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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

China recruits women to fly carrier-based warplanes as navy faces pilot shortage

  • The country will also allow university graduates with STEM backgrounds to enter naval aviation pipeline as part of new recruitment drive
  • Successful candidates to head to aviation academy for three or four years of training

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While the Chinese navy boasts the world’s largest fleet, it lacks trained naval pilots. Photo: AFP
Kristin Huang
The Chinese navy plans to recruit women and recent university graduates to become aircraft carrier-based pilots as the country faces a shortage of qualified aviators to operate its ship-borne planes.
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A recruitment notice posted on the navy’s official WeChat account on Monday called on young men and women to “devote their youth to building a world-class navy and contributing to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!”

According to the notice, candidates must be recent graduates holding a bachelor’s degree in science, technology or engineering. They should not be over 24 years old and must have a clean political and criminal record.

After two screening rounds in March and April, successful candidates will head to China’s Naval Aviation University in Yantai, Shandong province, for three to four years of theoretical and flight training.

Training at the Naval Aviation University is required for all carrier-based pilots. Previously, the institution only recruited from high schools, typically those that provide specialised training in cooperation with the Chinese navy.

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While the Chinese military has trained women to fly fighter jets such as the J-10, it did not previously recruit them to pilot carrier-based craft.

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