WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Undetected: Noshir Gowadia

Episode Date: October 31, 2024

This week, Megan and Alessia explore the treasonous career of Noshir Gowadia as he sold top secret information to the highest foreign bidders.

Welcome to Undetected on Radio Free Hillsdale. Go undercover with your hosts, Alessia Sandala and Megan Lee, as they uncover the stories of spies from every country and time. The most thrilling yet the most secret of lives in history. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Undetected. I'm Megan. And I'm Alessia. This week, we're going to be fast-forwarding to the present

to a spy that is still alive at this very moment. Kind of a rarity for us. Yes, this week's spy is named Nashir Gawadia, and the top secret information he deals with, or dealt away to foreign countries, I should say, remain relevant in America today. Let's get into his story. Gawadia was born on April 11, 1944, in Mumbai, India to a Parsi family. From there, he immigrated to the United States and got a job working for Northrop Grumman Corporation in 1968.

Northrop is an American multinational aerospace and defense company. Gawadia worked as an engineer there until approximately 1986, 18 years. While there, he contributed to the development of the B-2 Spirit Bomber. It's also one of the coolest airplanes to ever be created. The B-2 possessed a unique propulsion system and low observable capability, according to the Office of Public Affairs. The engines were built inside of the aircraft, and it is equipped with technology that cools emissions and lowers its volume. This stealth technology allowed it to attack deep within enemy territory without the enemy's awareness. Its main purpose is to take out weapons that can damage aircraft before louder,

planes come in. It is one of the most advanced aircraft ever developed and can accomplish a variety of tasks above and beyond what other bombers can do, becoming one of America's most critical assets for defense. Gawadia claimed to be the mastermind behind the technology that protects the B-2 from heat-seeking missiles. After Gawadia left Northrop in 1986, he worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory dealing with classified matters as a contractor with the government until his security contract was terminated in 1997. In 1999, Gawadia started his own consulting firm, N.S. Gawadia, Inc. It seemed as though he had left Northrop and its top-secret military operations behind, but nothing could be farther from the truth. In 2002, Gawadier reportedly faxed a top-secret

document about infrared technology, which is a type of electromagnetic radiation, gained from his time working with the government, to at least three foreign countries. Oh dear, that is terribly severe treason. Yeah, and it doesn't stop there. It was proven that from July 2003 to June 2005, Gawadia took six trips to the People's Republic of China, and he wasn't there to tour. According to the Office of Public Affairs, he provided defense services in a form of design, test support, and test data analysis of technology for the purpose of assisting China with a cruise missile system by developing a stealthy, exhaust nozzle. This would help the missile escape detection when in use. In return, Gawadio was paid at least $110,000 from China for helping them on China's

cruise missile project, one that would function on par with American missiles in the air. Gawadia's work was not limited to China, apparently. He gave information on the TH98 Eurocopter to a government official in Switzerland and sent more classified documents to businesses in Germany and Israel. He was paid about $2 million in total for the information he disclosed on the B2. But with all this cash flow, Gawadhi needed some way to cover his footprints. So he established three foreign entities, including a Liechtenstein charity, supposedly benefiting children to hide and disguise the income, keeping it from the IRS. It was Gawadia's own consulting firm that gave him away.

He aroused suspicion when aggressively marketing classified information on weapons technology through his firm. The sensitivity of the materials that Gawadia was trying to give out caught the attention of the police. When Gawadia was arrested in October of 2005, his Hawaiian home was searched. Investigators found 500 pounds of evidence, including documents visibly marked as classified from the United States and foreign countries, six computers, many thumb drives, and other electronic media with sensitive information. After 10 days of interviews, Gawadia was accused not only of a legal export of classified military data, but also money laundering and fake tax returns.

That was made possible thanks to his charity foundation, which he had told the I. IRS, he used to donate money. And that was not true at all. Not even close. The trial began on April 12, 2010, overseen by U.S. District Judge Susan Okie Malway. On August 9, 2010, Gawadia was found guilty of five criminal offenses relating to his design work for China, three counts of illegal communication of classified information and tax evasion. At 66 years old, Gawadia was sentenced to 32 years in ADX, Florence, a maximum security prison in Colorado.

where he will remain until 2032. As of this year, he is 80 years old. That is a long time to be in prison, but I think for his crimes it is what he deserved. It is certainly sad to see Gawadia, who had such a bright future in engineering for the country he immigrated to, would end up like this.

We may not see the consequences of Gawadia's actions in lives lost as of yet, but there is no doubt other countries benefited from Gawadia's work. According to Rai Mok-Laklan, Chinese stealth fighter Chengdu J-20, Mighty Dragon, flew for the first time in the same month Gawadi was sentenced. Coincidence? Perhaps? Perhaps not.

Either way, the damage and its magnitude, however big, cannot be reversed. I'm Megan. And I'm Alessia. We hope you enjoy this episode of Undetected. Tune in next week to hear the story of Sergei Screeple, who's passed with the GRU haunted him long after the end of his espionage career, on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.