Ex-RAF jet pilots offered £250,000 to train up Chinese armed forces
British defence intelligence has issued a rare ‘threat alert’ warning after former RAF pilots are being drafted in to train up Chinese troops.
Up to 30 pilots have secured annual salaries of £250,000 to teach Western flying procedures, the BBC reports.
There is nothing the Armed Forces can do to prevent this due to a legal loophole which allows third-party head hunters to recruit the former pilots.
Other top Royal Air Force pilots have been approached by people acting on behalf of the People’s Liberation Army, but so far they have declined the offers.
Fast-jet pilots from Australia and Canada have also been lured to China on huge contracts.
Armed forces minister James Heappey hit out at the move on Sky News this morning, and said the government would seek to change the law to punish military pilots who take part.
He said: ‘We’ve approached the people involved and have been clear of them that it’s our expectation they would not continue to be part of that organisation.
‘We are going to put into law that once people have been given that warning it will become an offence to go forward and continue with that training.
‘China is a competitor that is threatening the UK interest in many places around the world.
‘It is also an important training partner but there is no secret in their attempt to gain access to our secrets, and their recruitment of our pilots in order to understand the capabilities of our air force is clearly a concern to us and the intelligence part of the MoD.’
The practice of headhunting ex-RAF pilots started in 2019 and then was slowed down during the pandemic.
Once coronavirus restrictions were lifted the recruitment effort was ramped up once again.
China is using third-party head hunters, including a company based in South Africa, to target personnel because direct approaches would be intercepted by the security services.
This includes a a private flying academy in South Africa called the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA).
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is looking to tighten legal obligations around former pilots passing on their knowledge and experience.
In a statement, the MoD said it was attempting to stop the recruitment of both former and serving pilots.
‘We are taking decisive steps to stop Chinese recruitment schemes attempting to head hunt serving and former UK Armed Forces pilots to train People’s Liberation Army personnel in the People’s Republic of China,’ an MoD spokesperson said.
‘All serving and former personnel are already subject to the Official Secrets Act, and we are reviewing the use of confidentiality contracts and non-disclosure agreements across defence, while the new National Security Bill will create additional tools to tackle contemporary security challenges – including this one.’
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