A California woman has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for conspiring to export US military gear to China, including jet fighter engines and a drone aircraft.

A Miami federal judge imposed the sentence Friday on 45-year-old Wenxia Man, a San Diego woman and naturalized citizen who goes by “Wency”, court records show. A jury convicted her in June of conspiring to export military equipment without the proper license.

Federal prosecutors say evidence in the case showed Man worked with a person in China to export engines used in F-135, F-22 and F-16 fighter jets as well as an MQ-9 Reaper drone aircraft, worth $50m and capable of firing Hellfire missiles. The judge said that Man had a “clear intent” to provide China with equipment that would have benefited its military.

Man allegedly told an undercover Homeland Security investigations agent she worked with a spy who helped the Chinese military copy items from other countries. She had been free on $250,000 bond since last year but was eventually taken into custody for allegedly sending text messages to the federal agent who was involved in her case during her trial. The messages, sent in Mandarin Chinese, were sent during a break in the agent’s two-day testimony.

Man was found guilty of conspiring with a man based in China, whom Man called a “technology spy”, to illegally acquire and export the military equipment. Her subsequent contact with a third party, who went to the authorities, led to an undercover investigation. Man’s lawyer, Alex Strassman, has said that she was “entrapped” by federal agents and that his client, who with her husband ran a business making electronic parts for cellphones and radios, will appeal the verdict.

Strassman argued that Man’s actions were not serious attempts to provide China with military material, but prosecutors countered that email and phone call evidence proved she knew she was engaged in criminal acts.