China stole plans for a new fighter plane, spy documents have revealed

Philip Dorling 

January 18, 2015 

Chinese spies stole key design information about Australia's new Joint Strike Fighter, according to top secret documents disclosed by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. 

German magazine Der Spiegel has published new disclosures of signals intelligence collected by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and its "Five Eyes" partners, including the Australian Signals Directorate. The intelligence reveals new details of the directorate's efforts to track and combat Chinese cyber-espionage. 

According to a top secret NSA presentation, Chinese cyber spies have stolen huge volumes of sensitive military information, including "many terabytes of data" relating to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - also known as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. 

In April 2014 Tony Abbott announced Australia would buy 58 more F-35 fighters at a cost of more than $12 billion.Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

The leaked document shows that stolen design information included details of the JSF's radar systems which are used to identify and track targets; detailed engine schematics; methods for cooling exhaust gases; and "aft deck heating contour maps".

Although it has been previously alleged the F-35 has been a target of Chinese cyber-espionage, the Snowden documents provide the first public confirmation of how much the highly sensitive data has been compromised. 

Military aviation experts have speculated that the design of China's new "fifth-generation" fighters - the Chengdu J-20 and the Shenyang J-31 - have been extensively influenced by design information stolen from the United States, significantly eroding the air power superiority the US and its allies have long enjoyed.

In April 2014 Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that Australia would buy 58 more F-35 fighters at a cost of more than $12 billion. The extra aircraft will bring Australia's total planned JSF force to 72 aircraft, with the first of them to enter service with the Royal Australian Air Force in 2020.

"The fifth-generation F-35 is the most advanced fighter in production anywhere in the world and will make a vital contribution to our national security," Mr Abbott said. 

In June 2013 US Defense Department acquisitions chief Frank Kendall told a US Senate hearing that he was "reasonably confident" classified information related to the development of the F-35 was now well protected. It is understood the main data breach took place at the prime contractor Lockheed Martin in 2007. 

The Snowden documents confirm the Australian Government has been informed of the "serious damage" caused by Chinese cyber-espionage against the JSF. The leaked US NSA briefings, which predate Australia's acquisition of the fighter, are marked as releasable to all members of Five Eyes, which comprises the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. 

The Snowden documents also show that Chinese cyber-espionage operations, codenamed "Byzantine Hades" by the Five Eyes partners, have enjoyed other successes with the US Defense Department registering over 500 "significant intrusions" in one year. Damage assessment and network repair costs amounted to more than $US100 million ($121 million).

Sensitive military technologies and data stolen included information relating to the B-2 stealth bomber; the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter; nuclear submarine and naval air-defence missile designs; and tens of thousands of military personnel records. 

The total data theft was estimated to be equivalent to "five Libraries of Congress (50 terabytes)." 

However, the documents also show that the NSA and its Five Eyes partners have penetrated China's espionage agencies, such as infiltrating the computer of a high-ranking Chinese military official and accessing information about Chinese intelligence targets in the US government and other foreign governments.

The Australian government has repeatedly refused to comment on specific disclosures from the documents leaked by Mr Snowden. However, federal Attorney-General George Brandis has called Mr Snowden "an American traitor".