US Justice Division accuses former Air Drive officer Gerald Brown of coaching Chinese language navy pilots.
A former United States Air Drive officer and “elite fighter pilot” has been arrested and accused of betraying his nation for illegally offering coaching to Chinese language navy pilots.
The US Division of Justice mentioned ex-Air Drive Main Gerald Brown, as soon as identified by his pilot’s name signal “Runner”, was arrested on Wednesday in Indiana and charged with a prison criticism for offering and conspiring to supply defence providers to Chinese language pilots with out authorisation.
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Brown, 65, a former F-35 Lightning II teacher pilot with a long time of expertise within the Air Drive, “allegedly betrayed his nation by coaching Chinese language pilots to combat in opposition to these he swore to guard”, Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director on the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, mentioned in a press release.
“The Chinese language authorities continues to use the experience of present and former members of the US armed forces to modernise China’s navy capabilities. This arrest serves as a warning,” Rozhavsky mentioned.
US Legal professional Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia mentioned Brown “and anybody conspiring in opposition to our Nation” will likely be held accountable for his or her actions.
In accordance with the Justice Division, Brown served within the US Air Drive for twenty-four years, had led fight missions and was answerable for commanding “delicate models”, together with these concerned in nuclear weapons supply techniques.
After leaving the US navy in 1996, Brown labored as a industrial cargo pilot earlier than working as a defence contractor coaching US pilots to fly F-35 and A-10 warplanes.
Brown is alleged to have travelled to China in December 2023 to start his work coaching Chinese language pilots, and he remained within the nation till returning to the US in early February 2026.
His contract to coach Chinese language pilots was negotiated by Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese language nationwide who in 2016 pleaded responsible and was sentenced to 4 years in jail for conspiring to hack a defence contractor within the US to steal navy secrets and techniques for China, in accordance with the Justice Division.
The division mentioned Brown faces expenses just like these levelled in opposition to former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan, who was arrested in Australia in 2022 and is at the moment combating his extradition again to the US, the place he faces prosecution for violating the US Arms Export Management Act for offering pilot coaching to the Chinese language armed forces.
Duggan appeared in an Australian court docket in October 2025 to attraction in opposition to his extradition, which was accredited in December 2024 by Australia’s then Legal professional Common Mark Dreyfus.
Duggan, 57, a naturalised Australian citizen, was arrested by Australian police in 2022 shortly after coming back from China, the place he had lived since 2014.
In accordance with the Reuters information company. Duggan’s lawyer, Christopher Parkin, advised the court docket that his consumer’s extradition to the US was “uncharted territory” for Australia.
He argued that his consumer’s conduct was not an offence in Australia on the time or when the US requested extradition, and so didn’t meet the requirement for twin criminality in Australia’s extradition treaty with the US.
The governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US revealed a discover in 2024 warning present and former members of their armed forces that China was in search of to recruit them and different NATO navy personnel with a purpose to harness Western navy experience and bolster its personal capabilities.
“The perception the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] features from Western navy expertise threatens the security of the focused recruits, their fellow service members, and US and allied safety,” the discover acknowledged.
“These offering unauthorized coaching or experience providers to a international navy can face civil and prison penalties,” it added.
