China’s military appears to be intensifying its efforts to recruit current and former Western fighter pilots, employing new and more intricate tactics to snare Western expertise.
The United States and some of its closest intelligence partners issued a new warning Wednesday, cautioning the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is using private companies, including corporate headhunters, so that Western pilots are unaware of links to the Chinese military until it is too late.
The goal, according to a bulletin issued by the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — known as Five Eyes — is for China to better train its own fighter pilots while gaining better insights into how Western air forces operate, something that could erode Western advantages or even give Chinese fighter jets a boost in case of a conflict.
The bulletin said the PLA is recruiting through private companies based in South Africa and China, trying to lure Western pilots with lucrative salaries.
Other recruitment efforts include leveraging personal acquaintances, professional networking sites and online job platforms, which similarly obscure any links to the Chinese government or military.
"We're issuing this joint bulletin today because this is a persistent threat that continues to evolve in response to Western countermeasures," an official with the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center told VOA.
“Like any illicit enterprise that seeks to conceal its activities, there have been efforts to incorporate entities [companies] in different locations under different names,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the rationale behind Wednesday's bulletin.
“There have also been variations in recruitment pitches and approaches,” the official added. “It’s critical that we keep our current and former service members informed about this threat, which is directly targeting them.”
The Five Eyes bulletin said the Chinese recruitment efforts appear to be targeting current and former military pilots from Five Eyes countries as well as those from France, Germany and other Western nations.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the allegations in the Five Eyes bulletin about efforts by the PLA to hire Western fighter pilots.
But it pushed back against the accusations that private companies with links to China are engaged in improper behavior.
"Countries should not generalize and abuse the concept of national security and smear relevant companies," the embassy said in an email to VOA.
"The companies' normal business activities should be respected," the embassy added, saying that U.S. accusations are "not conducive to the healthy development of China-U.S. relations."
VOA has contacted the Chinese Embassy in Washington for comment.
Concerns about Beijing’s pursuit of Western pilots and aviation expertise are not new.
British defense officials were sounding alarms about Chinese efforts to recruit retired members of the British Royal Air Force through companies in South Africa as far back as October 2022.
Australian defense officials raised similar concerns a month later, warning that retired Australian military personnel had an "enduring obligation" to protect state secrets and "to reveal any of those secrets is a crime."
Britain, Australia and the other Five Eyes members have also taken action to curtail Beijing’s efforts.
The U.S. last year, for example, placed restrictions on 43 entities tied to Chinese efforts to recruit and hire Western fighter pilots.
The targeted companies included a flight school in South Africa, a security and an aviation company founded by a former U.S. Navy SEAL with operations in the United Arab Emirates, Kenya and Laos.
While such work may have diminished Beijing’s efforts, the U.S. and its intelligence partners warn China has responded aggressively, rolling out new recruitment efforts aimed not only at hiring former Western fighter pilots but hiring engineers and flight operation center personnel who also could give the PLA insights into the operations and tactics of Western air forces.
Wednesday’s bulletin advises current and former U.S. military personnel approached with suspicious recruitment pitches to contact their individual military services or the FBI.
Military personnel from other countries are encouraged to contact the appropriate defense agencies.
“PLA recruitment efforts continue to evolve,” U.S. NCSC Director Michael Casey said in a statement Wednesday.
The new warning “seeks to highlight this persistent threat and deter any current or former Western service members from actions that put their military colleagues at risk and erode our national security,” he added.
