Mostafa Ahmed Awwad tried to sell plans for new aircraft carrier class to Egypt

quote:

---

A Navy engineer was arrested and charged Friday with attempting to steal plans for the Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier, now under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding.

Mostafa Ahmed Awwad, 35, a York County, Va., resident who worked at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia, was indicted on two counts of attempted exportation of defense articles and technical data. . . . If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count.

---

quote:

---

During one meeting with the undercover agent, he "discussed where to strike the vessel with a missile in order to sink it," an affidavit states.

---

quote:

---

The Ford is the first of a new class of aircraft carrier that packs almost a dozen major new technologies onboard and represents a taxpayer investment of at least $13 billion.

Among the new technologies are dual band radar, new systems for launching and recovering aircraft, and a nuclear propulsion system that produces a nearly three-fold increase in power generation compared to the current Nimitz-class carriers.

---

quote:

---

Court documents say Awwad was born in Saudi Arabia and married his current spouse in May 2007 in Cairo, where he began the U.S. immigration process to become a citizen.

It was not immediately clear when he came to the U.S.

---

quote:

---

In August, Awwad was issued a security clearance that gave him access to classified information, which includes naval nuclear propulsion information.

The nuclear power systems onboard aircraft carriers are considered among the most closely guarded sections of the ship. Awwad had access to information concerning the design, development, maintenance and repair of propulsion plants onboard nuclear-powered ships, the affidavit says.

---