Former US Air Force officer and pilot Gerald Eddie Brown was arrested for allegedly providing and conspiring to provide defence services to Chinese military pilots without authorisation.
A statement issued by the US Department of Justice on Wednesday noted that the 65-year-old former pilot faces charges under the US Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and is expected to appear before a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana today.
“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 John Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
According to the Justice Department, Brown, a former F-35 instructor pilot with over 24 years of service in the US Air Force, allegedly began arranging contracts to train Chinese military pilots in August 2023.
The training, provided to members of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), required a licence under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which Brown did not have.
The DOJ statement noted that Brown’s military career included command of sensitive units, leading combat missions, and serving as a fighter pilot and simulator instructor on aircraft including the F-4, F-15, F-16, A-10, and F-35.
After leaving active duty in 1996, he worked as a commercial pilot and as a contract simulator instructor for US defence contractors.
In December 2023, Brown travelled to China to begin training PRC military pilots.
The complaint states that he provided detailed briefings on US Air Force operations and conducted simulator and flight instruction until his return to the US in February 2026.
“Gerald Brown… allegedly betrayed his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect,” said Roman Rozhavsky, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, highlighting the national security threat posed by such unauthorised transfers of military expertise.
The arrest follows similar charges against former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan in 2017 for providing defence services to the Chinese military.
The DOJ emphasised that China continues to target current and former military personnel from NATO and allied nations to strengthen its military capabilities.
The investigation was led by the FBI’s New York Field Office with support from offices in Louisville, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles, as well as the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by the DOJ’s National Security Division and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
