According to the complaint, since at least August 2023 Brown allegedly conspired with foreign nationals and US persons to provide combat aircraft training to pilots of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Such training constitutes a defence service under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and as a U.S. person Brown was required to obtain a licence from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls before providing it.
“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. “When U.S. persons – whether military or civilian – provide training to a foreign military, that activity is illegal unless they have a license from the State Department. The National Security Division will use all tools at its disposal to protect our military advantages and hold to account those who would violate the AECA.”
Brown served for more than 24 years in the U.S. Air Force and left active duty in 1996 with the rank of Major. During his career he commanded units responsible for nuclear weapons delivery systems, led combat missions and served as a fighter pilot and simulator instructor on aircraft including the F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II.
After leaving active service, he worked as a commercial cargo pilot and later as a contract simulator instructor for two US defence contractors, training US military pilots on the A-10 and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. “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,” 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. 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.
According to prosecutors, in or around August 2023 Brown began arranging the terms of a contract to train Chinese military pilots, using a co-conspirator to negotiate with Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who in 2016 pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiring to hack major U.S. defence contractors and steal sensitive military and export-controlled data for the People’s Republic of China. Throughout these communications, Brown allegedly stated his intent to train PRC military pilots in combat aircraft operations, and in December 2023 travelled to China, where on his first day he answered questions for three hours about the U.S. Air Force and later presented a briefing about himself to the PLAAF.
Brown remained in China until early February 2026, when he returned to the United States. “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. The Department of Justice and my prosecutors are steadfast in our commitment to use every lawful tool available to keep American military expertise where it belongs – here in America,” Pirro stated.
The case follows earlier charges brought against former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan, who was accused of providing unauthorised defence services to Chinese military pilots and conspiring to engage in international money laundering, and who was arrested in Australia in October 2022 pending extradition. In June 2024, the United States and the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand warned that “China’s People’s Liberation Army (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.”
In February 2025, 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.” The investigation is being led by the FBI’s New York Field Office with support from other field offices and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the case is being prosecuted by attorneys from the National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
