A former U.S. army intelligence officer has been handed a seven-year prison sentence after selling "sensitive" defence information.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release that Korbein Schultz was sentenced to 84 months in prison on Wednesday "for conspiring to collect and transmit national defence information ... to an individual he believed was affiliated with the Chinese government."

According to the Justice Department, Schultz sent "dozens of sensitive U.S. military documents" to a contact in China, between May 2022 and March 2024. It says these included a U.S. army document on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, some technical manuals, as well as information about U.S. military satellites and missile defence systems.

He was paid $42,000 US for these efforts, according to authorities.

In August 2024, Schultz pleaded guilty to charges that had been laid out in a prior indictment against him.

In a statement on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Schultz "betrayed" an oath to defend the U.S. "for a payout," which she said put both the U.S. military and service members at risk.

"The Justice Department remains vigilant against China's efforts to target our military and will ensure that those who leak military secrets spend years behind bars," Bondi said.