The US Justice Department has announced the arrest of a former Air Force fighter pilot, also known by the call sign “Runner,” for training Chinese aviators without authorization.
Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr, 65, was arrested in Jeffersonville, Indiana, after returning to the United States from China, where he had been since December 2023, a Justice Department statement said.
He is accused of having “conspired with foreign nationals to provide combat aircraft training to pilots in the Chinese Air Force” without a required license from the U.S. State Department, the statement said.
“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 Divisio “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 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.”
Brown had a 24-year career in the U.S. Air Force during which he “commanded sensitive units with responsibility for nuclear weapons delivery systems, led combat missions, and served as a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on a variety of fighter and attack aircraft.”
Brown had retired from the military in 1996 and worked as a cargo pilot, the statement said, but he later took on a role as a U.S. defense contractor, training pilots to fly the A-10 Thunder and F-35 stealth jets.
Brown allegedly began negotiating a contract in August 2023 with Stephen Su Bin — a Chinese national who was imprisoned in the United States for four years beginning in 2016 over another espionage scheme — and traveled in December 2023 to China to begin his training job.
“The Chinese government continues to exploit the expertise of current and former members of the US armed forces to modernize China’s military capabilities,” said Roman Rozhavsky, an official with the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.
“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,” he added.
The charges against Brown follow similar charges filed against former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund D ggan. Duggan was charged with providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization.
Duggan served with the Marines for more than 10 years, from 1989 to 2002, rising to the rank of Major, according to his LinkedIn profile. Duggan was believed to have flown the AV-8B Harrier II “jump jet” and participated as a Marine Corps exchange pilot with the Spanish Navy.
Duggan reportedly shifted to Beijing in 2014. Three years later, he was appointed managing director of AVIBIZ Limited, a “comprehensive aviation consultancy company” headquartered in the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao.
According to reports, Australian passport holder Daniel Edmund Duggan registered AVIBIZ Limited in 2017, and it was disbanded in 2020. The nature of Duggan’s activities in China remained unclear, but the FBI was said to be pursuing his arrest.
Duggan established an aviation business in Tasmania, Top Gun Australia, after leaving the U.S. military. He then sold the company before relocating to Beijing in 2014.
According to Australia’s business registration, Top Gun Australia was founded in 2012 and deregistered in 2017. However, the company’s website, which was still live at the time of publishing, provided more information about Duggan’s career.
He is described as a highly skilled fighter pilot who skillfully piloted Harrier Jump Jets from aircraft carriers around the world. “He was a senior weapons and tactical instructor and was hand-picked to be the US Marine Corps’ Exchange Pilot to the Spanish Navy, where he taught tactics and strategy for nearly three years,” the website noted.
His company hired ex-pilots from the Australian, British, and German air forces to provide tours and flight instruction. Their work was also highlighted on a Tasmanian lifestyle website.
Duggan, 57, a naturalised Australian citizen, was detained by Australian Federal Police in a rural town in the state of New South Wales in October 2022, shortly after returning from China.
Duggan has denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated. He claims that he risks an unfair trial and up to 60 years in prison if extradited. He has been held in maximum-security custody in Australia since his arrest.
Beijing has intensified efforts to recruit former Western fighter pilots to train its air force and navy personnel, drawing sharp criticism from the West.
Western intelligence agencies have highlighted Beijing’s use of private companies, often based in South Africa and China, to hire Western retired pilots. These ex-aviators help the Chinese Air Force and Navy build expertise in advanced tactics, air combat techniques, and aircraft carrier operations.
With Agence France-Presse (AFP) Inputs
