A former United States Air Force officer and a fighter pilot has been arrested and charged with providing and conspiring to provide unauthorized “defense services” to Chinese military pilots, federal officials announced.
Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., 65, a United States citizen, also known by his call sign “Runner,” was arrested on Wednesday in Jeffersonville, Indiana, according to a statement issued by the United States Department of Justice. Brown is accused of violating the Arms Export Control Act and has been charged by criminal complaint. Brown is expected to make an initial appearance Thursday, Feb. 26, in the Southern District of Indiana.
The Justice Department said Brown has been charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act and that he “conspired with others to provide combat aircraft training to People’s Liberation Army Air Force pilots in China without a required license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in violation of International Traffic in Arms Regulations.”
The statement continued that “Brown planned and began providing this training in China in or around August 2023 and continued providing this training without a license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in violation of International Traffic in Arms Regulations.” Brown went to China in December 2023 and stayed there until he returned to the United States in early February 2026.
The former Air Force officer “expressed an intent to provide instruction to Chinese military pilots in China regarding combat aircraft operations and arranged the terms of this instruction through intermediaries. Brown had over 24 years of service in the United States Air Force and left active duty in 1996 as a major. Brown worked as a commercial cargo pilot and a contract simulator instructor for defense contractors that provided instruction to United States military pilots, including instruction on A-10 and F-35 aircraft.
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