V-22 Osprey, the Black Hawk helicopter and the Navy's new Littoral Combat Ship.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge