Washington, United States: A retired U.S. Air Force officer and combat pilot has been arrested and charged for allegedly providing and conspiring to provide defence training to members of the Chinese military without authorisation, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a press release on 25 February 2026.
Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., 65, a U.S. citizen known by the call sign “Runner,” was arrested in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and was expected to make his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana on 26 February 2026. Brown has been charged under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) for providing prohibited defence services to foreign military personnel without a required license from the U.S. State Department.
According to the DOJ, Brown “provided and conspired to provide defence services to Chinese military pilots without authorisation,” in violation of U.S. law. Prosecutors say the training he offered falls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which require U.S. persons to obtain a licence from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls before providing any military training or assistance to foreign nationals or foreign military units.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg emphasised that Brown was trained by the U.S. Air Force to defend the nation, a role his alleged conduct now reverses. “When U.S. persons, whether military or civilian, provide training to a foreign military, that activity is illegal unless they have a licence from the State Department,” Eisenberg said. “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.”
FBI officials also highlighted the national security implications of the case. Roman Rozhavsky, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, stated that Brown’s conduct allegedly aided efforts by the Chinese government to “modernize China’s military capabilities” by exploiting the expertise of former U.S. service members. Rozhavsky added that this arrest is intended to serve as a warning to others who might collaborate with U.S. adversaries.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia also condemned the alleged conduct, saying Brown “broke his oath” and “jeopardized the safety of our servicemembers and allies” by offering his training services overseas.
Brown served over 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 1996 at the rank of Major. His military career included commanding sensitive units with responsibility for nuclear weapons delivery systems, leading combat missions, and serving as a fighter pilot and simulator instructor on multiple aircraft including the F-4 “Phantom II,” F-15 “Eagle,” F-16 “Fighting Falcon,” A-10 “Thunderbolt II” and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. After leaving active duty, Brown worked as a commercial cargo pilot and later as a contract simulator instructor training U.S. military pilots.
According to the criminal complaint, Brown began making arrangements in August 2023 to contract with Chinese military personnel for combat aircraft training, using a co-conspirator to negotiate with Chinese national Stephen Su Bin who previously pled guilty in U.S. federal court in 2016 to conspiring to hack into defence contractor networks to steal sensitive data. Su Bin and his company were added to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List in 2014.
Brown allegedly travelled to China in December 2023 to begin the training work and remained there until early February 2026. Once in China, prosecutors say he conducted extensive briefings on U.S. Air Force operations, answered questions about U.S. military tactics, and trained People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) pilots.
The DOJ’s announcement explicitly links Brown’s case to an earlier prosecution of a former U.S. Marine Corps pilot, Daniel Edmund Duggan, who was charged in 2017 with similar violations. Duggan was arrested in Australia in October 2022 and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. on comparable AECA charges for providing defence services to the Chinese military.
In recent years, U.S. and allied security agencies have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army continues to pursue current and former Western military personnel to bolster its capabilities, a trend that has drawn warnings from NATO and U.S. military leadership about safeguard obligations even after service members retire.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office, with assistance from its Louisville, Indianapolis and Los Angeles field offices, as well as the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Prosecution is being handled by attorneys from the DOJ’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with support from the Southern District of Indiana.
