China's Military Recruited Western Pilots
According to a 12/15/2022 Wall Street Journal report, China Recruited Western Pilots With Knowledge of Stealth Fighters and Aircraft Carriers.
See opening paragraphs below.
China's military sought to enlist veteran Western pilots into a program that aimed to improve its ability to fly planes from aircraft carriers, among other capabilities that could be useful in the event of a conflict with the U.S., including potentially over Taiwan, according to official documents, legal filings, emails and people familiar with the matter.
The program, some details of which were first revealed by the U.K. Defense Ministry in October, involved close collaboration between China and a South African flight academy that recruited former military pilots with expertise in areas where China's military lags behind Western counterparts.
Managers at the school—in a remote South African community several hours' drive from the regional capital Cape Town—targeted former military pilots from the U.K., Norway, France and other countries, according to people familiar with the program. The pilots, teaching less-experienced pilots at air bases inside China, stood to make hundreds of thousands of dollars annually working for just a few months a year, one of the people said.
The Journal reviewed the flying histories of numerous pilots approached for the program and found at least four with experience flying F-35s, the U.S.'s most advanced stealth fighter, which is used on aircraft carriers and competes against a Chinese stealth fighter known as the J-20.
Other pilots who were approached, according to internal emails at the South African school, had knowledge of sensitive projects including the development of new planes, sensors and advanced weaponry.
In an indictment unsealed this week, U.S. authorities allege that a former Marine pilot detained in Australia, Daniel Duggan, trained Chinese military pilots in landing on aircraft carriers in coordination with a South African flight school, which they said dated back to the early 2010s. The indictment didn't name the school. A lawyer for Mr. Duggan has said that Mr. Duggan, who faces possible extradition to the U.S., denies breaching any laws.
To read the article in full click here.
A few other excerpts from the article provide additional clarity.
The project came amid a push by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to build a military capable of fighting and winning a conflict against the U.S., and reflected moves by China to study Western militaries to overcome its lack of combat experience.
People familiar with the thinking of the Chinese leadership say some modernization of its military is driven by concerns over a possible future conflict with the U.S., potentially over Taiwan, an island that Beijing claims and hasn’t ruled out trying to take over by force. The U.S. hasn’t committed to defending Taiwan but many military analysts assume it would if China opted to invade.
The TFASA school has said its main partner in China was Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a state-run giant linked to Beijing’s military. Emails viewed by the Journal from TFASA were addressed to AVIC and China’s People’s Liberation Army.
Last year, the Biden administration banned any U.S. investment in AVIC because of its ties to the military.
On a related note, below is a 12/26/2022 PBS Newshour report, China Sends 71 warplanes, 7 Ships Toward Taiwan. As stated in the article:
"China’s military sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour display of force directed at the self-ruled island, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Monday, after China expressed anger at Taiwan-related provisions in a U.S. annual defense spending bill."
"China’s military harassment of Taiwan, which it claims is its own territory, has intensified in recent years, and the Communist Party’s People’s Liberation Army has sent planes or ships toward the island on a near-daily basis."
For complete article click here.
Oregon a Training Ground for Chinese Pilots
Per the Wall Street Journal article cited above,
"Skilled pilots are in short supply overall in China, and the country's military competes with local commercial airlines for them. Chinese airlines recruit thousands of new pilots annually and Boeing forecasts the country will require an additional 126,000 commercial pilots and a similar number of technicians over the next 20 years."
Despite the national security risk posed by Chinese aggression towards the U.S. and their allies, publicly funded airports across this country continue to train Chinese pilots. The Hillsboro Aero Academy (HAA), an international flight training company based out of three Oregon airports—Hillsboro, Troutdale and Redmond—identifies six Chinese airlines among its industry partners.
Per their website, "HAA is one of only a handful of US-based flight schools authorized by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to train future Chinese airline pilots; regular review and renewal of our CAAC certification ensures that we continue to meet the strict training and safety standards required by Chinese authorities. Our CAAC certification applies to both our airplane and helicopter career pilot programs. Because of our certification and long track record with Chinese flight students, we have secured career partnerships with a number of Chinese airlines, including China Air, Sichuan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, and Juneyao Air." China Eastern and Hainan Airlines are also listed as industry partners.
In light of the fusion between military and civil aviation in China, a reasonable person might well wonder how many of the pilots conducting military exercises over Taiwan were trained at Oregon or other U.S. airports.
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