Chinese national covertly photographs Vandenberg Space Force

December 11, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

FBI agents arrested a Chinese national on Monday for allegedly flying a drone over and taking photographs of Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.

A drone detection system at Vandenberg spotted the drone flying over the base for nearly an hour and almost a mile off the ground on Nov. 30. Security staff determined the drone was launched from Ocean Park, a public area next to the base.

Base security personnel confronted Yinpiao Zhou, 39, and another person who accompanied him at the park, and learned that Zhou had a drone concealed in his jacket – the same one that flew over the base.

Agents arrested Zhou at San Francisco International Airport prior to him boarding a China-bound flight on Monday. Zhou is charged with failure to register a non-transport aircraft and violation of national defense airspace.

Following the arrest, agents secured a federal search warrant for Zhou’s drone and found several photographs of Vandenberg Space Force Base. 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 was programed.

Zhou is a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States, most recently returning to the United States from China in Feb. 2024. The person accompanying Zhou at Ocean Park arrived in the United States from China on Nov. 26.

If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of four years in federal prison.