Chinese national pleads guilty to flying drone over Vandenberg Space Force

March 13, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

A Chinese national pleaded guilty on Monday to flying a drone over and taking photographs of Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.

Yinpiao Zhou, 39, flew the drone over the base while taking photos for nearly an hour on Nov. 30, 2024. Security staff determined the drone was launched from Ocean Park, a public area next to the base.

Base security personnel confronted Yinpiao Zhou, 39, at the park and discovered he had a drone concealed in his jacket – the same one that flew over the base.

Two days later, federal agents arrested Zhou at San Francisco International Airport prior to him boarding a China-bound flight on charges he failed 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.

His sentencing is scheduled for April 7. Zhou faces up to one year imprisonment and a fine of $100,000.