Snowden also mentioned that US intelligence was aware of the Chinese cyber spies and had stolen many terabytes of the data about the design of Australia’s Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II JSF. The details of the operation are described in a set of top secret documents published by the Der Spiegel magazine.
The F-35 is the most expensive defence project in US history. The stealth aircraft, manufactured by US-based Lockheed Martin, was developed at a cost of around $400bn (£230bn), in a process dogged by delays and unforeseen costs. The US, UK and Australian are the major customers of Lockheed Martin for the fighter aircraft, meanwhile Australian and British companies have also been involved in manufacturing parts of the aircraft.
It is reported that about 50 Terabytes of the data which includ the details of the fighter’s radar systems, engine schematics, “aft deck heating contour maps,” designs to cool exhaust gases and the method the jet uses to track targets, are been stolen.
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Snowden documents also reveals that NSA had operated a counter-intelligence operation, US hacked China’s espionage agencies and ex-filtrated data from the computer of a senior Chinese military official. The exfiltrate also reveals that China had targeted US government and other foreign governments too.