Germany calls on China to stop ‘poaching’ its former fighter pilots

To train its Air Force pilots, China recruits former French, British, American and German fighter pilots. On Saturday, on the sidelines of a defense and security conference in Singapore, Germany officially asked Beijing to put an end to this method described as “poaching”, according to information from the defense post.

Berlin considers above all that this poses a security problem for NATO and fears that the pilots will reveal alliance secrets. These former Bundeswehr pilots who flew Eurofighters reportedly participated in NATO exercises and “could betray state secrets.”

Paid through fictitious companies

In Singapore, Boris Pistorius, the German defense minister, told Li Shangfu, his Chinese counterpart, that “this practice must stop immediately.”

The Chinese minister did not “deny, but downplayed the importance” of these recruitments, reports the German minister.

According to a survey of Der Spiegel and chain ZDFthe pilots going to work for China, whose number has not been disclosed, were paid through shell companies in the Seychelles.

The recruitment of Western pilots was revealed by the media in October 2022. They would work for the PLA (Chinese People’s Army) air forces, but also for Hongdu Aviation Industry Corporation, manufacturer of the JL-10. Their mission would be to teach Chinese pilots the air combat tactics of NATO air forces.

20,000 euros net per month

Thirty former Royal Air Force fighter or helicopter pilots would be China instructors revealed news from heaven. His salary would be around 20,000 euros net per month. London acknowledged that nothing legally prevented them from accepting these contracts, but that it would try to discourage them from participating in the Chinese war effort.

According to a survey published by le figaro, French naval pilots would be highly regarded by the PLA due to their aircraft carrier skills. China would seek to train between 100 and 150 naval pilots in the coming decades. Last year, China launched the “Fujian”, his third aircraft carrier and the first to have catapults to propel aircraft.

The Ministry of the Armed Forces announced its plan to tighten the restrictions on its pilots after a video of a former member of the French fighters was leaked on social networks.

Applicants for Chinese military training will need to obtain “prior clearance.” This imperative was included in Article 20 of the Military Programming Bill (LPM) 2024-2030 following an alert from Deputy Jean-Louis Thiériot.