Federal prosecutors say a retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot turned his hard-won cockpit skills into an overseas side gig for China’s military, and now he is facing serious charges in Indiana. Authorities allege 65-year-old Gerald Eddie Brown Jr. was arrested in Jeffersonville this week and charged with providing and conspiring to provide combat-aircraft instruction to pilots in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. Prosecutors say Brown traveled to China in December 2023, stayed there until early February 2026, and was taken into custody shortly after he returned to the United States.
According to the Department of Justice, Brown, known by the call sign "Runner," served more than 24 years in the Air Force before retiring in 1996. He later worked as a commercial cargo pilot and as a contract simulator instructor. The DOJ says he has been charged by criminal complaint with providing, and conspiring to provide, unauthorized defense services to Chinese military pilots, a violation the department says falls under the Arms Export Control Act. "The United States Air Force trained Major Brown to be an elite fighter pilot and entrusted him with the defense of our Nation," the Justice Department said, adding that those skills are not meant to be shared with a foreign military without clearance.
Prosecutors' account
Prosecutors say Brown started working out the terms of his China contract in August 2023 and negotiated through intermediaries with a Chinese national identified as Stephen Su Bin, who had pleaded guilty in the United States in 2016 to stealing military data, according to CBS News. The criminal complaint alleges that Brown flew to China in December 2023 to begin the training. On his first day, he allegedly spent several hours answering questions about the U.S. Air Force, then delivered a formal briefing on his second day, and remained in the country until returning to the United States in early February 2026.
National security officials react
Federal officials are casting the case as a straightforward national security concern, not just a bad look. Per the Department of Justice, Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg warned that unauthorized training of foreign militaries can chip away at U.S. advantages. Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division said the case "serves as a warning" about how foreign governments try to tap the expertise of former U.S. service members.
What the charges mean
The complaint argues that the instruction Brown allegedly provided qualifies as a "defense service" under U.S. export-control rules, which means it would have required prior authorization from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. An export-control glossary maintained by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory notes that furnishing training or technical assistance to foreign persons, including military training, is covered by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and generally requires DDTC approval.
A pattern prosecutors have tracked
U.S. authorities say Brown’s case fits into a broader pattern they have been watching for years. The Financial Times and federal prosecutors point to a 2017 case involving a former Marine, along with international advisories warning that Beijing has been targeting current and former Western service members for recruitment to help modernize its forces.
Brown is scheduled to make his initial appearance before a magistrate judge in the Southern District of Indiana on February 26, 2026, on a complaint alleging violations of the Arms Export Control Act. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court, federal officials emphasized in filings and statements reported by CBS News.
