MoD warns British ex-military pilots over Chinese army training schemes

The Ministry of Defence has warned of recruitment schemes headhunting former British military pilots to train members of the Chinese army.

The BBC reports up to 30 former pilots are believed to have trained the China’s People’s Liberation Army.

The pilots are reported to have served across the British military and not just in the Royal Air Force. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued an intelligence alert warning pilots against taking part.

In a statement, 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 headhunt serving and former UK Armed Forces pilots to train People’s Liberation Army personnel in the People’s Republic of China,” a 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.”