US probing if Chinese national accused of flying drone over base engaged in additional wrongdoing.

An investigation by the U.S. government is underway to determine if the Chinese national detained for flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base in California has committed any additional offenses.

The U.S. attorney's office for the central district of California charged 39-year-old Yinpiao Zhou, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., with failing to register an aircraft not providing transportation and violating national defense airspace last week.

Additional, more serious offenses are being investigated by the government regarding ZHOU.

The FBI agent leading the investigation on Zhou stated in a sworn affidavit that they have knowledge of espionage tactics used by foreign adversarial nations and the methods they employ to gather intelligence on military infrastructure of interest.

According to the press release, Zhou was arrested before boarding a flight to China on Dec. 9.

According to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, it is illegal to fly a drone over a military base and take photos of its layout, as this defendant is alleged to have done.

An affidavit was cited to report that a drone was detected above the facility on Nov. 30.

According to the press release, the drone systems detected that the drone flew for nearly one hour, reached an altitude of almost one mile above ground level, and originated from Ocean Park, a public area next to the base. 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.

"Zhou's drone was searched by agents after a federal search warrant was obtained, revealing several photographs of Vandenberg Space Force Base taken from an aerial viewpoint. A search of Zhou's cellphone showed that he had conducted a Google search for "Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules" about a month prior and had messaged with someone about hacking his drone to allow it to fly higher than it could normally."

Unidentified aircraft sightings during nighttime in New Jersey and other regions of the country have been grabbing national attention, yet Americans remain without clear explanations.

During an interview on ABC's "This Week," Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas stated that some of the reported sightings have been drones, while others have been mistakenly identified as manned-aircraft. He added that there is no evidence of foreign involvement in the sightings in the north-east.

Planet Chronicle' Lee Ross contributed to this report.