"He decided to sell the rocket launchers instead of taking them to sea and dumping them," Judge Williams said.

The fact that Della-Vedova had not believed the weapons would end up in the hands of terrorists was "wholly unbelievable, given that the world was still reeling from 9/11 terrorism", he said.

Judge Williams also rejected the now-former captain's claim that Harrington had wanted the rockets as a "trophy", adding that while there was no evidence a substantial sum had been paid, he did not believe all 10 weapons were sold for $5000.

"I also find it extraordinarily difficult to believe that Mr Della-Vedova wouldn't have had well in mind that these weapons ... were more likely to be used for some criminal, terrorist-type activity," Judge Williams told the court.