A former U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot was arrested Wednesday on charges of providing and conspiring to provide defense services to military pilots in China without authorization. Doing so would stand in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., 65, also known by the call sign “Runner,” according to the FBI, was taken into custody in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and is scheduled to make an initial appearance Feb. 26 in the Southern District of Indiana.
According to a criminal complaint, Brown allegedly conspired with officials in China beginning in or around August 2023 to provide combat aircraft training to pilots in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. Prosecutors allege that the training constituted a defense service under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and that Brown did not have the required license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. In December 2023, Brown traveled to China, where he is accused of conducting training and providing information related to U.S. Air Force operations before returning to the United States in early February 2026.
“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,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said.
FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky stated that the arrest “serves as a warning that the FBI and our partners will stop at nothing to hold accountable anyone who collaborates with our adversaries.”
The case is being investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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