MANILA, Philippines – The Washington Post reported Tuesday, May 28, that Chinese hackers may have compromised a number of designs for US advanced weapon systems.

While the public version of the report by the Defense Science Board, called “Resilient Military Systems and the Advanced Cyber Threat,” notes how lax security against cyber attacks is a cause for concern, confidential parts of the report add a more threatening context.

According to the Washington Post’s reading of the confidential report, the compromised weapons designs include the advanced Patriot missile system, called PAC-3; the Army’s THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system for shooting down ballistic missiles, and the Navy’s Aegis, another ballistic missile defense system.

Combat aircraft and ships were also noted in the report. These include the F/A-18 fighter jet, the V-22 Osprey, the Black Hawk helicopter and the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ship, a patrol ship for operations near the shore.

The list also mentions the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which costs around US$1.4 trillion and is one of the most expensive weapons systems in existence today.

Some other technologies were also reportedly compromised, including drone video systems, nanotechnology, tactical data links and electronic warfare systems. The Washington Post notes these are “all areas where the Pentagon and Chinese military are investing heavily.”

The Defense Science Board doesn’t name China specifically in the attacks, but a number of officials are cited in the piece as saying it was part of an initiative from China.

An attack timeline, as well as details on the amount of information taken, was not given. – Rappler.com