Gerald “Runner” Brown, a retired USAF fighter pilot, is accused of violating the Arms Export Control Act by providing combat aviation training to PLAAF pilots without a State Department license.
A former U.S. Air Force pilot, Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., callsign “Runner,” was arrested on Feb. 25, 2026. According to the details released by the U.S. Department of Justice, the officer, 65, “was charged by criminal complaint for providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).”
Here are the details about the investigation released by the DoJ:
“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.”
“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.
“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.”
“Providing U.S. military training to our adversaries represents a significant threat to national security,” said Lee M. Russ, Executive Director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Office of Special Projects. “AFOSI remains committed to countering the threat posed by those who violate the trust placed in them and endanger our service members.”
Although he’s described in media reports and official documents as an F-35 instructor pilot, Brown has long left active duty: he served for 24 year in the U.S. Air Force and left the service in 1996 (well before the Joint Strike Fighter entered active service) with the rank of Major. His background is varied and includes experience as fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor with the F-4, F-15, F-16 and A-10. After retiring he served as a commercial cargo pilot and, most recently, as a contract simulator instructor for two different U.S. defense contractors training U.S. military pilots on flying the A-10 and the F-35.
Therefore, not an F-35 fighter jock, but a simulator instructor who supports F-35 and A-10 pilot training in virtual combat scenarios.
Brown was not alone. Based on the complaint, he wilfully conspired with foreign nationals and U.S. persons to train PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force) pilots. Fighter pilot training is a defense service regulated under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR): a license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is required to foreign persons or foreign military units. Brown did not get the required license, still, in August 2023, he began arranging the terms of his contract to train Chinese military pilots, using a co-conspirator to negotiate with Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who in 2016 pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of major U.S. defense contractors and steal sensitive military and export-controlled data for the PRC.
Some familiar names involved — Like Su Bin, who was convicted of stealing files related to the F-22, F-35 and others for China back in 2014. He was given 46 months in prison, and seems to have gotten right back to work upon his release. https://t.co/WYzoJWRn2D
— Alex Hollings (@AlexHollings52) February 26, 2026
He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison. Su Bin and his company PRC Lode Technology Company were also added to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List in 2014.
The communications leave little room for interpretation: his exchanges clearly show that his goal was to train PRC military pilots in combat aircraft operations. In the resumé he submitted as part of his job application, he listed his “objective” as “Instructor Fighter Pilot.” One of the co-conspirators told him he hoped Brown would be posted to “my base, but otherwise you’ll go where is the local equivalent as the [U.S. Air Force] Weapon School.”
At one point, after discussing the opportunity, Brown wrote to a co-conspirator that once in China, “Now…. I have the chance to fly and instruct fighter pilots again!”
In December 2023, he traveled to China. His first day at work was spent answering questions about the U.S. Air Force for roughly three hours. On the second day, he prepared and delivered a personal brief for the PLAAF. Brown remained in China until returning to the United States in early February 2026.
This is not the first time former pilots are charged with providing training services to Chinese military pilots without authorization.
In September 2017, federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., charged former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan with providing, and conspiring to provide, assistance in training Chinese pilot, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. He was also accused of conspiring to engage in international money laundering.
Just like Brown, Duggan offered his expertise, grown through extensive and highly specialized training during his time in U.S. military service. In particular, he allegedly trained PLA pilots on the tactics, techniques and procedures related to aircraft carrier operations, one of the most sensitive skill sets in naval aviation (that China is eager to acquire). He was arrested in Australia in October 2022 and is still fighting extradition to the U.S.
In 2022, we reported claims that China had been targeting former British military pilots with lucrative contracts to help train the PLAAF. In the UK, dozens of former pilots were reportedly offered packages worth around 270,000 USD per year. Some of them had experience on aircraft types no longer in British service, making their knowledge particularly valuable.
At the time, according to media reports, recruitment efforts were allegedly funneled through a South Africa-based intermediary tasked with identifying and hiring Western pilots to support such training programs.
In June 2024, the United States, together with Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, issued a joint bulletin warning that China’s People’s Liberation Army continues to target current and former military personnel from NATO nations and other Western countries to strengthen its capabilities.
The message was reinforced in February 2025 by Gen. James B. Hecker, then commander of NATO Allied Air Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa who said: “Once you fly on our team, even after you hang up your uniform, you have a responsibility to protect our tactics, techniques and procedures.”
