US sanctions firms for training PLA aircrew in S Africa

The United States sanctioned four companies in Hong Kong, South Africa and the United Kingdom and accused them of using Western and NATO sources to train Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircrew in South Africa.

The sanctioned firms include Global Training Solutions Limited and Smartech Future Limited in Hong Kong, Grace Air (Pty) Ltd in South Africa and Livingston Aerospace Ltd in the United Kingdom, according to the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

The BIS said the four companies were sanctioned because of their links to the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), which was sanctioned a year ago. Livingston Aerospace is owned by former British military pilot Craig Penrice, a former project manager of TFASA.

In June last year, the BIS added 16 companies to its Entity List as they had allegedly provided training to Chinese military pilots using Western and NATO sources. US companies need to apply for licenses before shipping items to them while license applications will be reviewed under a presumption of denial.

The sanctioned 16 companies include TFASA, Frontier Services Group, AVIC International Flight Training Academy (AIFA) and Chinese Flight Test Establishment (also known as the Shaanxi-based AVIC Flight Test Center).

AVIC primarily produces various types of military aircraft for China, including the J-20 fighter, the J-15 carrier-based fighter and the Y-20 transport aircraft, as well as some civil aircraft.

Duggan’s case

The UK’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on October 18, 2022, that up to 30 former Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Army pilots had been training the Chinese PLA-Air Force.

It said some of the pilots were contracted as early as 2019 through a private