Chinese man who illegally flew drone and took photos over Vandenberg gets time already served

A 39-year-old Chinese national who illegally flew a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base and photographed the military complex was sentenced Monday in downtown Los Angeles to four months, which he has already served behind bars.

Yinpiao Zhou, a Chinese citizen living legally in Northern California's 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.

Zhou was arrested in December at San Francisco International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to China, one day ahead of a scheduled court appearance. 

The drone incident happened on Nov. 30, 2024, as the base's drone detection systems were alerted.

"The drone systems detected that the drone flew for nearly one hour, traveled to an altitude of almost one mile above ground level, and originated from Ocean Park," the Justice Department said.

Base security personnel went to the park, spoke to Zhou and another person accompanying him. They learned that Zhou had a drone hidden in his jacket, the same one that flew over the base, officials said.

Investigators found several photographs of the space force base taken via the drone, the government said. 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.

On Monday, the judge also sentenced Zhou to a yearlong period of supervised release and ordered him to pay $225 in fines and special assessments.