Skip to Content

The Shenyang J-11; NATO reporting name Flanker-B. Wikipedia

China recruiting British fighter pilots through South African firm

A video relayed on Twitter in April offers a rare glimpse into China's very discreet recruitment of Western pilots as it prepares for a potential conflict with the United States in the Taiwan Strait. "The instructor" betrayed a French accent in the snippets of these pilots flying somewhere in China.

Published: October 27, 2022, 6:47 am

    Read more

    Beijing

    French daily Le Figaro was able to confirm that it was indeed a veteran former French air force officer who ejected with his Chinese “student” after a JL-10 fighter crash: A “mercenary” recruited at great cost to accelerate the training of Chinese pilots and teach them the tactics used by NATO air forces.

    This aggressive recruitment campaign continues, as revealed by the exclusive testimony of a former naval aviator who was recently approached via a South African-based company known as the Test Flying Academy of South Africa. South Africa is part of the BRICS+ nations together with China.

    “The offer was very attractive. They were looking for qualified instructors for aircraft carrier landing,” explained “François” (first name changed), a former Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard pilot on the Charles de Gaulle in service with the French Navy.

    The Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) is offering a contract worth around 20 000 euros per month netto, to train Chinese instructors on site for three years. It is more than the fees offered by Qatar to its foreign instructors.

    “I almost tried it. It’s not a common opportunity to have a fighter in your hands, and here I’m offered the handle of a J-11,” confided the 40-year-old, referring to the Chinese fighter derived from the Sukhoi 27.

    This pilot has already been an instructor in several countries, notably in Africa. The South African office, run by the British, serves as a front for Chinese air ambitions, targeting “pilots in need of adrenaline”, said a former soldier. Several fighter pilots have operated in China in recent years, including a former strategic forces pilot, according to our information.

    One official said around 30 former jet and helicopter pilots are now in China to train pilots for the People’s Liberation Army, in what one defence analyst described as a “breach of national security”.

    British military helicopter pilots from the Wildcat and Merlin were also approached.

    China has been trying to recruit former pilots who trained on the fifth-generation US F35 fast jet, but an official told SkyNews that he believed these efforts had so far been unsuccessful.

    Consider donating to support our work

    Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

    Keep ​your language polite​. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in​,​ for example​, ​Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

    If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violation​s​ of​ any​ law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

    If your comments are subject to preview ​by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

    We reserve the right to del​ete​ comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

    Asia

    India in the grip of icy cold weather

    New DelhiThe past few weeks have seen unusually cold weather sweep across northern India, with disastrous consequences for the millions of Indians who live there and are unaccustomed to the cold.

    G20 countries decide on an international digital vaccination card

    DenpasarPoliticians are currently emphasizing that the “pandemic” is over. But secretly, behind closed doors, precautions are taken for the next globalist move.

    China develops high-performance radar to render US stealth technology ineffective

    BeijingVarious research projects in China have been focused on anti-stealth radar advances, including developing quantum radar technology. China has reported yet another breakthrough in its technological competition with the US.

    Microchip wars heating up over Taiwan

    BeijingA reporter from the Taiwanese state media TVBS reported that, according to her sources, speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi will be arriving in Taipei on August 2. However, Pelosi's visit to Taiwan will have "serious consequences" the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

    A Kennedy-like assassination shakes Japan

    TokyoThe murder of Japan's 'shadow shogun' Shinzo Abe raises many questions. Japan's strongman and longest-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated on July 8. Before stepping down as prime minister for a second time in 2020, after a total of nearly nine years in power, Abe was instrumental in pulling Japan out of the country's dire economic crisis. He did it with his own economic policy, "Abenomics".

    Fuel rationing via QR code – Sri Lanka implements ‘National Fuel Pass’

    ColomboAs soon as WEF contributor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, took over as president of Sri Lanka, a QR code for fuel price rationing was announced. This is a blueprint for what many more countries are likely to face.

    Japan sees huge drop in cases after it switches to Ivermectin

    TokyoThe head of the Tokyo Medical Association appeared on national television in September urging doctors to use Ivermectin and they listened. A little over a month later, Covid-19 is under control in Japan.

    More deaths from vaccinations than from Covid-19 in Taiwan

    TaipeiThis is the first time that deaths after vaccination in Taiwan have exceeded deaths after illness.

    China: No internet access without facial recognition

    BeijingAs of December 1, the Chinese state is forcing all of the country's 1,44 billion citizens to scan their faces before they are allowed to obtain mobile or Internet subscriptions. Facial recognition as a requirement for using the Internet is the latest in a one-party state's increasingly far-reaching efforts to keep track of its citizens. Combined with the world's most comprehensive camera surveillance, as well as new supercameras and advanced AI-based software, the Chinese Communist Party is fast approaching near total surveillance. The technology is now on its way to Europe, accelerated by alleged needs to maintain virus restrictions.

    Prominent Mongolian politician arrested ahead of election

    Since the fall of communism in 1989 Mongolia has grown into a developed democracy, but alarming signs are beginning to appear. The prominent politician Nomtoibayar Nyamtaishir was arrested, despite the fact that according to Mongolian law he has immunity until the election on June 24.

    Go to archive