A former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and contractor F-35 instructor has been arrested for allegedly helping to train the Chinese military. The development is the latest in a series involving former personnel from a variety of NATO nations assisting Beijing’s expanding airpower ambitions. In this case, however, bearing in mind the highly sensitive nature of the F-35 stealth jet, the potential for a damaging intelligence leak is especially significant.
The U.S. Department of Justice said ex-Air Force Maj. Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., who formerly used the callsign “Runner,” was arrested yesterday in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Described by the department as an “elite fighter pilot,” Brown, 65, is accused of illegally providing training to Chinese military pilots.
At this stage, Brown has been charged by criminal complaint for “providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization,” a violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).
“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,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. It is illegal for U.S. citizens — whether military or civilian — to provide training to a foreign military without a license from the State Department.
“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 at the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, said in a statement.
“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,” Rozhavsky added.
“As an Air Force Officer, Brown took an oath to defend our Nation against all enemies foreign and domestic; he broke that oath, and betrayed the country, jeopardizing the safety of our servicemembers and allies,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “We will hold Brown, and anyone conspiring against our Nation, accountable for their actions.”
Lee M. Russ, Executive Director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Office of Special Projects, said that providing military training to U.S. adversaries “represents a significant threat to national security.” He continued: “AFOSI remains committed to countering the threat posed by those who violate the trust placed in them and endanger our service members.”
In terms of Brown’s Air Force career, this lasted for more than 24 years and included combat missions. During this time, he was also responsible for commanding “sensitive units,” including those involved in nuclear weapons delivery. As a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor, he worked on the F-4, F-15, F-16, and A-10.
Brown left the active-duty U.S. military in 1996. He then worked as a commercial cargo pilot and later as a contract simulator instructor, during which time he trained U.S. pilots to fly the F-35 as well as the A-10 attack jet.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Brown’s contract to train Chinese military aviators was negotiated by Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of major U.S. defense contractors on behalf of China, the department said. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
The relationship between Brown and Su Bin is said to have begun around August 2023.
In their communications, the U.S. Department of Justice says that Brown “consistently stated his intent to train PRC military pilots in combat aircraft operations. In the resumé he prepared for his application, Brown wrote his ‘objective’ as ‘Instructor Fighter Pilot.’ A co-conspirator told Brown that he hoped Brown would be assigned to ‘my base, but otherwise you’ll go where is the local equivalent of the [U.S. Air Force] Weapon School.’”
The Justice Department alleges that Brown travelled to China in December 2023 and then began to train Chinese military pilots. On his first day there, the department says that he was questioned for three hours about the U.S. Air Force. The next day, he is said to have prepared and presented a brief about himself for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that, upon his arrival in China, Brown told a co-conspirator, ‘Now…. I have the chance to fly and instruct fighter pilots again!’
The training that Brown is alleged to have provided to the PLAAF was covered under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), requiring a license from the State Department.
Brown is alleged to have remained in China until returning to the United States earlier this month.
He is expected to have his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana today, February 26, 2026.
The charges against Brown follow similar ones filed against former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan in 2017. Details about these only emerged in 2022, when Duggan was arrested in Australia, shortly after returning from China. He is currently pending extradition to the United States.
Duggan’s charges include providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots, again in violation of the AECA.
In particular, Duggan, a former AV-8B attack jet pilot, is alleged to have trained Chinese military aviators on the tactics, techniques, and procedures associated with takeoff from and landing on an aircraft carrier.
A video showing aircraft launch and recovery from China’s first catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, the Fujian:
Also in 2022, it emerged that dozens of British former frontline military pilots had apparently been hired by China to provide military training and intelligence, according to reports corroborated by the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
A story published by The Times of London stated that “at least 30” pilots who previously served with the U.K. Armed Forces had been recruited by China “to help Beijing develop its tactics and technological expertise.” The pilots involved were said to be mainly former fast-jet aircrew but also included helicopter pilots. All apparently began working for China from the end of 2019 onward and earned around £240,000 (roughly $270,000) a year.
In 2023, the German government promised to “immediately” shut down the training of Chinese fighter pilots by former German Luftwaffe personnel. That move came after an exposé in the German media that provided details of how one particular former Luftwaffe officer — an ex-Eurofighter EF2000 pilot — had been recruited by China to share his expertise.
In response to these nefarious efforts that China is apparently willing to go to expand its military know-how, in 2024, the United States, along with the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, published a bulletin warning that “China’s People’s Liberation Army continues to target current and former military personnel from North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations and other Western countries to help bolster the PLA’s capabilities.”
In February of last year, Gen. James B. Hecker, then-commander of NATO Allied Air Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, stated: “Once you fly on our team, even after you hang up your uniform, you have a responsibility to protect our tactics, techniques and procedures.”
Compared to most of the other cases, that of Brown’s appears to be unusual in that it involves the F-35.
Although he didn’t fly the stealth jet, Brown worked as a contractor providing simulation training services on the F-35. Exactly what kind of F-35 simulators he worked with is currently unclear. While some of these are unclassified, others are much more sensitive, and it could be much more damaging if Beijing were to have been briefed on them.
The F-35 has been a particular item of interest for China.
Chinese intelligence operatives and hackers have stolen massive sums of sensitive information relating to the F-35. This is part of a much deeper Chinese intelligence effort targeting U.S. stealth and aerospace technology, one that has seen China regularly listening in on virtual design meetings for these and other programs.
At least one U.S. defense contractor, Honeywell, has also been censured for alleged violations of portions of the AECA and ITAR. The firm reached a settlement with the U.S. government after it was accused of exporting dozens of technical drawings relating to components of various aircraft, missiles, and tanks, including the F-35, to multiple countries, including China.
While we don’t know to what degree elements of the F-35 specifically may have been compromised, if the accusations are correct, the incident once again highlights the lengths that China is willing to go to expand its airpower knowledge as it ramps up its weapons development programs to an unprecedented degree.
This includes its own version of the F-35, the J-35, which is now in a semi-operational state.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
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