The self-proclaimed father of the B-2 stealth bomber told a customs officer that technical documents found in his carry-on luggage in June 2004 detailed anti-missile technology for the C-130 military aircraft, the officer testified yesterday in federal court.

    Officer Erickson Padilla said his supervisor copied the documents then gave the originals back to Noshir Gowadia. He said Gowadia told him he was going to Singapore for business and also to Hong Kong and Australia.

Padilla was one of the last to testify on behalf of the government in a pretrial hearing. Gowadia is asking a federal judge to exclude certain documents and statements from the trial, including statements made at Honolulu Airport on June 7, 2004 and after authorities searched his Maui home in October 2005.

The documents the defense wants excluded are those that were in his possession when he left the country in April and June 2004 and others that authorities found in a shipping container of furniture Gowadia sent from Singapore to Hawaii in April 2004.

Gowadia's lawyers said the documents also include information on advanced infrared suppression, a Department of Defense alternative infrared satellite missile-warning and defense system, the military Blackhawk helicopter and a defense contractor in Virginia that designs computer systems.

Gowadia, 65, chose not to testify yesterday in support of his request.

U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor did not rule yesterday on Gowadia's request.

The government says Gowadia sold secret B-2 stealth technology to China and tried to sell them to Singapore and Australia.

He is charged with illegally keeping national defense information, sharing the information with persons not entitled to receive it, sharing it to aid a foreign nation, money laundering and tax evasion. His trial is scheduled for April.

The government is also seeking forfeiture of Gowadia's home on Maui.

Gowadia designed the B-2's propulsion system while working as an engineer for defense contractor Northrop Corp.