Natalie Winters@nataliegwinters · Aug 17, 2026

🚨 NATIONAL-SECURITY SCANDAL: Stanford’s former aerospace chief spent 14 years reviewing engine programs for the F-22…

5 tweets1 min read♥ 13.8Koriginal

Summary

Stanford's former aerospace chief who spent 14 years reviewing F-22 and F-35 engine programs traveled to a blacklisted Chinese defense university in 2025, where he delivered lectures and shared unpublished research to students and researchers. The incident represents a potential breach of U.S. national security efforts to restrict sensitive defense technology transfer to China.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

#1
🚨 NATIONAL-SECURITY SCANDAL: Stanford’s former aerospace chief spent 14 years reviewing engine programs for the F-22 and F-35. Then he quietly trained researchers at a blacklisted Chinese defense university—and presented unpublished sensitive work there. 🧵
#2
Brian Cantwell served on a team overseeing development of the F119, F135 and F136 engines. The F119 powers the F-22. The F135 powers the F-35. In 2025, he spent nearly a month inside Beihang—one of China’s “Seven Sons of National Defense.”
#3
Beihang says Cantwell gave six lectures, advised researchers, trained students and toured labs. Then came the bombshell: It advertised that “the latest research has not yet been published.”
#4
Beihang has been U.S.-blacklisted over missile concerns since 2001. Cantwell’s host school runs a research center for long-endurance drones. His trip was backed by a program that recruits foreign experts to “serve major national strategic needs.”
#5
America spent 25 years trying to keep aerospace technology out of Beihang. China found another way: bring in the expert. Read the full story here ⬇️ nataliegwinters.substack.com/p/revealed-sta…