Trial set for ex-Navy engineer in military secrets case

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The Associated Press

Mostafa Ahmed Awwad, 35, of Yorktown, Va., a civilian with the U.S. Navy, leaves the federal courthouse in Norfolk, Va. on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 after he was arrested on charges he tried to steal schematics for the under construction Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier for Egypt. Prosecutors said Awwad provided computer drawings downloaded from the Navy to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Egyptian intelligence officer in October. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Steve Earley)

NORFOLK, Va. — A former Navy civilian engineer is scheduled to stand trial next summer on charges of trying to steal aircraft carrier schematics.

Media outlets report that 35-year-old Mostafa Awwad of Yorktown pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to two counts of attempted exportation of defense articles and technical data. His trial is set for June 2015 in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.

Awwad is accused of trying to steal technical data in the designs of the USS Gerald R. Ford and send it to his native Egypt. The carrier is under construction at a shipyard in Newport News.

Federal prosecutors say Awwad turned down a job with Lockheed Martin because the lower-paying Navy job allowed easier access to classified information.

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