Former U.S. Air Force officer and pilot Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., 65, was arrested in Indiana after attempting to assist China. According to the Department of Justice, Brown was charged for “providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).”
A complaint explains that around August 2023, Brown willfully conspired with foreign nationals and U.S. individuals to provide aircraft training to pilots serving in the Chinese Air Force. In his communications with a Chinese national, identified as Stephen Su Bin, who pled guilty in 2016 for conspiring to hack into U.S. defense contractor networks, Brown described his intent to become an “Instructor Fighter Pilot.”
Upon arriving in China in December 2023, he answered questions for three hours regarding the U.S. Air Force. He remained in China until February 2026.
During his more than 24 years in the military, Brown “commanded sensitive units with responsibility for nuclear weapons delivery systems, led combat missions, and served as a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on a variety of fighter and attack aircraft,” the DOJ said.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia condemned Brown for breaking his oath “to defend our Nation against all enemies foreign and domestic.”
“We will hold Brown, and anyone conspiring against our Nation, accountable for their actions,” she said. “The Department of Justice and my prosecutors are steadfast in our commitment to use every lawful tool available to keep American military expertise where it belongs – here in America.”
