The trial of James W. Fondren Jr., a retired USAF lieutenant colonel and former Pentagon civilian employee who is accused of passing classified information to Tai Shen Kuo, an agent of China, began Sept. 21 in US District Court in Alexandria, Va. The Examiner reports that convicted spy Kuo, a naturalized US citizen, testified against Fondren and that the prosecution introduced e-mails that showed Fondren knew the information he passed was classified and was going to the Chinese government. Fondren’s attorney has maintained Fondren did not know Kuo was a spy. (Justice Department release on Fondren’s indictment)
Defense industry leaders say the Air Force needs to be able to update the software on its munitions multiple times a day, not every few months, and a new Pentagon instruction released last week could enable that.
