A US Engineer, 66-year-old Noshir Gowadia has been given 32-year imprisonment over selling sensitive military technology to China.

The engineer is a former B-2 stealth bomber engineer, has been convicted of selling military secrets to Beijing. In August 2010, Mumbai-born Gowadia, 66, was convicted on 14 counts on charges, including conspiracy, communicating national defense, violating the arms export control act and information to aid a foreign nation. He now faces life sentence.

Between 2003 and 2005 Gowadia made six secret trips into mainland China and exchanged numerous communications to help Chinese defense engineers design a cruise missile that is able to evade air-to-air, heat-seeking missiles, according the federal indictment against him.

According to court papers, Gowadia hid the proceeds from the transactions by directing the payments to secret Swiss bank accounts of foundations he set up in Liechtenstein, the government said in recently filed court documents.

He provided some of our country's most sensitive weapons-related designs to the Chinese government for money, Assistant Attorney General for National Security David Kris said in a statement at the time.

Gowadia worked for Northrup from 1968 to 1986, during which time he helped develop the B-2 bomber's unique propulsion system. After his employment with Northrup ended, Gowadia continued his relationship with the US military as a private contractor.

Few weeks ago, China began test flight of its first J-20 stealth fighter and plans to deploy them by 2017. The J-20, which is larger than the US Air Force's F-22 Raptor, will be equipped with large missiles and could fly to as far as Guam with aerial refuelling, Asahi said. It would still take another 10 to 15 years to develop technology to catch up with that of the US F-22.

China Court Attorney general China