A Chinese national who took photographs of Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) with a drone pleaded guilty in March to violating the national defense airspace.
According to a plea deal reached with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Yinpiao Zhou—a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States—was sentenced to time served in prison (four months), one year of probation, a $200 fine, and a $25 special assessment in exchange for pleading guilty to one misdemeanor count of “knowingly or willfully” violating the national defense airspace.
The court documents state that Zhou could potentially be deported as a result.
“If defendant is not a United States citizen, the conviction in this case may subject defendant to: removal, also known as deportation,” the plea deal states, “which may, under some circumstances, be mandatory; denial of citizenship; and denial of admission to the United States in the future.”
On Nov. 30, 2024, Zhou flew a drone around Vandenberg, an area where civil aircraft is restricted or prohibited. Court documents state that he launched the drone from Ocean Park near Vandenberg, flew it about 1.8 miles over the base, and took photographs of the base.
Drone detection systems detected the aircraft inside the base’s restricted airspace and traveled to the park where they contacted Zhou and another person who was traveling with him, court documents state. He initially denied it, but “then revealed that he had the drone inside of his jacket.”
Zhou knew Vandenberg’s space was restricted, and he downloaded software allowing his drone to fly in places where it would otherwise be prohibited, the court documents state.
According to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Mike Wood, Zhou flew the drone over the base for almost an hour.
“Notably, on that same day … a sensitive payload developed for the National Reconnaissance Office had been launched to orbit by a space contractor,” Wood said in the affidavit.
A search of Zhou’s cellphone showed that he had Googled 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,” the affidavit said. “Zhou further admitted that he knew taking photographs of the space contractor facility at VSFB was ‘probably not a good idea.’”
The 39-year-old Brentwood resident was arrested in December at the San Francisco International Airport as he was boarding a flight to China, according to December press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“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,” United States Attorney Marin Estrada said in the release.
This article appears in Apr 3-13, 2025.
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