Anna Fermanova, 24, who lives near Dallas, was apprehended after attempting to take state-of-the-art night-vision scopes and other restricted items to Russia.
The items were confiscated when she attempted to board a flight to Moscow earlier this year. She was arrested when returning to America this month.
The case is being compared to that of Anna Chapman, a suspected Russian spy who was arrested in New York and then returned to Russia under a “spy swap exchange” earlier this month. There is no evidence that the two women knew one another.