On Wednesday, June 5th, the United States and four allies of the “Five Eyes” alliance issued a rare joint statement warning that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been recruiting retired Western military pilots to train its air force and pilots.
The statement, released jointly by the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and the other four members of the Five Eyes alliance – the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – marks the first time that the Five Eyes intelligence alliance has publicly commented on this issue, aiming to sound the alarm.
According to the statement, Beijing has been using private companies that often conceal their ties to the CCP military to attract Western pilots. They reach out to them through headhunters or professional social networking sites, offering “lucrative contracts and the opportunity to fly exotic aircraft.” The statement highlights that Western military training experts in high demand include former military pilots, flight engineers, and personnel from airborne operations centers. The CCP is also targeting experts who have a deep understanding of Western military tactics.
The statement warns that by poaching Western military experts, the Chinese military can enhance its aerial capabilities, improve future combat planning, and better counter Western military strategies, all to the detriment of the interests of the U.S., allies, and their servicemen.
This statement is the latest warning from the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance as concerns about CCP-led espionage activities, cyber hacking, and intellectual property theft continue to escalate. “Training Chinese military personnel with Western expertise will diminish our deterrence capability, thereby increasing the risk of future conflicts,” the statement says.
The statement released on Wednesday emphasized the CCP’s emphasis on recruitment as it advances its military modernization, including the continued expansion of its air force. Meanwhile, tensions between the CCP and Taiwan continue to escalate.
“To overcome its own shortcomings, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been actively recruiting Western military talent to train its pilots,” said Michael Casey, Director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center. “Recent actions by Western governments have thwarted the CCP’s poaching of pilots, but PLA recruitment efforts continue to expand.”
The statement notes that the Chinese military hopes to enhance its aerial military operations by gaining a deeper understanding of Western air tactics, technology, and procedures.
According to CNN, private companies have established ostensibly independent operational entities in third countries such as South Africa, Singapore, and Laos. Informants reveal that at least dozens of former Western pilots are currently training Chinese military officials, who then return to China to train more pilots.
Furthermore, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Chinese military has recruited at least 5 former pilots from New Zealand, 30 from the UK, and others from Germany and other countries.
In April 2022, a Hongdu JL-10 jet trainer crashed in Anhui, China, with both pilots safely ejecting. Villagers captured footage of a non-Chinese pilot and a Chinese pilot in sandy-colored flight suits at the scene, with the non-Chinese pilot speaking accented English.
“The internet is flooded with various theories,” said the U.S. Counterintelligence Center in a summary. “Beijing has never offered an explanation for the English-speaking pilot’s background.”
One of the recent publicized cases involves former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan, currently facing trial in Australia for allegedly assisting in training Chinese military pilots without U.S. approval. Last month, an Australian judge ruled that Duggan could be extradited to the U.S.
CNN reported that a U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the government is issuing the warning now because the CCP has been actively blocking countermeasures against its recruitment efforts.
Institutions within the Five Eyes alliance are urging Western military personnel to remain vigilant. They caution that CCP recruitment often comes with lucrative salaries or overly flattering promises, and Western military personnel should report any suspicious activities to the FBI or their respective country’s military investigators.
Casey highlighted in the statement that the announcement “aims to underscore this ongoing threat and prevent any current or former Western servicemen from putting their military colleagues at risk and undermining our national security.”
Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed sanctions on over a dozen companies in China, Kenya, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the UK, and the UAE that were recruiting Western military talent for the Chinese military aviation training.
In January of this year, over 120 U.S. and NATO officials held a meeting at the Allied Air Forces Southern Europe Headquarters in Germany to discuss how to prevent the Chinese military from recruiting NATO training personnel.