- 2 weeks ago
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00The U.S. Department of Justice put out a press release on the 25th of February of 2026
00:04that said that the FBI has arrested a guy by the name of Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., who is a
00:1165-year-old
00:12retired U.S. Air Force major and a former F-35 Lightning II pilot who was arrested in Jeffersonville,
00:19Indiana for selling secrets to China over the course of two years. This is why it's very
00:27difficult to get a security clearance if you have debt, because what causes somebody to sell
00:34secrets to an adversarial nation, especially after you served in the U.S. military? How do
00:40they become so dispassionate about their own country that they're willing to sell for money
00:44secrets to a nation that would be considered an adversary or a pure adversary? Now, this isn't
00:51the first time this kind of thing's happened, because we've had previous cases of former pilots
00:56retired pilots doing this type of thing. For example, the most recent example before this
01:02particular guy was a person named Daniel Edmund Dugan, or Duggan, who was a former U.S. Marine
01:09Corps pilot, which is even more concerning because usually the Marine Corps does a really good job
01:14of indoctrinating people to love their country or who love their country. Like, I'll never understand.
01:20I don't care if I'm poor. I'm never going to, like, sell out my country to China. I don't know
01:25anyone that would want to do that. I just think it's very odd. Anyway, Daniel Edmund Dugan was 55
01:31as of 2025 and was a former U.S. Marine Corps AV-8 Bravo Harrier pilot who served from 1989
01:39to 2002.
01:40Now, this guy flew combat missions and specialized in carrier-based operations specifically,
01:45and then after he left the military, he became a naturalized Australian citizen in 2012, renouncing
01:50his U.S. citizenship, which is the first red flag, if you ask me. If you're willing to renounce
01:57your U.S. citizenship to become a citizen somewhere else, obviously track in where your priorities lie.
02:02While he was out there, he was working as a freelance aviation consultant, and he was accused
02:07of conspiring to provide unauthorized military training to Chinese pilots between 2010 and 2012
02:13while working for the Test Flying Academy of South Africa, which is a whole rabbit hole. Like,
02:19how does he get to South Africa from Australia after renouncing citizenship for America? The dude was,
02:25like, on some sort of weird, strange hustle grind as a pilot. I don't know why he decided to move
02:31to
02:31Australia, but, you know, this is where we're at. The guy's training allegedly included tactics for
02:37landing on aircraft carriers, which is obviously an important skill for naval aviators.
02:42And prosecutors claimed that he violated the Arms Export Control Act and international traffic and
02:48arms regulations by not obtaining a U.S. State Department license before doing all of that.
02:54He's also being charged with money laundering related to payments received because he received
02:58approximately $100,000 from China for providing them with this training because it helps China
03:03improve their aircraft carrier operations against U.S. forces. Now, Daniel Dedman Dugan was arrested in
03:09October of 2022 in Orange, New South Wales, Australia, at the U.S.'s request based on the
03:162017 sealed indictment that was unsealed in 2022. He's been held in a maximum security prison and is
03:22still fighting extradition. By October of 2025, he appealed an extradition order denying the charges
03:29and claiming they are politically motivated. If extradited and convicted, he faces up to 65 years in
03:35prison. Now, this is just another example of China's effort to recruit Western pilots for their
03:39expertise in advanced tactics. And apparently this guy lived in China for about five years before his
03:45arrest and allegedly worked with co-conspirators, including a British executive and a Chinese
03:49national involved in acquiring military information. Reports suggest that he trained Chinese pilots on
03:55carrier operations with U.S. officials viewing him as a direct threat to national security.
04:00There's also been reports of former British Royal Air Force pilots being recruited by China since
04:042019, with estimates of up to 30 involved in training programs, offering high salaries up to
04:10$200,000 annually sometimes. However, there's been no public arrest made by the UK in response to that.
