A Chinese national has been charged in the Western District of Missouri with unlawfully photographing a U.S. Air Force base and military equipment, according to an announcement by United States Attorney R. Matthew Price.
The criminal complaint alleges that Qilin Wu, 35, was found near Whiteman Air Force Base on December 2, 2025, after the base’s Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) received a report about a suspicious minivan with Massachusetts license plates close to the installation’s perimeter. Air Force patrolmen who responded encountered Wu, who said he was there to observe the B-2 Spirit aircraft. The patrolmen told Wu he was not allowed to take photographs or record videos of the military installation.
The following day, AFOSI reported that the same minivan appeared again at a perimeter fence of Whiteman Air Force Base. Agents contacted Wu once more; he admitted to taking videos of the B-2 Spirit aircraft and several photographs showing Whiteman’s fencing, gate, and military equipment. According to investigators, Wu showed them his phone containing 18 images and videos taken at the installation and of military equipment. He also acknowledged having photographed another U.S. Air Force base and its aircraft.
Court documents state that Wu is a Chinese national who entered the United States illegally on June 22, 2023, near Nogales, Arizona. At that time, immigration authorities arrested him for being unlawfully present in the country but released him due to insufficient detention space while he awaited removal proceedings scheduled for February 9, 2027. On December 3, 2025—after his encounters at Whiteman—U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) re-arrested him.
“The allegations contained in the complaint are accusations, not evidence of guilt, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” stated officials in their release. “If convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 795, Wu would be subject to a sentence of up to one year in federal prison.” The statement clarified that any actual sentence would be determined by judicial guidelines and statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Chlarson are prosecuting this case with support from Trial Attorney Brendan P. Geary from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. The investigation involved multiple agencies including AFOSI, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Air Force Security Forces, and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.
