Gowadia gets 32 years for selling US secrets to China

Weeks after China conducted a flight test of its new J-20 stealth fighter, a US federal court has sentenced a former B-2 stealth bomber engineer to 32 years in jail.

India-born American Noshir Gowadia, 66, was convicted of five offences in August following a trial in a federal court in Hawaii. He had been accused of passing on design information that would allow cruise missiles to avoid infra-red detection.

"We're a little disappointed (the judge) didn't give him a life sentence, that's the sentence that would have sent the best message," assistant US attorney Ken Sorenson said Monday evening after the sentenced was announced. "But 32 years is stiff and in many ways an appropriate sentence for him."

Gowadia's son Ashton said, "We believe very strongly that he's innocent, and we very much look forward to the appeals process in the 9th circuit.'' 

Gowadia was found guilty of illegally communicating classified information, as well as illegally retaining defence information, following a 40-day trial.

"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.