Chinese national sentenced for photographing B-2 bomber base in Missouri

A federal court has sentenced Qilin Wu, a 35-year-old Chinese national, to six months in custody for photographing Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, the only operating base for the US Air Force's B-2 Spirit bomber fleet. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations said the sentence followed a prosecution built on an executive order dating to 1950.

A criminal complaint from the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri says security personnel first encountered Wu near the base perimeter on December 2, 2025, after a report of a suspicious vehicle. He told patrolmen he had come to see the B-2 aircraft and was warned that photographing the installation was prohibited.

The same vehicle turned up again at the perimeter fence the next day, investigators say. When approached, Wu admitted to recording footage of a B-2 as well as photographing fencing, a gate and military equipment. Agents reportedly found 18 images and videos on his phone.

Wu had entered the United States illegally near Nogales, Arizona, in June 2023. He was released pending removal proceedings because of a lack of detention space, and was later arrested by immigration authorities in connection with this case.

Whiteman hosts 19 of the 21 B-2 bombers built, operated by the 509th and 131st Bomb Wings. The type was used in June 2025's Operation Midnight Hammer, which struck Iranian nuclear sites with bunker-busting munitions. Its planned successor, the B-21 Raider, is not expected to begin replacing the B-2 until 2027.