A scientist who developed the stealth bomber's engine allegedly tried to help China develop technology that would render cruise missiles undetectable to radar, according to an 18-count federal indictment unsealed yesterday.

Noshir S. Gowadia, a 62-year-old resident of Ha'iku, Maui, allegedly provided "substantial defense-related services for the People's Republic of China by agreeing to design and later designing a low observable cruise missile exhaust system nozzle capable of rendering the missile less susceptible to detection and interception," according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Details of the government's case against Gowadia were contained in a superseding indictment issued by a federal grand jury yesterday. The new indictment specifically names the countries Gowadia allegedly worked with, including China, Switzerland, Germany and Israel, and details his alleged activities while overseas.

It also raises the possibility of the death penalty.

"As charged in the superseding indictment, the defendant in this case attempted to profit from his know-how and his knowledge of sensitive military technology," said Kenneth L. Wainstein, assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice's national security division, in a news release yesterday. "This case demonstrates that the DOJ will vigorously prosecute those who illegally transfer such information and services to foreign countries."

A call to the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles was not returned last night.

Lawyer Chris Todd of the Washington, D.C., firm Kellog, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel has previously represented Gowadia. A call to his office was not immediately returned yesterday. A call to Gowadia's Ha'iku home was not answered.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson, who is prosecuting the case for the government, declined comment, pending a status conference in the case scheduled for today.

The indictment lists one count of conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act, one count of performing a defense service without obtaining approval from the U.S. Department of State, and three counts of willfully communicating classified national defense information to Chinese defense officials.

The indictment also includes four counts of money laundering connected to allegations that Gowadia disguised funds paid to him by the Chinese government for his services.

LIFE TERM OR DEATH

If convicted of the new charges, which supersede a six-count indictment against Gowadia handed down in October 2005, Gowadia faces up to life in prison or the death penalty "if certain statutory criteria are met" and fines totaling $250,000 and possible property forfeiture.

He is scheduled to appear for a status conference before federal Magistrate Judge Kevin S.C. Chang this morning at 10.

Gowadia has been held without bail at the Federal Detention Center since Oct. 26, 2005.

Prior to the current indictment, Gowadia, a former design engineer for a defense contractor, had been accused of selling classified information about the B-2 stealth bomber to foreign governments, including Germany, Switzerland and Israel. Gowadia attempted to sell stealth technology to Germany and Israel to help disguise the heat signatures of commercial aircraft, according to court documents. Switzerland was interested in similar technology for a helicopter.

The indictment does not say if the sales were successful.

Gowadia, a naturalized citizen who moved to the United States from Bombay, India, when he was 18, was an engineer with Northrop Corp. from 1968 to 1986 and was the chief designer of the B-2's infrared-suppressing propulsion system, the federal government has said. The technology remains classified.

According to the 49-page indictment, Gowadia from January 2002 until January 2006 conspired with Chinese counterparts to willfully "export defense services and technical data, to include classified information to the People's Republic of China without having first obtained a validated license or written approval from the U.S. Department of State."

Gowadia allegedly traveled to China on at least six occasions between July 2003 and June 2005 and met with Chinese government engineers in order to disclose "technical defense data and provide defense services," according to the indictment.

The government accuses Gowadia of designing and helping with the testing of "advanced propulsion system technologies and low observable technologies for the specific purpose of assisting the PRC in designing, testing and analyzing a low observable exhaust nozzle, optimized for significant reduction in the infrared heat signature for a PRC cruise missile," court documents say.

PAY PUT AT $110,000

The PRC paid Gowadia $110,000 for his work, according to the documents, which he allegedly smuggled into the country through various means, including declaring one $10,000 payment as intended to buy an antique desk. Gowadia is charged with several counts of money laundering in connection with his handling of the payments.

Gowadia's alleged co-conspirator, Tommy Wong, who worked for the Chinese government's State Bureau of Foreign Experts, allegedly helped Gowadia forge stamps on his passport and paid for all of Gowadia's expenses in China in order to disguise his entry and travel within the country, the papers state.

On April 22, 2004, Wong met Gowadia at the airport in Hong Kong and arranged for him to enter China without having his passport stamped, court papers show.

Gowadia sent PowerPoint files, numerous other files, blueprints, and other data concerning U.S. stealth and propulsion technology via e-mail to his co-conspirators, the documents state.

Meetings between Gowadia and Chinese officials took place in Hong Kong, Chengdu, Shenzen, and Beijing, often at government facilities.

On June 23, 2004, Gowadia traveled to Beijing with Wong and was given a tour of an aeronautical facility where the nozzles he helped develop would be tested, according to court documents.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.