A dual U.S.-Chinese citizen has pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets related to some of the most sensitive missile-tracking and defense technologies in the American arsenal—and despite the grave national security threat, he’s walking free on bond while awaiting sentencing.

Chenguang Gong, a former engineer at a Southern California defense firm, admitted in court this week to transferring nearly 1,800 files—some marked “EXPORT CONTROLLED” and “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY”—onto USB drives just days after accepting a job with a competitor. His thefts included blueprints for infrared sensors capable of detecting nuclear launches and tracking hypersonic missiles from space, as well as schematics for aircraft systems designed to detect and jam incoming heat-seeking missiles.

Prosecutors say the value of the compromised technology runs into the hundreds of millions—and that’s just from one employer. Gong’s resume includes nearly a decade working for other high-tech firms across the U.S., many of them tied to national defense.

What’s even more disturbing is that Gong wasn’t simply acting for personal gain. He actively courted the Chinese Communist Party’s notorious “Talent Programs,” designed to recruit individuals with insider access to advanced American technology. In multiple applications, Gong pitched sensitive designs he had stolen, passed them off as his own, and traveled to China to secure government funding. In one 2019 email, Gong even acknowledged the risk: “I took a risk… because I worked for an American military industry company,” but he felt he could “do something” to advance China’s military dominance.

This is espionage in everything but name. Gong used his privileged access as a U.S. citizen to penetrate America’s most protected technologies, then funneled that knowledge to a hostile power seeking to undermine U.S. military supremacy. He targeted core components of missile defense systems, radar tech, and electronic warfare capabilities.

Yet despite the staggering scope of his betrayal, Gong was released on a $1.74 million bond. The court has scheduled sentencing for September 29—but questions are swirling about whether he’ll stick around. He’s traveled secretly to China before. Has his passport been confiscated? What’s preventing him from fleeing again to rejoin the regime he’s been helping for years?

The national security implications go far beyond Gong. His case raises a chilling question: How many others like him are embedded in U.S. defense firms, quietly siphoning off technology to fuel the Chinese military machine?

Even as President Trump’s administration ramps up efforts to combat foreign ownership of American farmland and re-examines Chinese access to defense contracts, cases like Gong’s highlight just how much has already slipped through the cracks.

Sen. Tom Cotton recently raised alarms about U.S. tech giants outsourcing critical defense software maintenance to Chinese nationals. And Gong’s case confirms the fear: Beijing has agents embedded within our borders, operating under the radar for years, stealing not just data but strategic advantage.

The Biden administration may be silent, but Trump-era leadership at the DOJ is taking action. Gong faces up to 10 years in prison, a sentence critics say is far too lenient given the scale of the damage. But at least this one spy has been caught.

The question now is: how many more are still out there? And what will it take to find them before it’s too late?