Overview
- Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., 65, was taken into custody in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and is set for an initial federal court appearance in the Southern District of Indiana.
- Charging documents allege he began arranging the training in August 2023, traveled to China in December 2023, and remained there until returning to the United States in early February 2026.
- The Justice Department says Brown provided defense services to People’s Liberation Army Air Force personnel in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and ITAR.
- Brown is a retired Air Force major with more than 24 years of service and recent work as an F-35 and A-10 simulator instructor for U.S. defense contractors.
- Investigators say he negotiated through an intermediary tied to convicted hacker Stephen Su Bin, as officials link the case to broader PLA efforts to recruit Western-trained aviators, including the earlier Daniel Duggan case.