By Micah Jonah, February 26, 2026
A former United States Air Force officer has been arrested, accused of illegally providing military training to Chinese pilots, according to the US Department of Justice.
Gerald Brown, a 65 year old former Air Force major and F 35 instructor pilot, was arrested in Indiana, charged with conspiring to provide defence services to Chinese military pilots without authorization. Brown, whose call sign was Runner, previously served 24 years in the Air Force and led combat missions, including units associated with nuclear weapons delivery systems.
The Justice Department alleges that Brown travelled to China in December 2023 to begin training Chinese pilots and remained there until returning to the United States in early February 2026.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the case highlights efforts by China to recruit former Western military personnel to strengthen its armed forces. Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, said Brown allegedly betrayed his country by training pilots who could potentially operate against US forces.
After retiring from the military in 1996, Brown worked as a commercial cargo pilot and later as a defence contractor – training US pilots to fly aircraft including the F-35 Lightning II and the A 10 warplane.
Authorities said Brown’s contract to train Chinese pilots was negotiated by Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who previously pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiring to hack a US defence contractor to obtain military secrets.
The charges are similar to those faced by former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan, who was arrested in Australia in 2022 and is contesting extradition to the United States. Duggan is accused of violating the US Arms Export Control Act by providing pilot training to China’s armed forces.
In 2024, the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States issued a joint warning that China was attempting to recruit current and former Western military personnel to gain strategic expertise. Officials cautioned that unauthorised training of foreign militaries could result in civil and criminal penalties.
