LOS ANGELES: A Chinese language citizen has been charged with flying a drone over Vandenberg House Drive Base in California the place he’s alleged to have recorded photos of the navy facility, the US Justice Division mentioned on Wednesday (Dec 11).
Yinpiao Zhou, 39, was arrested as he readied to board a flight to China from San Francisco, authorities mentioned.
“This defendant allegedly flew a drone over a navy base and took pictures of the bottom’s structure, which is in opposition to the regulation,” United States Lawyer Martin Estrada mentioned.
“The safety of our nation is of paramount significance and my workplace will proceed to advertise the security of our nation’s navy personnel and amenities.”
Chinese language international ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning mentioned she was “not conscious of the state of affairs” when requested in regards to the case at a daily press briefing on Thursday.
Charging paperwork say detection methods at Vandenberg tracked a drone because it flew about 1.6km above the power in late November.
Safety personnel on the base, which is the launch web site for area missions – together with Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets – in addition to missile assessments, traced the drone to a close-by public park the place they allegedly discovered Zhou with the gadget hid in his jacket.
Brokers who acquired a search warrant examined the drone, which contained aerial images of the bottom.
