The United States Department of Justice has announced the arrest of a former US Air Force fighter pilot accused of illegally providing military training to personnel of the Chinese Air Force.
The suspect, Gerald Brown, 65, was apprehended in Indiana shortly after returning to the United States from China, where he had reportedly stayed since December 2023.
According to the Justice Department, Brown allegedly conspired with foreign nationals to deliver combat aircraft training to Chinese military pilots without obtaining the mandatory license from the US State Department.
Reacting to the development, FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed in a post on X that the agency, in collaboration with its partners, arrested the former pilot over claims that he trained members of the Chinese military.
Brown had a 24-year career in the US Air Force, during which he reportedly commanded sensitive units responsible for nuclear weapons delivery systems. He also led combat missions and served as both a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on various fighter and attack aircraft.
After retiring from the military in 1996, he worked as a cargo pilot before later taking up a position as a US defence contractor, where he trained pilots on the A-10 and advanced F-35 fighter jets.
Investigators allege that in August 2023, Brown began negotiating a contract with Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national previously imprisoned in the United States for espionage-related offences. He subsequently travelled to China in December 2023 to commence the training assignment.
An official of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, Roman Rozhavsky, said the Chinese government continues to exploit the expertise of current and former US military personnel to advance its defence capabilities.
He warned that US authorities would not hesitate to prosecute individuals found collaborating with foreign adversaries in ways that threaten national security.
The case underscores heightened tensions between the United States and China over military and intelligence matters.