Brentwood man charged with flying drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base
Air Force One at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, August 25, 2024. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. - A Brentwood man en route to China has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint for allegedly flying a drone over and taking photographs of Vandenberg Space Force Base, located on California's Central Coast.
Yinpiao Zhou, 39, was charged with failure to register an aircraft not providing transportation and violation of national defense airspace, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which sent out a news release on Wednesday..
Zhou was arrested Monday at San Francisco International Airport before boarding a China-bound flight and made his initial appearance Tuesday in United States District Court in San Francisco.
Zhou remains in federal custody.
He had not entered a plea. His arraignment is expected to be scheduled in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
"This defendant allegedly flew a drone over a military base and took photos of the base's layout, which is against the law," U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said 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."
According to an affidavit, drone detection systems at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County detected a drone flying over the base for nearly one hour almost one mile above ground level, and originated from Ocean Park, a public area next to the base.
Base security guards found that Zhou had a drone hidden in his jacket – the same one that flew over the base, according to the affidavit.
A search of Zhou’s cellphone showed Zhou conducted a Google search approximately one month earlier for the phrase "Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules" and messaged with another person about hacking his drone to allow it to fly higher than it could otherwise, prosecutors said.