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U.S. Air Force officer Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., a former F-35 Lightning II instructor pilot known by the call sign “Runner,” was arrested in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

The 65-year-old faced criminal charges for providing and conspiring to provide unauthorized defense services to Chinese military pilots in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. Brown, who served more than 24 years and retired as a Major in 1996, commanded nuclear weapons delivery units, led combat missions, and instructed on F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and the F-35 Lightning II.

Since at least August 2023, Brown conspired with foreign nationals and U.S. persons to deliver combat aircraft training to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. He negotiated through a co-conspirator with Stephen Su Bin, the Chinese national convicted in 2016 for hacking U.S. defense contractors to steal military data for the PRC.

Brown traveled to China in December 2023 and stayed until early February 2026. On his first day he answered three hours of questions about the U.S. Air Force. On his second day he presented a brief to PLAAF personnel. He explicitly stated his goal was to instruct fighter pilots again and hoped for assignment to the local equivalent of the U.S. Air Force Weapon School.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5755831-former-air-force-pilot-arrested/