Chinese Cyber Spies Stole Australian and U.S. Fighter Jet Secrets

Key design information about the land-down-under’s new Joint Strike Fighter was copies by Chinese agents, according to documents leaked by ex-U.S. contractor Edward Snowden.

The German publication Der Spiegel has published new Snowden files, including National Security Agency signals intelligence about China’s cyber espionage operations.

The Chinese cyber spies have stolen "many terabytes of data" relating to the Joint Strike Fighter - also known as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, according to the documents.

It is understood the Chinese took the data during a major hack at Lockheed Martin in 2007. 

The purloined details describe 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.”

It is believed China's new fighters - the Chengdu J-20 and the Shenyang J-31 – are patterned after design data stolen from the United States, “significantly eroding the air power superiority the US and its allies have long enjoyed,” the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The Snowden documents state the Australian government has been informed of the "serious damage" caused by the Chinese cyber espionage.

“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,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

In June 2013, U.S. Defense Department acquisitions chief Frank Kendall told a Senate hearing that he was "reasonably confident" classified information related to the development of the F-35 was now well protected.