LOS ANGELES — A Brentwood man was arrested on Wednesday on federal charges alleging he flew a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County and captured aerial photographs of the secure military site.
Yinpiao Zhou, 39, faces charges of failing to register an aircraft not providing transportation and violating national defense airspace. Zhou was apprehended at San Francisco International Airport while attempting to board a flight to China. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Thursday in San Francisco’s federal district court.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, on November 30, 2024, drone detection systems at Vandenberg Space Force Base identified a drone flying over the base for nearly an hour, reaching an altitude of almost one mile. The drone was tracked back to Ocean Park, a public area adjacent to the base. Base security personnel approached Zhou and another individual at the park, discovering Zhou had the drone concealed in his jacket.
Investigators executed a federal search warrant on Zhou’s drone, finding several aerial photographs of the base. A search of Zhou’s cellphone revealed he had conducted a Google search in October for “Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules” and had communicated with another person about modifying his drone to exceed its standard altitude limitations.
Zhou, a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States, most recently returned to the U.S. from China in February 2024. The individual accompanying him at the park had entered the U.S. from China just days before the incident.
If convicted, Zhou faces a maximum penalty of four years in federal prison.
The FBI is investigating the case, with prosecution being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kedar S. Bhatia of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Trial Attorney Benjamin Koenigsfeld of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
