By Wendell Minnick
TAIPEI — China attempted to acquire advanced US fighter aircraft engines and a UAV, according to US Federal Court documents unsealed last week. The case is being heard in Florida.
The documents allege that Wenxia "Wency" Man and Xinsheng Zhang attempted to acquire and export to China the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper UAV, the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine used on the F-35 stealth fighter, the P&W F119 engine used on the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, and the General Electric F110 engine used on the F-15 and F-16 fighters.
An undercover Homeland Security Investigations special agent thwarted their effort. The items are restricted for export under US International Traffic in Arms Regulations. China has been on the list since 1990. The undercover operation was begun in 2011, according to documents.
Man was born in China and became a US citizen in 2006. She was arrested Sept. 1, but Zhang remains a "fugitive" and is believed to be in China.
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