04:18There's also been helicopter pilots that got caught for doing this stuff. Apparently, in 2021,
04:22a U.S. Army helicopter pilot was arrested for failing to disclose contacts and payments from a
04:27Chinese intelligence-linked national. But this involved covering up ties rather than direct
04:31training or selling secrets. What I've seen about China is that they're very good at copying
04:36technology, but it's very difficult for them to learn how to use that technology, even if they learn
04:41how to replicate it. Obviously, you've seen tons of different companies replicate innovations from
04:48companies in America or other places around the world. But this is a very common tactic, recruiting
04:52people that they think could be bought. I've always found it strange that people's allegiance
04:57can be bought that easily. But that's, I mean, money can have a really big impact on a lot of
05:02people, I guess. Back to the original story, we're talking about a guy by the name of Gerald
05:07Eddie Brown Jr. Like I said, he was a 65-year-old retired U.S. Air Force major. Now, he
05:13was arrested
05:14in Jeffersonville, Indiana on February 25th of 2026, and he goes by the call sign Runner. He was accused
05:21of illegally providing advanced combat aircraft training to pilots in China's People's Liberation
05:27Army Air Force without the required authorization. This case is just another example of, you know,
05:34potential U.S. national security leaks, because if you get trained on certain platforms, especially
05:40ones that are still in use today, I'm pretty sure that you have to get permission from the
05:45U.S. State Department or the Department of War or something before you're training other nations on
05:51that as a civilian, even if you're like a veteran. U.S. authorities have alleged that Brown's actions
05:56could compromise American military advantages by teaching adversaries tactics that were developed
06:01to protect U.S. interests, which makes sense because, you know, obviously we don't want anyone else
06:07on Earth to understand how we use the F-35 Lightning II or tactics related to it. I mean,
06:14even if we're selling the F-35 Lightning II to, like, partner nations or allies, we don't give them
06:20the same ones that we have, and we don't teach them all of the same stuff that we have or
06:25that we do,
06:26because we want them to develop their own tactics, you know, and their own ways of doing things.
06:32And obviously you don't want anybody to have a leg up over you. It's like if you built the best
06:37car
06:38and you have friends in other nations who also have good cars, but you have to race against each
06:43other, why would you give them the exact same components? You'd be like, no, here's like a kind
06:48of dumbed down version or like a watered down version of that, right? Anyway, Brown returned to
06:53the U.S. earlier in February, 2026 after spending over two years in China. So he's been in China for
07:00two years before his arrest on February 25th. Now he made his initial court appearance on the 26th of
07:07February of 2026 before a federal magistrate in the Southern District of Indiana. If he gets convicted,
07:13he's going to face substantial penalties under the Arms Export Control Act, including potential
07:17imprisonment and fines. Now, Gerald Eddie Brown served more than 24 years in the U.S. Air Force
07:22enlisting and rising through the ranks before retiring in 1996 as a major. So he's a prior
07:27enlisted major. During his decorated career, he commanded sensitive units responsible for nuclear
07:32weapons delivery systems. He led combat missions in various theaters. He served as a fighter pilot
07:37instructor and simulator instructor on multiple aircraft platforms. And he has flying experience
07:43on tons of different fighter platforms, including the F-4 Phantom II, the F-15 Eagle, the F-16
07:49Fighting Falcon, and the A-10 Thunderbolt II. So he's got a lot of experience. Now, post-retirement,
07:56Brown worked as a commercial cargo pilot and later as a contract simulator instructor for U.S. defense
08:01contractors, where he trained American pilots on advanced systems like the F-35 Lightning II Joint
08:07Strike Fighter, which is a fifth-generation stealth aircraft that's widely considered a cornerstone of U.S.
