Former US Air Force F-35Its pilot, who has more than two decades of military experience, has been arrested and accused of conspiring to help train Chinese soldiers.
A CNN according to his report, he is 65 years old Gerald Eddie Brown Jr.was arrested last Wednesday (25th) in Jeffersonville, Indiana (USA). Brown retired in 1996 as a major after serving 24 years in the US Air Force.
He is now accused of violating the Arms Export Control Act by training pilots for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), the US District Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement.
“The provision of American military training to our enemies is a significant threat to national security,” he said Lee Russexecutive director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, in a statement.
“During his military career, Brown led sensitive units responsible for nuclear weapons systems, directed combat missions, and served as a fighter pilot and simulator instructor on various fighter and attack aircraft.”
After retirement, Brown flew commercial cargo planes and worked as a flight simulator instructor for two companies under contract to the US Department of Defense, where he trained US pilots to F-35 stealth fighter and that A-10 to control a strike aircraft.
Brown allegedly spent more than two years training pilots for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in China after traveling there in December 2023 and staying there until earlier this month, prosecutors said in a statement.
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“On the first day of his arrival in the People’s Republic of China, Brown answered questions about the US Air Force for three hours, and on the second day he made a report and introduced himself to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force,” the statement said.
Brown then allegedly began training Chinese military personnel. “Brown’s alleged betrayal exposed sensitive military tactics, endangering the security of our nation, our armed forces and our allies,” he said. James Barnacledeputy director of the FBI’s New York office a CNN according to
Through Brown’s training, China was able to gain valuable information about the US Air Force, including the tactics it uses F-35 used by its pilots to avoid detection during both offensive and air defense operations.
Peter Laytona Griffith Asia Institute flight analyst and former Royal Australian Air Force officer a CNNstated that it is possible that Brown, as an instructor, only taught basic flight skills, such as takeoff, landing, and instrument flying, without revealing tactical information.
At the same time Carl Schustera former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said even knowing these basic techniques could be useful for China.
“Faculty observations provide context to remotely collected technical information and open sources. When combined, a highly comprehensive and detailed picture can be created,” he added.
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