A former United States Air Force officer has been arrested and charged with providing training to Chinese military pilots without authorisation. The US Department of Justice said ex-Air Force Major Gerald Brown, 65, was arrested on Wednesday in Indiana.
Brown, a former F-35 Lightning II instructor pilot, is accused of betraying his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect, according to Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director at the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.
The US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Ferris Pirro, said Brown will be held accountable for his actions, along with anyone conspiring against the US. Brown served in the US Air Force for 24 years and had led combat missions.
Background and Charges
After leaving the US military in 1996, Brown worked as a commercial cargo pilot and later as a defence contractor training US pilots to fly F-35 and A-10 warplanes. He is alleged to have travelled to China in December 2023 to begin training Chinese pilots.
Brown’s contract to train Chinese pilots was negotiated by Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who in 2016 pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack a defence contractor in the US to steal military secrets for China.
The US Department of Justice said Brown faces charges similar to those levelled against former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan, who was arrested in Australia in 2022 and is currently fighting his extradition back to the US.
International Context
The governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the US published a notice in 2024 warning current and former members of their armed forces that China was seeking to recruit them to harness Western military expertise and bolster its own capabilities.
According to the notice, the insight the People’s Liberation Army gains from Western military talent threatens the safety of the targeted recruits, their fellow service members, and US and allied security.
Source: Reuters
