Former U.S. Air Force officer and pilot Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., 65 — known by the call sign “Runner” — was arrested today in Jeffersonville, Indiana, officials announced.
A criminal complaint charges Brown with providing, and conspiring to provide, defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).
He is scheduled to make his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana today.
A former U.S. Air Force major is accused of conspiring to train Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of U.S. export laws.
According to a criminal complaint, since at least August 2023, Brown conspired with foreign nationals and others to provide combat aircraft training to pilots in China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force.
The training constitutes a “defense service” under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. As a U.S. person, Brown was required to obtain a license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls but allegedly failed to do so.
Brown served more than 24 years in the Air Force, retiring in 1996 as a major. He flew and instructed on the F-4, F-15, F-16 and A-10, later working as a commercial pilot and simulator instructor for U.S. defense contractors.
Prosecutors allege Brown negotiated his contract through intermediaries, including Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national previously convicted of hacking U.S. defense contractors.
Brown traveled to China in December 2023 and remained there until February 2026.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office.