Noshir Gowadia, once celebrated as a brilliant engineer behind the B-2 bomber’s stealth propulsion system, now languishes in a U.S. prison for betraying the very secrets he helped craft. His journey, from Bombay to America’s most guarded military projects, to selling secrets to China and others, reveals a chilling tale of ambition, espionage, and the high price of disloyalty.
The Engineer Behind America’s Stealth Superiority
Noshir Sheriarji Gowadia was not just another defence contractor. Born in Bombay in 1944 and educated in aeronautical engineering in the United States, Gowadia rose to prominence at Northrop Grumman, where he became instrumental in designing the propulsion system of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
His work was vital to making the aircraft nearly invisible to radar, a technological marvel likened to making a flying disc vanish into the sky. Gowadia developed innovative exhaust systems and materials that dramatically reduced heat and radar signatures, giving the United States an unparalleled edge in aerial warfare.
From the late 1960s until 1986, he worked on classified programs. In 1969, he became a U.S. citizen and remained involved in top-secret defence work even after leaving Northrop, continuing as a private contractor until his security clearance was revoked in 1997. But the very brilliance that made him an asset to U.S. defence would later be weaponised against it.
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In 2005, federal agents arrested Gowadia at his luxury home in Maui, Hawaii. The arrest followed a years-long investigation triggered by suspicions that he had leaked classified designs to foreign entities. The trail was cold at first, but soon led to alarming discoveries: between 2003 and 2005, Gowadia made multiple trips to China, briefing officials on stealth missile exhaust systems.
U.S. prosecutors later revealed that Gowadia had earned over $110,000 for these consultations, money he allegedly used to pay off his lavish ocean-view home. He didn’t stop with China. Investigators unearthed evidence that he had also sent restricted military designs to parties in Germany, Switzerland, and Israel. One of the most significant accusations was his role in advancing China’s stealth missile capabilities, particularly aiding the development of the Xian H-20, China’s own long-range stealth bomber, reportedly modelled in part on concepts gleaned from the B-2 project.
Court documents detailed that Gowadia provided PowerPoint presentations and in-person briefings to Chinese aeronautical engineers, offering insights into radar heat signatures, engine exhaust optimization, and detection avoidance. His notes were found to contain material classified at the highest level. The U.S. Air Force confirmed he had visited wind tunnel test sites and offered critical assessments of China’s missile deficiencies, effectively becoming a stealth design consultant for America’s chief adversary.
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From Genius to Convict: National Security, Betrayal, and the H-20 Connection
In 2010, following a prolonged federal trial, Gowadia was convicted on 14 of 17 charges, including violations of the Espionage Act, the Arms Export Control Act, and money laundering. The court sentenced him to 32 years in federal prison, a sentence reflecting both the gravity and breadth of his betrayal.
Prosecutors painted Gowadia as a man who, driven by ego and financial gain, compromised national security. The defence, in contrast, portrayed him as a misunderstood engineer who believed he was sharing only unclassified, publicly available information in pursuit of technological progress. His team argued that much of the data he presented was already declassified or overclassified.
But the court was unconvinced. The consequences of his actions, especially as they pertained to emerging Chinese weapons platforms, were too serious. The classified data he leaked helped China bridge years of technological gap, threatening America’s military superiority. Today, the H-20 looms as a symbol of China’s military modernization, and as a cautionary reminder of the damage a single insider can inflict.