The law will be changed to stop experienced RAF pilots taking contracts to train pilots in the Chinese air force.
A defence intelligence threat alert has been issued warning all serving and retired UK military personnel from taking contracts with the People’s Liberation Army. Currently some 30 former UK military pilots are believed to be working for the Chinese forces.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey on Tuesday said the law is to be changed to stop ex-pilots taking up the package offered by the Chinese, worth up to £238,000 a year in some cases.
“We’ve approached the people involved and been clear that it’s our expectation they would not continue to be part of that organisation,” Mr Heappey told Sky News.
“We are going to put into law that once people have been given that warning it will be an offence to go forward and continue with that training.”
The new tighter regulation is part of the National Security Bill now going through parliament.
Approaches to retired and serving RAF personnel have been made by the Chinese military since 2019, defence sources reveal. The 30 currently working in China are retired pilots with experience on aircraft like Tornado, Typhoon and Jaguar. The Chinese have also targeted former military helicopter crew.
The veterans now serving the Chinese forces have not been in breach of the Official Secrets Act, Whitehall officials believe. But they believe the Chinese want to benefit from their knowledge of the tactics, training and procedures of Western forces.
At this week’s Communist Party Congress President Xi Jinping said that China should be a world-leading military power by 2049.
