OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:36 PM – Thursday, February 26, 2026
Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., a 65-year-old retired U.S. Air Force officer and pilot known by the call sign “Runner,” was arrested on Thursday and charged for “providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).”
The Department of Justice and FBI have described the scheme as a major national security breach, with Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg stating that Brown was “entrusted with the defense of our Nation,” though he now stands charged with training the very military he was sworn to protect against.
Brown had his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana on the same day of his arrest, according to the Department of Justice (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.”
The complaint states that beginning in August 2023, Brown conspired with foreign and domestic nationals to provide combat aircraft training to the PLAAF. Under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), such instruction constitutes a restricted “defense service.”
Brown allegedly operated without a license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). His specialized knowledge reportedly stems from a 24-year Air Force career, where he rose to the rank of Major.
His experience includes:
- Commanding sensitive units responsible for nuclear weapons delivery.
- Flying and instructing on the F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and A-10 Warthog.
- Contract instruction for U.S. defense contractors, specifically training American pilots on the A-10 and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
In 2023, Brown reportedly negotiated his contract through a co-conspirator linked to Stephen Su Bin. Su Bin is a Chinese national who served prison time in 2016 for hacking U.S. defense contractors to steal sensitive military data. Despite Su Bin’s notorious history, Brown purportedly pursued the opportunity with enthusiasm.
According to the complaint, Brown’s own communications revealed his intent. In a resume, he listed his objective as “Instructor Fighter Pilot.” He also later told a co-conspirator, “Now…. I have the chance to fly and instruct fighter pilots again!”
Brown traveled to China in December 2023. On his first day, he allegedly endured three hours of questioning regarding the U.S. Air Force. On his second, he presented a formal brief to the PLAAF. Brown remained in China until his return to the U.S. earlier this month.
Brown’s arrest mirrors the 2017 case of former Marine pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan, who is currently awaiting extradition from Australia for similar charges involving carrier-based flight tactics.
The U.S. and its “Five Eyes” allies recently issued a joint bulletin warning that the PLA continues to aggressively target Western military personnel. As Gen. James B. Hecker noted in February 2025:
“Once you fly on our team, even after you hang up your uniform, you have a responsibility to protect our tactics, techniques and procedures.”
Meanwhile, some online users have framed the arrest not as a legal victory, but as a catastrophic failure of U.S. counterintelligence, arguing that the true story is the persistence of a sophisticated Chinese recruitment network led by the convicted Chinese hacker.
“The FBI just arrested a former U.S. Air Force Major who spent 26 months in Beijing training Chinese fighter pilots. But the story everyone is missing is not the arrest. It is the network behind it. Gerald Eddie Brown Jr … 24 years in the Air Force. Flew the F-4, F-15, F-16, A-10. Commanded units responsible for nuclear weapons delivery … In August 2023, he started negotiating to train PLAAF pilots. His intermediary connected him to the network of Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiring with PLA hackers to steal 65 gigabytes of classified data from Boeing and major defense contractors. The targets: the C-17, the F-22, and the F-35. Read that again. The same network that stole the F-35’s blueprints then recruited the man who trained Americans to fly it, and sent him to Beijing to teach Chinese pilots how to fight against it. First steal the machine. Then acquire the mind of the instructor. Brown arrived in China in December 2023. Day one: three hours answering questions about the U.S. Air Force. Day two: a personal briefing to PLAAF officers. He stayed for twenty-six months. He only returned to U.S. soil in February 2026 and was arrested yesterday in Jeffersonville, Indiana. He is not an anomaly. Five Eyes intelligence issued a joint warning in June 2024 that the PLA is systematically recruiting Western fighter pilots through shell companies. At least 30 former British pilots identified. Former Marine Daniel Duggan arrested in 2022 on the same charges. His network connection? Stephen Su Bin. Same node. Different asset. The question Washington does not want asked: How does a man with nuclear weapons experience and F-35 simulator access negotiate with a convicted Chinese hacker’s network, fly to Beijing, train enemy pilots for over two years, and only get arrested when he voluntarily walks home? You can arrest Brown. You can convict him. You cannot un-teach what he taught. That knowledge now lives permanently inside the PLAAF. It will be institutionalized. It will compound. The damage is done. The only question is whether Runner ran alone,” strategist Shanaka Anslem Perera posted on X.
The case is being prosecuted by trial attorney Beau Barnes and Acting Deputy chief Sean Heiden, of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven B. Wasserman from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia — with assistance from National Security Division Paralegal Specialist Derra McQuaig.
Substantial assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
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