American intelligence agencies are warning that China is working hard to recruit American military pilots, as well as aviators from NATO and ally countries, as tensions continue to rise in the Pacific.
The warning about China’s recruiting methods came in a bulletin published Wednesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, along with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom — countries that share intelligence with one another frequently.
“To overcome their shortcomings, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been aggressively recruiting Western military talent to train their aviators, using private firms around the globe that conceal their PLA ties and offer recruits exorbitant salaries,” Michael Casey, the director of ODNI’s National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said in a statement. “Recent actions by Western governments have impacted these operations, but PLA recruitment efforts continue to evolve in response.”
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Private companies located in South Africa and China are working to hire former fighter pilots from a variety of Western nations in hopes of gaining insight into their methods and skills, and then pass it along to the PLA air force and navy pilots, the bulletin said.
“The PLA wants the skills and expertise of these individuals to make its own military air operations more capable while gaining insight…
