Chinese national and lawful permanent resident Yinpiao Zhou arrested for allegedly flying modified drone over Vandenberg and taking aerial photos

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A 39-year-old Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident in the Brentwood area of the Bay Area, Yinpiao Zhou, was arrested for allegedly flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base and taking aerial photographs of the military installation.

Zhou was arrested on Monday, Dec. 9 at San Francisco International Airport before boarding a flight heading to China stated the Department of Justice in a press release about the arrest.

The Chinese national was in court on charges of failing to register an aircraft that was not providing transportation and violation of national defense airspace on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, detailed the Department of Justice.

On Tuesday, a federal magistrate judge in San Francisco ordered Zhou released, but the Department of Justice has argued against the move and expects Zhou to be arraigned on his charges at a Los Angeles-based federal courthouse in the Central District of California shared the Department of Justice with Your News Channel.

Zhou remains in federal custody and has not entered a plea stated the Department of Justice.

"This defendant allegedly flew a drone over a military base and took photos of the base’s layout, which is against the law," said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. "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 filed alongside the federal criminal complaint, on Nov. 30, 2024, a drone detection system at Vandenberg Space Force Base detected a drone flying near the base.

The drone detection system recorded that the drone flew for almost one hour, traveled to an altitude of approximately one mile above ground level, and was launched from Ocean Park just south of the base stated the Department of Justice.

According to 49 U.S.C. 44809, unregistered recreational drone use prohibits flying higher than 400 feet above ground level as well as requires that recreational drone pilots maintain a line of sight of their aircraft.

The affidavit noted that on Nov. 30, a "sensitive payload developed for the National Reconnaissance Office had been launched to orbit".

Security personnel from Vandenberg went to the park and spoke with a man, later identified as 39-year-old lawful permanent resident in the Brentwood area Yinpiao Zhou, and another man who was accompanying him, and learned that the 39-year-old had a drone concealed inside of his jacket explained the Department of Justice.

The concealed drone was confirmed to have been the one that flew over the military installation stated the Department of Justice.

Zhou admitted during an interview with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that he flew his drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base intentionally and had downloaded software onto the drone to "bypass the drone's built-in restrictions to prevent it from taking off and flying in no-fly zones" stated the affidavit.

During an interview with the FBI, Zhou admitted that flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base was "probably not a good idea" detailed the affidavit.

According to the Department of Justice, the other man at Ocean Park was not charged and allowed to board the same flight back to China from San Francisco International Airport that Zhou was ticketed to board before he was arrested Monday.

Agents with the FBI later searched the drone using a federal search warrant and discovered that several aerial photographs had been taken of Vandenberg Space Force Base and a search of Zhou's cellphone showed that a Google search had been made one month before the incident for the phrase, "Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules" detailed the Department of Justice.

Additionally, messages discovered on the cellphone between Zhou and another person, identified only by their username "wxid_v9nttsu3fyli12", over WeChat or Weixin, a Chinese messaging and social media app, detailed hacking the drone to fly higher than its previous capabilities shared the Department of Justice.

Zhou is a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident who most recently returned to the United States from China on February 12, 2024, and the man who was with Zhou at Ocean Park most recently entered the country on a visitor visa on Nov. 26 explained the affidavit.

If convicted, the 39-year-old would face a maximum sentence of four years in federal prison added the Department of Justice.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is still investigating the matter and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kedar Bhatia of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Trial Attorney Benjamin Koenigsfeld of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

Vandenberg Space Force Base issued the following statement in response to Your News Channel's inquiries about the incident:

We can confirm that a small unmanned aerial system was spotted in the vicinity of and over Vandenberg SFB Nov. 30. The incursion did not impact base residents or critical infrastructure.

To protect operational security, we do not discuss our specific force protection measures but retain the right to protect the installation. We continue to monitor our airspace and are working with local law enforcement and mission partners to ensure the safety of base personnel, facilities and assets.

As the investigation is ongoing, no further information is available at this time