Feds: Navy Engineer Tried to Steal Schematics

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Navy civilian engineer has been indicted on charges he tried to steal schematics of an aircraft carrier under construction and have them sent to Egypt.

Federal prosecutors say 35-year-old Mostafa Ahmed Awwad, of Yorktown, was arrested Friday on two counts of attempted exportation of defense articles and technical data.

Federal prosecutors say Awwad tried to steal technical data in the designs of the USS Gerald R. Ford in late October. Awwad provided computer drawings downloaded from the Navy to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Egyptian intelligence officer.

The Ford is the lead ship in a new class of carriers. The aircraft carrier is scheduled for delivery to the Navy in 2016.