Ex-US Air Force Officer Arrested for Coaching China’s Air Force Pilots
Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., 65, was apprehended Wednesday in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act for allegedly providing advanced military instruction to pilots of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced.
"Providing US military training to our adversaries represents a significant threat to national security," said Lee Russ, executive director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Office of Special Projects.
Brown dedicated 24 years to the US Air Force, retiring at the rank of major in 1996. Over the course of his distinguished military career, he commanded units overseeing nuclear weapons delivery systems, flew combat missions, and served as both a fighter pilot and simulator instructor across a range of aircraft platforms, according to media. His flight experience spanned some of the most formidable jets in the American arsenal — from the Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom to the F-15 and F-16.
Following his military retirement, Brown transitioned to commercial cargo aviation before eventually signing on with two US defense contractors as a simulator instructor — a role that granted him access to training programs for the cutting-edge F-35 Lightning II and the A-10 attack aircraft.
A Two-Year Shadow Operation in China
Federal prosecutors allege that Brown did not merely flirt with betrayal — he allegedly committed to it over an extended period. Court documents claim he traveled to China in December 2023 and remained there for more than two years, departing only earlier this month. On his very first day on Chinese soil, he allegedly spent three hours fielding detailed questions about US Air Force operations before delivering a personal briefing directly to PLAAF personnel.
"Brown's alleged betrayal exposed sensitive military tactics, threatening the security of our nation, our armed forces, and our allies," said James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York Field Office.
China's Foreign Ministry offered no engagement on the matter. Spokeswoman Mao Ning, confronted with the allegations during a routine press briefing Thursday, said she was unfamiliar with the case and declined to comment.
Ties to a Known Chinese Espionage Network
The case carries an even more troubling dimension: prosecutors allege Brown was drawn into the operation through a co-conspirator connected to Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiring to steal sensitive US military data and was subsequently sentenced to nearly four years behind bars. The link suggests Brown's alleged conduct may be part of a broader, coordinated effort by Beijing to extract American military expertise through established intelligence channels.
The arrest marks one of the most significant military-espionage cases in recent years, raising urgent questions about the vulnerability of retired defense personnel to foreign recruitment — and the ease with which decades of classified American air combat knowledge can allegedly be packaged and transferred to an adversary.
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