Retired British Military Pilots Training Chinese Army: UK Ministry of Defence

A Typhoon jet of the Royal Air Force flies over the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base near Constanta, Romania, on April 8, 2022. Daniel Mihailescu /AFP via Getty Images

Retired British military pilots have been recruited by the Chinese regime to teach its armed forces how to defeat Western warplanes, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

Around 30 former fast jet and helicopter pilots have been attracted to help train China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with lucrative compensation packages of about $270,000 a year, UK media quoted defence officials as saying.

The recruitment has been carried out through third parties, including a flying academy based in South Africa, officials said.

The pilots are reported to have served across the British military and not just in the Royal Air Force (RAF).

This undated photo taken in April 2018 shows J-15 multirole fighter jets on China's aircraft carrier, Liaoning, during a drill at sea. AFP/Getty Images

The MoD has issued an intelligence alert warning pilots against taking part.

Armed forces minister James Heappey said the MoD has already approached the people involved and has made clear 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,” he told Sky News.

“China is a competitor that is threatening the UK interest in many places around the world,” he said, adding, “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.”

Security Loopholes

Commenting on the revelations, Alicia Kearns, the new chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons, said on Twitter: “Worrying that British pilots helping accelerate the military development of a nation that we are on the verge of labelling a ‘threat’ to our security. We must consider new, robust measures to address these sorts of critical security loopholes.”

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Defence Select Committee in the Houses of Commons, said there are “serious questions” for the RAF.

Tobias Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East, walks through Westminster, in London, on Feb. 2, 2022. Leon Neal/Getty Images

He wrote on Twitter: “We should not be surprised by China’s audacity in luring UK pilots to learn about our tactics. But we should be surprised there’s nothing akin to the ‘Official Secrets Act’ preventing this—and the absence of patriotism of those involved.”

In a statement, the MoD said it was attempting to stop the recruitment of both former and serving pilots.

A spokesman said: “We are taking decisive steps to stop Chinese recruitment schemes attempting to headhunt serving and former UK armed forces pilots to train People’s Liberation Army personnel in the People’s Republic of China.

“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.”

PA Media contributed to this report.