Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges against an illegal immigrant from China accused of photographing sensitive military materials near a Missouri air base.
Qilin Wu, who entered the United States under the Biden administration, has been charged with “unlawfully photographing air force base and vital military equipment,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. On December 2, 2025, the Whiteman Air Force Base Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) investigated reports of a minivan near the perimeter of the base.
“Air Force patrolmen were dispatched to the area to investigate, and encountered Wu, who stated that he was there to observe the B-2 Spirit aircraft,” the attorney’s office explained. “The patrolmen informed Wu that he was not permitted to take photographs or make video recordings of the military installation.”
According to the criminal complaint, Wu “knowingly and intentionally photographed and took video footage of a vital military installation and equipment which were classified, designated, and marked under the authority and at the direction of the President as restricted, and which were located within a military reservation, base, airfield, station and district, pursuant to Executive Order No.1 0 104, without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer.” Footage obtained by Wu included a video of a Northrop B-2 Spirit aircraft taking off from the base, a picture of the eastern perimeter fence line, a video of the air base, and other images.
Investigators ultimately discovered 18 videos and images of the air base and military equipment. The Chinese national also admitted to photographing a separate Air Force base.
