A pilot walks toward an unidentified aircraft in a promotional video on carrier-based pilot recruitment released by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy on February 27, 2023. Observers say it could be China's next-generation carrier-based fighter jet. Photo: Screenshot of the PLA Navy promotional video

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy will recruit carrier-based aircraft pilots among junior high school graduates, as the annual recruitment of youth pilots has started in recent days. The move is aimed at training pilots with more professional skills to adapt to the rapid development of China's aircraft carrier construction, said military experts.

The student pilots will be selected from junior middle school graduates in 14 provinces and cities across the country, including East China's Shandong Province, Central China's Henan, and Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. Starting from late March, a total of about 4,500 junior high school graduates who have passed the exam will enter naval aviation schools for youth located nationwide.

One reason for expanding the recruitment process is the accelerated transformation and construction of the Navy, as well as the rapid development of China's aircraft carrier sector, in which the Navy has been building aviation schools for youths since 2015 by relying on 14 top-level high schools across the country.

Besides, the demand for outstanding carrier-based aircraft pilots with diverse specialties and comprehensive qualities has become more urgent. 

The youngsters selected to become pilots will have to pass physical, psychological, cultural and political tests, with special rules stipulating that their scores should not be lower than the minimum admission score for top high schools in that region.

In addition to completing the teaching courses in accordance with the national curriculum standards, these students also have additional education and training related to naval pilot cultivation and will be regularly trained by instructors selected by the navy.

Song Zhongping, a military expert, told the Global Times on Sunday that the pilot training system now implemented by China is an adjustment and optimization of the original mechanism. The navy used to recruit carrier-based aircraft pilots mostly from the air force, while the drawback of this way is that it is difficult to adjust the original flight mode to adapt to the carrier-based aircraft.

The best way to train carrier-based pilots is to have some trainees learn from scratch, so that they can adapt to new military equipment, like the aircraft carrier, from the very beginning, the expert noted.

In addition, the navy said in its recruitment statement that the cadets will be selected by the Navy in their senior year of high school and will be admitted to the Naval Aeronautical University based on their college entrance examination scores and flight potential test results. Students who are not admitted as pilot students into the navy can also take the national college entrance examination as normal.

The PLA navy earlier recruits female carrier-based aircraft pilots for the first time, and it's also the first time the navy will select students outside of military colleges for this position, making history for women in China's armed forces.

The 2023 recruiting program has been expanded to include new graduates from science and engineering majors at ordinary universities as well as college students performing military service in the Chinese navy and graduates who have joined the navy. Previously, such recruitment was limited to high school and military school graduates.

Military experts say this reflects the diversity and specialization of China's carrier-based pilot team. Training these pilots from scratch not only reduces the combat capability of other land aviation units, but also improves the overall quality of the carrier-based pilots.

In the future, there will be a complete training mechanism to ensure that China's carrier-based aircraft pilot training is more systematic, professional and, in addition, more practical, Song remarked.