08:14and allied air power for a very long time. In fact, most people don't even have a real understanding
08:20of how powerful the F-35 Lightning II. But to give it to you in a way that's not going
08:24to like actually
08:25violate anything, the F-35 Lightning II is such an incredible aircraft that it actually amplifies
08:34how effective other aircraft are around it to give you a broad, like, broad brushstroke of like what
08:42it actually does. Having an F-35 Lightning II in whatever fighter, you know, formation you have
08:49makes all of the other fighters better. Like, I'm not going to say any more than that, but yeah,
08:53you get the idea. The point is, is obviously the Chinese have a very big interest in figuring out
08:58what actually makes this thing so valuable. And they want to know how to use it themselves so
09:04that they can employ it in the same way or employ their replicated version because they've got their
09:10own version of the F-35 Lightning II, which they call something different, but they're trying to
09:16employ the same types of systems with their technology. They're very good at replicating
09:21technology, but it's difficult for that technology to have the same level of effectiveness. So they're
09:26constantly trying to, you know, basically buy the training and buy the technology so they can
09:32replicate it and stuff like that. Anyway, according to authorities, his expertise in all these
09:36different platforms made him a valuable asset to the Chinese. It also made his alleged actions
09:42particularly alarming because of the value of his expertise, right? So pre-1996, he was active duty in
09:48the U.S. Air Force for 24 years, commanded nuclear delivery units, led combat missions, and instructed on
09:53the F-4, F-15, F-16, and A-10. He retired as a major in 1996, became a cargo
09:59pilot and contract simulator
10:01instructor and like after 1996. And then by August of 2023, he began arrangements to train Chinese
10:08pilots, which is what the authorities have alleged. Still alleged because I think he's still like
10:14pending trial. By December of 2023, he traveled to China to start training them. December 2023 to February
10:20of 2026, he resided in China, providing training to the People's Liberation Army Air Force pilots.
10:27And then by early February of 2026, he returned to the United States and then was arrested on the 25th
10:31of February of 2026 in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Now, according to the criminal complaint, Brown willfully
10:38conspired with foreign nationals, including Chinese individuals and U.S. persons starting in or around
10:44August of 2023 to provide unauthorized combat aircraft training to People's Liberation Army Air Force
10:51pilots. Now, this training constituted a, quote, defense service under the International Traffic and Arms
10:57Regulations, which requires a license from the U.S. State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade
11:02Controls for any U.S. person to export such expertise to foreign militaries. Brown allegedly lacked this
11:09license. Now, apparently Brown used a co-conspirator to negotiate terms with Stephen Subin, who is the
11:17Chinese national previously convicted in 2016 for hacking U.S. defense contractors and stealing
11:22sensitive data, including on the F-35. Subin served nearly four years in prison. Now, in December of
11:302023, Brown traveled to China and on his first day, he spent three hours answering questions about U.S.
11:36Air Force operations. The next day, he prepared and presented a briefing about his background and
11:41expertise to the People's Liberation Army Air Force personnel. He remained in China for over two years,
11:46allegedly teaching American tactics, techniques, and procedures, particularly for carrier-based aviation
11:52operations. Now, prosecutors have cited a bunch of messages where Brown expressed enthusiasm about
11:59returning to fighter pilot instruction, indicating that he was aware of the sensitive nature about the
12:04situation, but proceeded to do it anyway. Authorities also have stated that this training that he
12:10provided to the Chinese could enable Chinese pilots to counter U.S. forces more effectively,
12:16especially in potential conflicts involving aircraft carriers or advanced fighters like the F-35
12:21Lightning II. Now, to be clear, he's not being charged with espionage, but instead he's been charged with
12:26essentially the export of his expertise without getting a license from the State Department. The reason
12:33they make you have a license before training other militaries on tactics or technology or anything
12:39is essentially to prevent sensitive U.S. military knowledge from reaching adversaries, which it's
12:45obvious that we're in competition with China. You know, we're not in an open war with them or anything
12:50like that, but it's obviously that they are doing this on a regular basis. So the dude knew what he
12:56was
12:56doing. He wasn't like being stupid. Now, whether or not he was ignorant of the fact that you need to
13:01get
13:01those certifications or those licenses from the State Department or not, I don't know. I don't know
13:07what he knew, but obviously the State Department wasn't happy about that, and so they told the
13:12Department of Justice, who then told the FBI to arrest this guy. Now, the investigation for this
13:17whole case is being led by the FBI's Louisville Field Office and the Air Force's Office of Special
13:22Investigations, with prosecution being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of
13:27Columbia and the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
13:32The Assistant Attorney General for National Security, John A. Eisenberg, actually said,
13:37quote, the United States Air Force trained Major Brown to be an elite fighter pilot and entrusted him
13:42with the defense of our nation. He now stands charged with training Chinese military pilots.
13:47When U.S. persons, whether military or civilian, provide training to a foreign military,
13:51that activity is illegal unless they have a license from the State Department.
