![At Whiteman Air Force Base, a B-2 Stealth bomber returns from a mission March 20, 2011. [U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kenny Holston]](https://amvetsmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/5546656576_e5fd19980b_o.jpg)
A federal criminal complaint filed this week has drawn a direct line from the Arizona-Mexico border near Nogales to a national security investigation involving one of the U.S. Air Force’s most sensitive installations.
U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price announced the filing of charges against Qilin Wu, 35, a Chinese national accused of illegally photographing a vital military installation and military equipment at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, home to the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber fleet.
According to the complaint, Wu first entered the U.S. illegally on June 22, 2023, near Nogales. He was arrested by immigration authorities at the time for being unlawfully present in the country. Court documents state Wu was released on his own recognizance because of a lack of detention space and was awaiting immigration removal proceedings scheduled for Feb. 9, 2027.
More than two years later, Wu came to the attention of federal investigators at Whiteman Air Force Base.
Last month on Dec. 2, Air Force patrolmen responded to a report of a suspicious minivan with Massachusetts license plates parked near the base perimeter. The complaint states Wu told patrolmen he was there to observe B-2 Spirit aircraft. He was informed he was not authorized to photograph or record the installation.
The following day, investigators say the same vehicle was again spotted near a perimeter fence. Agents with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations contacted Wu a second time. According to court records, Wu admitted to taking videos of B-2 aircraft and photographing perimeter fencing, a gate and military equipment. Investigators reviewed Wu’s phone and observed 18 images and videos of the installation and equipment. Wu also admitted photographing another U.S. Air Force base and its aircraft.
The following day, Dec. 3, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement re arrested Wu.
Wu is charged with one count of taking photographs of a vital military installation and military equipment without authorization, a violation of federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 795. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of up to one year in federal prison.
The complaint emphasizes that the allegations are accusations only and that Wu is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Chlarson, with assistance from Trial Attorney Brendan P. Geary of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. The investigation involved the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the FBI, U.S. Air Force Security Forces and ICE.
For Arizona veterans, particularly those who served in border security, intelligence or aviation roles, the case highlights the intersection of border enforcement, national defense and the ongoing protection of military assets that remain critical to U.S. security.
