Former US Pilot Received Over $100,000 to Train Chinese Aviators, Indictment Alleges

A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy J-11 fighter pilot performs an unsafe maneuver during an intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 aircraft, which was lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, on Dec. 21, 2022, in a still from video. (Courtesy of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Former U.S. military pilot Daniel Duggan has been accused of receiving over $100,000 to teach Chinese aviators how to take off and land on aircraft carriers.

Duggan, 54, was alleged to have received 12 payments from a Chinese-based business responsible for “acquired military equipment and technical data for the PRC government and military,” according to an unsealed indictment filed in the U.S. District of Columbia.

Eight of the 12 payments, each for $9,900, or $9,500, were cited for “personal development training.” The payments, totaling between $116,250 and $116,400, were made between Jan. 11, 2011, and July 6, 2012.

Duggan, who renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2012, was arrested on Oct. 21 in Australia’s New South Wales at the request of the FBI. The Australian government has approved a request to extradite him in December 2022.

U.S. authorities alleged he, along with eight “co-conspirators,” provided military training to Chinese air force pilots at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), a flying academy that British authorities have warned is an intermediary for Beijing to recruit retired pilots.

A Chinese aircraft flies over the 68-nautical-mile scenic spot, one of mainland China's closest points to the island of Taiwan, in Pingtan island, Fujian Province, China, on Aug. 5, 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters)

The indictment also alleges the naturalised Australian negotiating directly with a Chinese national, the owner of a business named ­Co-conspirator F, to provide additional services to a state-owned entity.

“These services included the evaluation of military pilot trainees, testing of naval aviation-related equipment, and instructions on tactics, techniques, and procedures associated with launching from and landing on a naval aircraft carrier,” The Australian newspaper reported the indictment as saying so.

“Neither Duggan nor any of his co-conspirators applied for a license from the United States government to provide defence services to any foreign nationals.”

The indictment alleges that TFASA, directly linked to Chinese state-owned aviation giant Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China and referred to as “Co-conspirator H,” signed a contract with a state-owned entity in China to provide “aircraft carrier approach and landing training to PRC pilots”.

“The training was to occur in China, South Africa, and other locations both known and unknown to the grand jury,’’ the indictment alleges.

“The training provided by Co-conspirator H required instructor pilots with knowledge and experience in naval aviation meeting NATO standards. To that end, Co-conspirator H contracted with Duggan.”

An F-35 fighter jet pilot and crew prepare for a mission at Al-Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 5, 2019. (Staff Sgt. Chris Thornbury/U.S. Air Force via AP)

One of the co-accused listed in the indictment is known to be Keith Hartley, the former chief operating officer at TFASA who now lives in Adelaide, Australia.

Duggan, who is also known by the names Ding San Xing, Din San Qing, DSQ, or Ivan, now faces four charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States by conspiracy to unlawfully export defense services to China, conspiracy to launder money, and two counts of violating the arms export control act and international traffic in arms regulations.

The man is subject to U.S. laws, according to an international law expert.

“Duggan was a U.S. citizen until some point in time in 2012 when he acquired Australian citizenship and is therefore subject to the application of these U.S. laws for conduct in China and South Africa during the time he was a US citizen,” Donald Rothwell, a professor of international law at the Australian National University, told the Guardian news site.

Duggan is currently held in custody and will return to court in Sydney on Jan. 10.