13:54So, for any of you out there that are considering training any foreign militaries with your experiences,
14:03you need to get a license from the State Department first. If you don't, you're going to get charged
14:08with the same thing that this guy is getting charged with. So, now we're all tracking, now we're all
14:14aware, we're all on the same page going forward, all right? U.S. Attorney Janine Ferris-Pierro for the
14:20District of Columbia said, quote, as an Air Force officer, Brown took an oath to defend our nation
14:25against all enemies, foreign and domestic. He broke that oath and betrayed the country,
14:29jeopardizing the safety of our service members and allies. The FBI Assistant Director, Roman
14:34Roshavsky, whose counterintelligence and espionage division said, quote, Gerald Brown allegedly betrayed
14:40his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect. The Air Force
14:45Office of Special Investigations agent who's in charge of this, Terry L. Phillips, highlighted the
14:52joint effort to protect U.S. military advantages. And then the FBI Director, Kash Patel, shared on X,
14:58calling it a major story, bringing us to where we are here today. Now, there's a whole lot of people
15:03all over X that are calling this treason, calling for no mercy on the case, describing it as eroding the
15:11U.S. air edge. And a lot of people are, I mean, as you might imagine, everybody's pretty critical of
15:16this, you know, because it's a big deal of somebody that was a, especially a former U.S. military
15:21officer going to another country to sell them training secrets and things like that. It's kind
15:26of frowned upon, as it should be. Something else I think is interesting is, according to the public
15:31release from the Department of Justice about this, said, according to the complaint in or around
15:36August 2023, Brown began arranging the terms of his contract, trained Chinese military pilots using
15:42a co-conspirator to negotiate with Stephen Subin, who was arrested and pled guilty in 2016 in the U.S.
15:49District Court of Central District of California, to conspiring to hack into computer networks of
15:54major U.S. defense contractors and steel-sensitive military and export-controlled data for the People's
16:00Republic of China. He was sentenced to four years in prison, and Subin and his company,
16:05any PRC load technology company, were also added to the U.S. Department of Commerce's
16:09entity list in 2014. In February of 2025, General James B. Hecker, who was at the time the commander
16:17of NATO Allied Air Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, stated, quote,
16:23once you fly on our team, even after you hang up your uniform, you have a responsibility to protect
16:28our tactics, techniques, and procedures, which I think is fair. Because, like, at the end of the day,
16:33like a lot of these guys have said, it erodes our air edge. And even if they're our allied nation,
16:39you should 100% be getting permission from, I guess if you got to get permission from the State
16:44Department, go to the State Department and get permission. Because, like, even after you get out,
16:48this could have a detrimental impact on the edge that American Air Force or American military has
16:53over other nations. And especially with the situation with China that's been ongoing for the
16:58past while, dude, you know they're trying to steal secrets all the time, technology and
17:03everything from whether it be U.S. American companies or whether it be American companies
17:08or American military, they're trying to get everything they can to get an edge. They're
17:12scrambling all the time. You know, it's like constant. This is another story that I think is
17:19going to constantly get briefed in operational security briefs and stuff like that. And I hope that
17:24people start doing a better job of letting everyone know, like, hey, if you're a pilot and
17:29you want to instruct other nations on stuff, you have to run it through the State Department and get
17:34a certification for it. Because I didn't know that until making this video. I didn't realize you had
17:39to get permission from the State Department and get a no joke license to do this. It makes sense
17:46because if you're teaching other nations stuff that is of a sensitive nature that could potentially
17:52reduce the edge we have over other nations as far as tactics, techniques and procedures,
17:57it makes sense that you would have to get a license for that. But I didn't realize that was a
18:01thing
18:02until now. And I wonder how many other people are out there doing the same thing that didn't realize
18:07either. So because people see these numbers and they're like, man, I just I could really use an
18:12extra 200 grand per month, you know, but this dude's collecting. He's probably collecting
18:17disabilities, probably collecting a pension on top of all this other stuff. So I don't know.
18:21Crazy situation and definitely not a small deal. As more information comes out about this,
18:28I'll keep you guys updated. And yeah, thanks for watching the video.
Comments