The FBI arrested a former US Air Force officer and pilot, Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., who served in the US Air Force for over 24 years, for betraying the US by training Chinese military pilots in combat aircraft operations.
The case highlights the efforts of the Chinese military to modernise its forces using foreign talent who have knowledge of how the systems and platforms of Beijing's adversaries work. The US had, in a bulletin, along with the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand in 2024 warned that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recruits current and former military personnel from NATO nations and other Western countries to help bolster the PLA’s capabilities and modernisation.
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According to the US Justice Department, Brown, known by the call sign ‘Runner,’ 65, who served as a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on several US fighter and attack aircraft, including the F-4 'Phantom II,' F-15 'Eagle', F-16 'Fighting Falcon' and the A-10 'Thunderbolt II', has been charged by criminal complaint with providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorisation in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).
“Gerald Brown, a former F-35 Lightning II instructor pilot with decades of experience flying U.S. military aircraft, allegedly betrayed his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect,” Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, was quoted as saying.
He claimed that the Chinese government continues to exploit the expertise of current and former members of the US armed forces to modernise its military capabilities.
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US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia pointed out that, as an Air Force officer, Brown took an oath to defend his country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Brown "broke that oath and betrayed the country, jeopardising the safety of servicemembers and allies," Pirro added.
Lee M. Russ, executive director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Office of Special Projects, pointed out that providing US military training to adversaries represents a significant threat to national security.
Around August 2023, Brown started arranging the terms of his contract to train Chinese military pilots, using a co-conspirator to negotiate with Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of major US defence contractors and steal sensitive military information.
According to the Justice Department, Brown traveled to China in December 2023 to begin his work training People’s Republic of China (PRC) military pilots. After his arrival, he answered questions for three hours about the US Air Force. Later, he prepared and presented a brief about himself for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). He remained in China until he travelled to the US in early February 2026.
This is similar to the case against former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan in September 2017. He was charged with providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorisation in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. Duggan is alleged to have trained Chinese military pilots on the tactics, techniques, and procedures associated with takeoff from and landing on an aircraft carrier. He was arrested in Australia in October 2022 and is currently pending extradition to the US.
