A string of unexplained deaths and disappearances among elite American scientists has prompted a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe, andNewsweekreporting now shows China faces its own cluster of at least nine mysterious fatalities in military artificial intelligence (AI), hypersonic weapons, and space defence.
The combined tally of roughly 20 researchers, 11 in the United States and nine in China, raises questions about whether their work is the common thread.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed this week that the bureau is leading a review of at least 10 cases linked to sensitive nuclear, space, and defence research, working with the Department of Energy and Department of War. The cases span Massachusetts Institute of Technology labs, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Caltech, and the Kansas City National Security Campus, dating to 2022.
Monica Reza, a 60-year-old JPL engineer who patented a nickel super-alloy for reusable rockets, vanished while hiking in June 2025. Retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland, 68, walked out of his Albuquerque home on 27 February 2026 and has not been seen since. President Donald Trump has called the sequence 'pretty serious stuff' while hoping it was coincidence.
The House Oversight Committeesent letterson 20 April 2026 demanding briefings from the FBI, NASA, the Department of War, and the Department of Energy by 27 April.
Newsweekhas separately documented at least nine Chinese scientists who have died in unexplained circumstances over the past three years, with ages from 26 to 68. Obituaries and media reports have attributed the deaths to traffic accidents, unspecified 'accidents', or no cause at all.
Among them is Zhang Xiaoxin, 62, a space expert at China's National Satellite Meteorological Centre specialising in early warning systems. He died in a traffic accident in December 2024 after winning a top Chinese military science award.
The Chinese embassy in Washington toldNewsweekit was 'not aware of the relevant situation' when asked about the pattern.
The most striking case is Feng Yanghe, a 38-year-old associate professor at China's National University of Defense Technology. State-runChina Dailyreported Feng died in a Beijing traffic accident at 2:35 a.m. on 1 July 2023 after leaving a work meeting. Officials said he had been working on a 'major task'.
An obituary on Sciencenet.cn, a state-run science news site, said Feng was 'sacrificed while performing official duties,' language typically reserved for soldiers killed in action. He was buried at Babaoshan, the Beijing cemetery reserved for Communist Party elites, state heroes, and revolutionary martyrs.
Source: International Business Times UK
