KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — A 35-year-old Chinese national was charged this week with taking pictures of B-2 bombers and other “vital military installations” at Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB) back in December, according to federal court documents.
On Wednesday, Jan. 7, U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price of the Western District of Missouri filed a criminal complaint against Qilin Wu.
The complaint claims that on Tuesday, Dec. 2, patrolmen with the Whiteman AFB Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) were called to investigate a suspicious minivan with a Massachusetts license plate sitting outside the perimeter of the Knob Noster military base.
Court documents claim the patrolmen approached the minivan and found Wu, who told the investigators he was observing the B-2 Spirit aircraft. The patrolmen told Wu that he was not allowed to take photos or videos of the bomber.
The following day, Wednesday, Dec. 3, AFOSI was informed that Wu had returned and was sitting outside the base in the same minivan.
According to court documents, Wu admitted to investigators that he had taken videos of the B-2 bomber, as well as Whiteman’s perimeter fencing, gate and military equipment. He then showed investigators his phone and the photos he had taken.
In total, court documents claim Wu had taken approximately 18 photos and videos of the military installation and equipment.
The complaint also alleges that Wu admitted to having previously taken photos of a different U.S. Air Force base and its military aircraft.
Further in the court documents, Wu is described as a Chinese national who illegally entered the country on June 22, 2023, near Nogales, Arizona.
It alleges that he was arrested by immigration authorities, but due to a lack of space in detention facilities, Wu was released “on his own recognizance.” He had a scheduled immigration removal proceeding on Feb. 9, 2027.
However, after the Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 incident at Whiteman AFB, Wu was rearrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was subsequently charged on Wednesday.
Following news of Wu’s charges, U.S. Rep. Mark Alford took to social media to share his thoughts. Alford represents Missouri’s 4th Congressional District, which covers the region of Whiteman AFB.
“We’ve been very concerned about Chinese nationals getting near our base and spying on the B-2 stealth bomber — of course, part of our nuclear triad,” Rep. Alford shared in a video reel on Facebook.
“This story came out in the Daily Caller a couple of months ago about a trailer park near [Whiteman AFB] that was owned by some Chinese nationals. We’ve been looking into that. We met with the Treasury Department recently.”
The Daily Caller story Alford is referring to is an investigative piece published by Philip Lenczycki in November 2025.
The piece claims Whiteman Air Force Base “shares a fence with a foreign-owned trailer park linked to a convicted fraudster with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence ties.” To read the article, click here.
Since this report was published, many have asked the federal government to launch an investigation into the trailer park, called the “Knob Noster Trailer Park.”
The article even cites a former CIA operations officer, Bryan Dean Wright, who reportedly said, “The FBI and Department of War should be on this case immediately.”
In Alford’s video, he continued with this plea, while crediting President Donald Trump and the Trump Administration with “doing the right thing” and arresting Wu. He also blamed the Biden Administration for Wu’s original release.
“My point is that Trump is doing something about it to protect our national security, to protect our B-2 fleet, which did decimate the nuclear capabilities of Iran this past summer and made world headlines.”
Alford continued, “Look, we’ve got to protect our assets. Whiteman Air Force Base in the 4th Congressional District of the great state of Missouri is one of the key components of our strength. We’ve got to protect them. Thank God President Trump is doing something about it.”
He added that there will be more updates in the case and that he will work to ensure the safety and security of Whiteman AFB and its nuclear assets.
Wu is facing one count of taking photographs of a vital military installation and military equipment without authorization.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, all allegations in the complaint are accusations and not evidence of guilt. Wu is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, he could face time in a federal prison.
This 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 case was also investigated by the AFOSI, the FBI, the U.S. Air Force’s Security Forces and ICE.