Russia has billed itself as a world leader in hypersonic missiles, cutting-edge weapons capable of carrying payloads at up to 10 times the speed of sound to punch through air-defence systems.
The trio from the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ITAM) in Novosibirsk are among nearly a dozen scientists researching such technology against whom Russia has brought treason cases in recent years.
Two people familiar with Shiplyuk’s case told Reuters last May that the ITAM director was suspected of handing over classified material at a scientific conference in China in 2017.
The sources said Shiplyuk maintained his innocence and insisted the information in question was not classified and was freely available online.
Several other Russian scientists arrested on treason charges were also accused of betraying secrets to Beijing, according to state media.
Shiplyuk’s institute, sited at the Akademgorodok science campus near the city of Novosibirsk, says on its website that it is registered as a part of Russia’s military-industrial complex.
Two US scientists who knew Maslov and Shiplyuk told Reuters last year that the arrested Russians were engaged in one element of the work needed to build a hypersonic missile, a process that also includes the integration of sensors, navigational systems, and propulsion.
Source: CNA
