Chinese hackers have gained access to some of the United States' most delicate and advanced weapons systems designs, according to The Washington Post and a Pentagon report distributed to government defense officials, Tuesday.
Some of the designs include plans for a missile system known as PAC-3, an Army setup used to shoot down ballistic missiles known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and a Navy combat system used for ballistic-missile defense.
Some air carriers and ships were also identified as being compromised by hackers in the report-among them: the F/A-18 fighter jet, Black Hawk helicopter and the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship, which patrols areas close to the banks of the water.
The most expensive weapons defense mechanism ever crafted also lands on the list of compromised information: the F-35 Joint Strike fighter, which cost about $1.4 trillion to make.
Many of these weapons systems constitute the foundation of the U.S.' locational missile defenses in Asia, Europe and the Persian Gulf.
The report did not say that China stole any of the ideas for the designs, but The Post did specify that the plans had been compromised.
The Washington Post reported that China aims to update its military for the future, and intends on defeating the American Army's upper hand. According to the Pentagon's report, online hacking is one of China's focuses in its efforts to overcome U.S. military advantage.
A Pentagon spokesperson who remained anonymous told The Washington Post that The Department of Defense experienced "growing concerns" over the issue of hacking to gain military advantage.
"The Department of Defense has growing concerns about the global threat to economic and national security from persistent cyber-intrusions aimed at the theft of intellectual property, trade secrets and commercial data, which threatens the competitive edge of U.S. businesses like those in the Defense Industrial Base," the spokesperson said.
The Chinese government, however, maintains that it does not participate in cyber-espionage on United States-run companies.
In fact, they say that China is often the target of United States online hacking.
This news comes just one month prior to President Obama's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He is scheduled to speak with the Chinese leader in California, and will reportedly bring up the cyber attack issue.
