Vestlige flygere trener kinesere - The Economist / Australian Aviation

Dette er omtalt flere ganger tidligere, senest vedr. "Top Gun" flygeren som er arrestert i Australia og risikerer livstidsfengsel. Lønnen for å avsløre vestlige taktikker er ikke omtalt før nå. (Red.)

China | Top guns for hire

Former military pilots from the West are being lured to China

Are they giving the Chinese air force a leg up?

In april a Chinese fighter jet crashed in a rural part of eastern China. The two pilots safely ejected and were quickly surrounded by locals, who recorded the encounter. “Who is that?” asked a villager, pointing to one of the pilots, a white man with red hair who spoke in English. “This is our instructor,” said the other pilot in Chinese. “Don’t take photos.”

In recent weeks it has become clearer why foreign pilots might be found in a Chinese jet. On October 18th Britain’s defence ministry announced that it was trying to stop China from luring ex-military pilots to train its air force. An official said that a private firm called the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (tfasa) had hired up to 30 former Royal Air Force pilots to work in China on salaries of around $270,000 a year.

‘ENOUGH EVIDENCE’ FOUND TO REVIEW LAWS ON RAAF TRAINING CHINESE

written by Adam Thorn | November 9, 2022

Two RAAF F-35s over the Northern Territory during Exercise Diamond Storm 2022 (Defence, LAC Samuel Miller)

Defence Minister Richard Marles has revealed “enough evidence” has emerged into claims that ex-RAAF personnel are training Chinese pilots to warrant a review of current laws.

However, Marles crucially refused to tell reporters whether it had been confirmed any Australians were involved.

It follows reports last month that China had been reaching out to former UK and Australian pilots. It was shortly followed by local police arresting a former US Marine Corps pilot and flight instructor at the request of US authorities for his work in China.

“The information provided to me so far presents enough evidence to warrant the need for a detailed examination into the adequacy of current Defence policies and procedures addressing this matter,” Minister Marles said in a statement.

He added former personnel had an “enduring obligation” to protect national secrets, and changes to the law would be made if “weaknesses” were found.

“I want to make this point. For those who do come into possession of our nation’s secrets, either through service in the Australian Defence Force or, indeed, service in any other part of the Commonwealth, there is an enduring obligation to maintain those secrets for as long as they are secrets, which persists well after their engagement with the Commonwealth, and to breach that obligation is a very serious crime.

“And that is clear and unambiguous.”

Currently, ex-service personnel can only work with overseas militaries with permission from Australia.

Last month, Australian Aviation reported that Defence would launch an investigation into UK newspaper claims that ex-air force pilots were training the Chinese armed forces in aircraft such as Typhoons, Jaguars, Harriers, and Tornados.

It followed The Times reporting that former RAF personnel were being paid AU$430,000 a year to help China “develop its tactics and technological expertise”.

The Australian then subsequently revealed that RAAF veterans were part of the Western cohort of 30 who were approached through a South African flight school acting as an intermediary.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said then he would be “shocked and disturbed” if pilots placed being “lured by a paycheck from a foreign state above serving their own country”.

Finally, weeks later, Australian police arrested a former US Marine Corps pilot.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, was arrested on 21 October in Orange, NSW and appeared in court on the same day, according to court records, his lawyer, and two police sources. He later said he would “vigorously” fight his extradition.