China has aggressively sought to recruit former US military pilots to aid in understanding American air doctrine.

A former United States Air Force officer and pilot could face years in prison if convicted of charges that included providing unauthorized defense services to a foreign nation, in violation of the United States Arms Export Control Act (AECA)

Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., 65, was arrested on Wednesday, February 25, in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Brown, known by the call sign “Runner” while serving in the Air Force, was charged with providing and conspiring to provide defense services to military pilots of China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (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 announced in a Department of Justice press release. “When US persons—whether military or civilian—provide training to a foreign military, that activity is illegal unless they have a license from the State Department.”

From F-4 Pilot to Conspiring with China

Brown served more than 24 years in the United States Air Force before retiring in 1996 with the rank of major.

“During his lengthy military career, Brown commanded sensitive units with responsibility for nuclear weapons delivery systems, led combat missions, and served as a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on a variety of fighter and attack aircraft,” the DOJ press statement read.

Among the aircraft that Brown had flown while serving in the US Air Force were the F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog).

After leaving active duty, Brown was employed as a commercial cargo pilot before being hired as a “contract simulator instructor for two different US defense contractors” that trained US military pilots on the Thunderbolt II and on the F-35 Lightning II.

Brown’s Co-Conspirator Is a Chinese National

According to the DoJ’s charging complaint, Brown began conspiring with foreign nationals to provide training to PLAAF pilots. Bin “Stephen” Su, a Chinese national, was named as a co-conspirator. 

Su had previously pleaded guilty in 2016 in the United States Court for the Central District of California to conspiring to hack into a computer network of a “major US defense contractor” to steal sensitive military and export-controlled data for the PRC (People’s Republic of China).” He was sentenced to four years in prison, and the DOJ added that “his company, PRC Lode Technology Company [was] also added to the US Department of Commerce’s Entity List in 2014.”

The US Air Force Office of Special Investigations noted that between 2008 and 2014, Su aided People’s Liberation Army (PLA) hackers, who stole more than 630,000 files related to the Boeing C-17 cargo aircraft, and that the group also targeted “data related to the F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft.”

Brown Told Chinese Officials About the Air Force

It is unlike how China first made contact with Brown, but from the beginning, Brown allegedly stated that his intent was “to train PRC military pilots in combat aircraft operations.” The former military officer and pilot traveled to China in December 2023, where he was questioned upon his arrival for three hours about the US Air Force, and on his second day presented an introduction about his experience to PLAAF officials.

Brown remained in China for the next two years, returning to the United States in early February 2026.

“Brown, a former F-35 Lightning II instructor pilot with decades of experience flying US military aircraft, allegedly betrayed his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “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.”

China Desperately Wants to Recruit Western Military Pilots

As previously reported in June 2024, the “Five Eyes” intelligence partners—which include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—issued a joint bulletin that warned that China was actively recruiting experienced military personnel, notably pilots.

“[The PLA] continues to target current and former military personnel from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations and other Western countries to help bolster the PLA’s capabilities,” the bulletin warned, adding that the Chinese military has set up private companies not only in China but also in South Africa with the goal of hiring former fighter pilots from the West.

“The PLA wants the skills and expertise of these individuals to make its own military air operations more capable while gaining insight into Western air tactics, techniques, and procedures. The insight the PLA gains from Western military talent threatens the safety of the targeted recruits, their fellow service members, and U.S. and allied security,” the bulletin further noted.

In many cases, the “nefarious recruitment attempts” may not be obvious, as the shell companies do not promote China’s nor the PLA’s role. These reportedly offer lucrative contracts with vague details about the actual customer.

In Brown’s case, at least, it seems clear that he knew he was training Chinese PLAAF pilots.

“Retired US Air Force Major Gerald Brown allegedly sold out his country to train Chinese pilots with his expertise in the United States’ combat aircraft techniques. Brown’s alleged betrayal exposed sensitive military tactics, threatening the security of our nation, our armed forces, and our allies,” said FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle. “May [his] arrest emphasize the FBI’s steadfast promise to defend the homeland against all foreign and domestic adversaries.”

Brown is the most recent former US military officer to be charged for aiding Beijing. In September 2017, US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan was also charged with providing defense services to the PLAAF, an allegation he denies. Duggan has claimed he only trained civilian pilots in China.

Duggan, who renounced his US citizenship and became an Australian national in 2012, was arrested in Australia in October 2022. Legal proceedings to extradite him to the United States are ongoing.

What Does China Really Want from Western Fighter Pilots?

This concern for the US military is that this training may be about far more than just training Chinese fighter pilots, or, in the case of Duggan, aiding in aircraft carrier operations.

Carl Schuster, the former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, told CNN that pilots such as Brown and Duggan could provide Beijing with insight into how Western pilots operate. Even an understanding of such “basic techniques” would be extremely helpful to the PLAAF.

“The instructor pilot’s instincts in training and simulated combat flights tell us much about his past training,” said Schuster, “And what tactics the instructor’s air force of origin may employ in an intercept or ‘dog fight’ once engaged.”

Men such as Brown and Duggan, who have spent years in the cockpits of fighter aircraft, could be among the best at their jobs. Even if they didn’t teach everything they knew, such training could still give China an edge it didn’t previously have.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed more than 3,200 published pieces to more than 4 dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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