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Zhao captured the information in surreptitious recordings and photographs, including “operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region, which detailed the specific location and timing of Naval force movements, amphibious landings, maritime operations and logistics support,” prosecutors said. “The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan,” the release explained. In exchange for that information and details about Naval Base Ventura County and a base on San Clemente Island, Zhao allegedly received $14,866.

Three people who died when a jet crashed off California’s San Clemente Island this week were taking part in a U.S. Navy training exercise, their employer confirmed Friday. The victims, Eric Tatman, Spencer Geerlings and Shane Garner worked for Georgia-based Phoenix Air, a company with clients in the private sector and government, according to its website. The three men perished when the Phoenix Air Learjet 36 went down roughly one-mile southwest of San Clemente Island, which is the southernmost of California’s Channel Islands, around 7:40 a.m. Wednesday morning, officials said. San Clemente Island is owned and managed by the Navy,...

The Navy has issued letters of censure to three Marine and two Navy officers in connection with the sinking of an amphibious assault vehicle off the Southern California coast in 2020 that killed eight Marines and a sailor. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, in a statement Monday, faulted the officers for "inadequate leadership and execution of their oversight duties." Censure letters are put in service members' personnel files and are often career-ending for military officers, usually preventing them from further promotion or other progress. A Marine Corps investigation found that inadequate training, shabby maintenance and poor judgment by leaders led...

The disturbing series of events during the summer of 2019 resulted in an investigation that made its way to the highest echelons of the Navy. In July of 2019, a truly bizarre series of events unfolded around California’s Channel Islands. Over a number of days, groups of unidentified aircraft, which the U.S. Navy simply refers to as ‘drones’ or 'UAVs,' pursued that service's vessels, prompting a high-level investigation.

(CBS) A mysterious missile launch off the southern California coast was caught by CBS affiliate KCBS's cameras Monday night, and officials are staying tight-lipped over the nature of the projectile. CBS station KFMB put in calls to the Navy and Air Force Monday night about the striking launch off the coast of Los Angeles, which was easily visible from the coast, but the military has said nothing about the launch. KFMB showed video of the apparent missile to former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Ellsworth, who is also a former Deputy Secretary of Defense, to get his thoughts. Scroll down...