Chenguang Gong (龚晨光), a native of China who became a US citizen in 2011, was arrested in San Jose on Feb 6 and charged in a criminal complaint with theft of trade secrets — transferring >3,600 files from the company where he worked to personal storage devices during his brief tenure there in 2023. The files include blueprints for sophisticated infrared sensors designed for use in space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, and blueprints for sensors designed to enable US military aircraft to detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures, including by jamming the missiles’ infrared tracking ability. Some of these files were later found on storage devices seized from Gong’s temporary residence in Thousand Oaks.
The victim company hired Gong in Jan 2023 to work at one its labs as an ASIC design manager responsible for the design, development and verification of its infrared sensors. Beginning on Mar 30, 2023, and continuing until his termination on Apr 26, 2023, Gong transferred thousands of files from his work laptop to 3 personal storage devices, including hundreds of files after he had accepted a job on Apr 5, 2023, at one of the victim company’s main competitors.
Many of the files Gong transferred contained proprietary and trade secret information related to the development and design of a readout IC that allows space-based systems to detect missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles while providing resilience and another readout IC that allows aircraft to track incoming threats in low visibility environments. Gong also transferred trade secret files relating to the development of next-generation sensors capable of detecting low observable targets while demonstrating increased survivability in space, as well as the blueprints for the mechanical assemblies used to house and cryogenically cool the victim company’s sensors.
Between 2014 and 2022 while employed at several major technology companies in the US, Gong submitted numerous applications to ‘Talent Programs’ administered by 
government.
In 2014, while employed at a US IT company HQ’ed in Dallas, Texas, Gong sent a business proposal to a contact at the 38th Research Institute of the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, a high-tech research institute in China focused on both military and civilian products. In his proposal, Gong described a plan to produce high-performance analog-to-digital converters similar to those produced by his employer, noting that the global market for those products “is basically monopolized by several companies in the US” and that “the export of those items from the US requires a government export license”.
In another Talent Program application in Sep 2020, Gong proposed to develop “low light/night vision” image sensors for use in military night vision goggles and civilian applications. In a video presentation included with Gong’s submission, Gong used a video containing the model number of a sensor developed by an international defense, aerospace, and security company where Gong worked from 2015 to 2019.
Gong also travelled to China several times to seek Talent Program funding to develop sophisticated analog-to-digital converters. In his Talent Program applications, Gong underscored that the high-performance analog-to-digital converters he proposed to develop in China had military applications, explaining that they “directly determine the accuracy and range of radar systems” and that “missile navigation systems also often use radar front-end systems.” In a 2019 email, Gong remarked 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 ICs. Gong continued to seek funding from government programs through at least Mar 2022.
justice.gov/opa/pr/justice
justice.gov/opa/media/1337