Second Australian-based former fighter pilot investigated for training Chinese military

The former RAF top gun, who now lives in South Australia, says the investigation is ‘intensely political’ after police conducted raids on his home.

Keith Hartley, the second Australian-based former RAF fighter pilot being investigated for training Chinese fighter pilots.

A second Australian-based former military fighter pilot is being investigated for his involvement in the alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots, but he claims “the whole thing is intensely political” after his home was raided by police.

Keith Hartley, who lives in South Australia, is being investigated by authorities for his role as chief operating officer of controversial South African company Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), which is at the centre of a “threat alert” warning issued by the British Ministry of Defence earlier this year.

Mr Hartley, a former RAF top gun who flew with the call sign “Hooligan”, was reportedly a target of the warning issued in October against retired British fighter pilots training the Chinese military.

It comes as Defence Minister Richard Marles investigates whether former Australian RAAF pilots have also been involved in training Chinese pilots, while China is urgently seeking outside help to train its fighter pilots as part of a massive push to modernise and expand its military.

The growing controversy coincides with the visit to China this week by foreign minister Penny Wong which will seek to improve Australia-China ties after years of tensions and trade bans imposed by Beijing.

On Monday Mr Hartley told The Australian “the whole thing is intensely political” after his home was raided by the Australian Federal Police in November.

News of the investigation into Mr Hartley comes as the US seeks the extradition of his friend, former US marine pilot Daniel Duggan, on charges relating to training Chinese pilots. Mr Duggan, previously a US citizen, has been an Australian citizen since 2012 and a permanent resident since 2002.

“Dan’s case is very different from ours,” Mr Hartley said. “I have to say, it’s a much more complex thing that he’s involved in.”

“It’s stuff that I haven’t been involved in or the company (TFASA) hasn’t been involved in,” he said.

Keith Hartley is being investigated for his involvement in training Chinese fighter pilots.

It is alleged TFASA was a proxy for the Chinese military to enlist veteran Western fighter pilots to assist the Chinese military to improve capabilities in which they fall behind Western counterparts.

It has previously been reported TFASA was named in an intelligence briefing for recruiting ­British, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand fighter pilots to work for China, with those enlisted offered eye-watering wages of almost $500,000 AUD, plus other benefits including relocation expenses, accommodation and school fees.

The 73-year-old’s Adelaide Hills home, 40 minutes east of ­Adelaide, was raided by the ­Australian Federal Police last month after a search warrant was granted by a South Australian magistrate.

At the Woodside home which Mr Hartley shares with his Australian-born wife, officers seized various materials on November 22.

In a statement, the Australian Federal Police confirmed they executed a search warrant but would not specify whether it was on behalf of the US government.

Last week Mr Hartley launched proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia, seeking an order that the warrant be deemed invalid and an injunction preventing the AFP from “accessing, reviewing, ­divulging” the seized material.

Mr Hartley flew some of the world’s fastest military jets for the RAF and BAE systems and was featured in a story by BAE systems in 2018 for the RAF’s 100th ­anniversary, where it was revealed he flew at just under 1000km/h in a Tornado jet fighter with the ­canopy off and no oxygen mask, testing emergency escape procedures.

In 1988, test pilot Keith Hartley flew at 500 knots in a Tornado aircraft with the canopy off, testing the emergency escape procedures of the jet.

He recently worked in Australia as a jet fighter experience pilot, flying tourists and locals from Melbourne’s Essendon Airport to speeds of up to 800km/h where he would perform barrel rolls, loops and other aerobatic moves.

Mr Duggan, a father of six, was sensationally arrested by police in October – without charge – on the request of the US government and has spent almost two months in a cell adjacent to convicted Islamic State terrorists in Silverwater prison.

His wife told The Weekend Australian her husband has the “moral compass of an angel’’ and that her family had been ripped apart by an American attempt to use him as a “poster child to ward off others from going to China”.

Saffrine and Dan Duggan. Picture: Instagram

The US District of Columbia Court indictment against Mr ­Duggan was unsealed last week, revealing the former American citizen was facing four US charges, including conspiracy to unlawfully export defence services to China, conspiracy to launder money, and two counts of violating the arms export control act and international traffic in arms regulations.

The allegations against Mr Duggan include that he helped train Chinese pilots to land on aircraft carriers.

Senator Wong will be the first foreign minister to visit Beijing since 2018. It follows years of strained diplomatic relations between the countries culminating in China imposing trade bans on $20bn in Australian exports.

Additional reporting: Cameron Stewart