A former U.S. Air Force officer and instructor pilot has been arrested and charged with unlawfully providing “defense services” to Chinese military pilots, specifically combat aircraft training.
In a press release Wednesday, the DOJ said 65-year-old Gerald Eddie Brown Jr. had been arrested in Jeffersonville, Ind., that day. The department said Brown, a former Air Force officer and pilot, had been charged “for providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).”
“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 Eisenberg said in the Wednesday DOJ release.
“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.”
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