Drone pilot who flew over Vandenberg Space Force Base sentenced to 4 months in jail

A California man has been sentenced to jail for flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base and photographing the installation.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, Yinpiao Zhou of Brentwood, California flew a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 30, 2024 for nearly an hour and took 13 photographs of the facility. Vandenberg security forces used detection systems at the base to track the drone to a park close to 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away, where law enforcement found Zhou attempting to hide the drone in his jacket, a court affidavit states.

This week, Zhou was sentenced to four months in prison, which he has already served, with a year of supervised release to follow. In addition, Zhou will be required to pay $225 in fines, according to the Orange County Register.

Zhou is a Chinese citizen and a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Authorities arrested him at the San Francisco International Airport as he was attempting to board a flight to China, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

The Justice Department also stated that Zhou's mobile phone showed he had previously searched for "Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules" and had "messaged with another person about hacking his drone to allow it to fly higher than it could otherwise."

Zhou's arrest was made just weeks after the U.S. Space Force oversaw the launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg on Nov. 6. 2024.

Drone incursions over sensitive U.S. military facilities have been increasing in recent years, although the U.S. government has yet to publicly attribute them to any particular group or actor.