Canada Begins Probe After UK Reports of Western Military Pilots Training Chinese Aviators

Canada Begins Probe After UK Reports of Western Military Pilots Training Chinese Aviators
A People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force WZ-7 high-altitude reconnaissance drone is seen a day before the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Sept. 27, 2021. Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images
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The Department of National Defence is looking into whether any former Canadian military pilots are involved in training Chinese aviators after the United Kingdom found some of its former pilots had accepted training roles in the Chinese military.

On Oct. 18, Britain’s Defence Ministry said it issued an intelligence alert to former and current military pilots, warning against Chinese headhunting programs aimed at recruiting pilots to train their People’s Liberation Army (PLA) counterparts.