The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced that a former US Air Force Pilot was arrested for training Chinese military pilots.
Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., 65, was arrested Wednesday in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the DOJ said.
The 24-year Air Force veteran was “charged by criminal complaint for providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).”
“As alleged in the complaint, since at least in or around August 2023, Brown willfully conspired with foreign nationals and U.S. persons to provide combat aircraft training to pilots in the Chinese Air Force, known as the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). This training was a defense service under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Brown, a U.S. person under the ITAR, lacked the required license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) to provide that training to foreign persons or foreign military units,” the press release reads.
Brown allegedly traveled to China with the stated intent of training the Chinese military pilots in combat aircraft operations. Upon his arrival in China, he sat for three hours of questioning “about the U.S. Air Force on his first day in the PRC,” the DOJ said. He further “prepared and presented a brief about himself for the PLAAF.”
“The United States Air Force trained Major Brown to be an elite fighter pilot and entrusted him with the defense of our Nation. He now stands charged with training Chinese military pilots,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement. “When U.S. persons – whether military or civilian – provide training to a foreign military, that activity is illegal unless they have a license from the State Department. The National Security Division will use all tools at its disposal to protect our military advantages and hold to account those who would violate the 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,” Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division said. “The Chinese government continues to exploit the expertise of current and former members of the U.S. armed forces to modernize China’s military capabilities. This arrest serves as a warning that the FBI and our partners will stop at nothing to hold accountable anyone who collaborates with our adversaries to harm our service members and jeopardize our national security.”
FBI Director Kash Patel also shared on X,
“Major story… the FBI and our partners have arrested a former U.S. Air Force Pilot who was allegedly training pilots in the Chinese military”
Major story… the FBI and our partners have arrested a former U.S. Air Force Pilot who was allegedly training pilots in the Chinese military pic.twitter.com/Y7razDr16y
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) February 26, 2026
The FBI’s New York, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles Field Offices, as well as the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, are investigating the case against Brown.
Brown is scheduled to have his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
This is a developing story.
The post JUST IN: DOJ Announces Arrest of Former US Air Force Pilot for Training Chinese Military Pilots appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.