Federal authorities arrested a Chinese national earlier this month after he was caught photographing military aircraft near Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, home of U.S. Strategic Command and the E-4B “Nightwatch” doomsday plane designed to survive a nuclear war.
Tianrui Liang, 21, was taken into custody April 7 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City as he prepared to board a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, Fox News reports. He had been charged in Nebraska four days earlier after a witness spotted him holding a camera with a telescopic lens near the base’s perimeter.
Offutt is one of the most sensitive military installations in the United States. It houses the command structure responsible for nuclear deterrence and global strike operations. The E-4B stationed there is the aircraft that would carry the president and military leadership in the event of a nuclear exchange.
Liang was in the country on a B1/B2 tourist visa. Court documents show he had previously been questioned by law enforcement about the activity before his airport arrest. He also allegedly planned a second trip to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, which maintains the Air Force’s weapons systems readiness. He was headed to Scotland by way of Frankfurt when agents stopped him at the gate.
He is charged with violating federal law prohibiting photography or sketching of defense installations.
The arrest is the latest in a pattern of Chinese nationals caught surveilling U.S. military sites. In August 2023, five former University of Michigan students were apprehended photographing National Guard equipment during joint training exercises with Taiwanese forces at Camp Grayling in Michigan. In December, a Chinese national was arrested for filming B-2 Spirit stealth bombers at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, along with photos of the base’s perimeter fencing.
