A U.S.-China dual citizen with a Stanford pedigree and a security-sensitive job just pled guilty to stealing highly classified missile-tracking technology. Chenguang Gong, 59, was hired in January 2023 as a circuit design manager at a Los Angeles-area defense R&D firm. Just three months later, he began secretly downloading thousands of files onto personal storage devices—many involving proprietary U.S. space-based systems for detecting missile launches and tracking hypersonic weapons. . The stolen data, according to the DOJ, was valued in the hundreds of millions and included details on sensors that help aircraft evade heat-seeking missiles. Gong continued this unauthorized data transfer even after reportedly accepting a job at a rival firm. He was terminated in April 2023. . Investigators later uncovered Gong’s longstanding interest in China’s state-backed “Talent Programs”—controversial initiatives like the Thousand Talents Program, which U.S. authorities warn are used to steal intel...