A 39-year-old man who illegally flew a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base and photographed the military complex was sentenced Monday to four months he has already served behind bars.
Yinpiao Zhou of Contra Costa County pleaded guilty on March 10 to one federal count of violating the national defense airspace, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter also sentenced Zhou to a yearlong period of supervised release and ordered him to pay $225 in fines and special assessments.
Zhou was arrested Dec. 9 at San Francisco International Airport prior to boarding a China-bound flight.
According to court papers, detection systems at Vandenberg in Santa Barbara County discovered the drone on Nov. 30, 2024, flying over the base. Trackers found that the drone flew for nearly an hour, traveled to an altitude of almost 1 mile above ground level, and originated from Ocean Park, a public area next to the base, an affidavit filed in L.A. federal court states.
Base security personnel went to the park, spoke to Zhou and another person accompanying him, and learned that Zhou had a drone concealed in his jacket — the same one that flew over the base, officials said.
Federal prosecutors said agents later searched Zhou’s drone pursuant to a warrant and saw several photographs of Vandenberg taken from an aerial viewpoint. A search of Zhou’s phone showed that Zhou conducted a search for the phrase “Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules” and messaged another person about hacking his drone to allow it to fly higher than it could otherwise, court papers show.
Zhou is a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States, most recently returning to the U.S. from China in February 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.