Chinese National Arrested for Taking Drone Images of US Space Force Base
A Chinese national has been arrested for flying a drone over and taking photos of a U.S. Space Force base on the same day as the launch of a SpaceX rocket carrying a spy satellite for the federal government.
Yinpiao Zhou, a 39-year-old U.S. permanent resident who lives in Brentwood, California, was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on Monday as he waited to board a flight back to China.
According to a criminal complaint, the U.S. Justice Department say Zhou flew a drone over the base and took aerial photographs over the Vandenberg Space Base in California on November 30. He did this on the same day SpaceX launched a rocket on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office.
“This defendant allegedly flew a drone over a military base and took photos of the base’s layout, which is against the law,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada says in a statement.
“The security of our nation is of paramount importance and my office will continue to promote the safety of our nation’s military personnel and facilities.”
Drone detection systems at Vandenberg Space Base tracked Zhou’s drone which flew for 59 minutes and traveled to an altitude of almost one mile above ground level to the nearby Ocean Park.
Vandenberg Space Base security personnel immediately went to the park where they allegedly found Zhou with the same drone concealed in his jacket. Federal agents later searched Zhou’s drone and discovered several photographs of Vandenberg Space Force Base taken from an aerial viewpoint.
Zhou’s device allegedly took images of SpaceX rocket pads and other sensitive areas.
A search of Zhou’s cellphone showed Zhou had done a Google search for the phrase “Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules” approximately one month earlier. He had also messaged another person on the Chinese messaging app WeChat about hacking his drone to allow it to fly higher than it could otherwise.
Zhou, who made an initial court appearance on Tuesday in the United States District Court in San Francisco, has been accused of violating national defense aerospace, and of failing to register an aircraft as required under US law. If convicted, he faces four years in federal prison.
According to the complaint, Zhou is a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and most recently returned from China in February 2024.
The incident comes a few months after the U.S. Justice Department charged a different Chinese national under the Espionage Act for taking photos of a military installation using a drone. He allegedly took pictures of a shipyard where United States military personnel build nuclear submarines.
In the last few weeks, there have also been several unexplained drone sightings in New Jersey. The FBI is currently investigating the mysterious, large drones that have been hovering in formation almost every night over sensitive sites including Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
