This time it is about three retired German pilots, who once flew the Panavia Tornado and the Eurofighter, who are reportedly training Chinese airmen in the tactics used by NATO Air Forces.
China continues to recruit talent among former members of Western military forces to help them improve the capabilities of their own Armed Forces. The first alarm was raised in the media by the BBC, which was able to learn that up to 30 former UK military pilots have gone to train members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Within days, at the request of the FBI, a retired US Marine Corps (USMC) AV-8B Harrier pilot was arrested in Australia for providing training to Chinese military personnel. Details of the U.S. arrest warrant and the charges he faces are confidential.
Apparently China has been hiring a large number of former European military pilots, both from fighter jets and helicopters. This time, German pilots have been implicated.
According to an investigation by ZDF front and Spiegel, at least a handful of former German Air Force (Luftwaffe) officers are employed as fighter pilot instructors in China. These include former Eurofighter instructors Peter S. and Alexander H. and Tornado pilot Dirk J. All three know the techniques and tactics used by NATO pilots, as they served in the Luftwaffe for years.
Far more attractive than retirement
The three men whom ZDF and Spiegel were able to trace founded consulting companies in the Seychelles after leaving the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces). The information was revealed by the publication of the famous Panama Papers, in which the now extinct Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca offered services consisting of founding and establishing companies registered in a the fiscal paradise in such a way as to conceal the identity of the owners.
Generous salaries apparently flowed through the pilots’ consultancies in Panama. Fighter pilots in the German Armed Forces usually end their career in the aircraft at the age of 41. Reflexes weaken, eyesight fades. Those who retire then receive about 50% of their last salary as pension. As a result, many former Air Force pilots end up working as instructors in private flying schools.
A security risk
While it is not yet clear whether retired pilots currently working as instructors in China (attracted by large financial compensation) committed any violation of confidentiality contracts and non-disclosure agreements to which Defense personnel are usually subject, NATO’s political and military authorities are very concerned.
On the one hand, it is possible for retired personnel to share sensitive data that betray state secrets, which is very difficult to prevent or verify. But it is also dangerous for NATO commanders that Chinese military personnel are gaining first-hand knowledge of relevant Western tactics, techniques and procedures.
In an eventual confrontation in the Pacific, China could make use of all this experience passed on by European instructors to counter the qualitative advantage historically enjoyed by US and NATO fighter pilots.
