China Struggling To Find Fighter Pilots For Its Aircraft Carriers: Report

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is struggling to meet the increased demand for qualified ship-borne fighter jet pilots to operate specially made J-15 jets for aircraft carriers.

China is struggling to find enough trained pilots to operate fighter jets from aircraft carriers, prompting its navy with two aircraft carriers commissioned and another launched in June, to speed up the pilot training programme, a media report in Beijing said.

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is struggling to meet the increased demand for qualified ship-borne fighter jet pilots to operate specially made J-15 jets for aircraft carriers.

The PLAN has sped up carrier-based fighter jet pilot training programmes in the decade since the commissioning of its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, but its lack of a fighter trainer specifically designed for carrier-based operations has hindered progress, according to an article published in Ordnance Industry Science Technology, a Chinese military magazine.

With Fujian, China's third and most advanced aircraft carrier, having started sea trials last week, the PLA needed at least 200 qualified carrier-based fighter jet pilots to operate 130 ship-borne aircraft, Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie was quoted as saying by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Saturday.