A former one F-35US Air Force pilot with more than two decades of military experience has been arrested and charged with helping to train Chinese military personnel.
How CNN was reported Gerald Eddie Brown Jr. (65) was arrested last Wednesday (25th) in Jeffersonville, Indiana (USA). Before retiring in 1996 with the rank of major, Brown served 24 years in the United States Air Force.
He is now accused of violating the Arms Export Control Act by training Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Forces (PLAAF) pilots, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
“Providing U.S. military training to our adversaries poses a significant threat to national security,” stated Lee Russexecutive director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, in a statement.
“During his military career, Brown commanded sensitive units with responsibility for nuclear weapons systems, led combat operations, and served as a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on various fighter and attack aircraft.”
After his retirement, Brown flew commercial cargo aircraft before working as a flight simulator instructor for two US defense companies and American pilots for the stealth fighter F-35 as well as the ground attack aircraft A-10 trained.
According to the US Attorney’s Office statement, Brown spent more than two years in China training People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pilots. He traveled there in December 2023 and stayed until earlier this month.
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“Brown answered questions about the U.S. Air Force for three hours on his first day in the People’s Republic of China and prepared a report on himself on the second day to present to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force,” the statement said.
Brown is then said to have begun training Chinese military personnel. “Brown’s alleged betrayal exposed sensitive military tactics and endangered the security of our nation, our armed forces and our allies,” said James Barnacledeputy director of the FBI’s New York office, according to CNN.
Brown’s training may have given China valuable insight into the U.S. Air Force, including the tactics used F-35-Pilots avoid detection in both offensive attack missions and air defense operations.
Peter Laytonaviation analyst at Griffith Asia Institute and former Royal Australian Air Force officer, told CNNit is possible that Brown, as an instructor, only taught basic flight skills such as takeoffs, landings and instrument flight without revealing tactical details.
However, emphasized Carl Schusterformer operations director of the U.S. Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, that even knowledge of these basic techniques could be useful to China.
“Instructor observations provide context to remotely gathered information and open sources. Combining all of these elements creates a very comprehensive picture,” he added.
Photo: Public domain. This content was created using AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
