China released a promotional video as part of their campaign to gather new recruits for its People's Liberation Army Air Force. The video encourages Chinese aged 17 to 20 and those that are graduating in 2019 to join the force.
The video released that the air force currently has at least 18 pilots that fly the Chinese-developed stealth fighter jets. China's recruitment drive will recruit in 31 out of its 33 provinces. The successful candidates will be given scholarships in some of the country's leading universities while they are being trained for the career.
The recruitment is part of China's military upgrade in response to the United States military expansion in Asia as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy. China is currently improving its forces through modernization of its branches including its air force and navy.
The demand for pilots in China increases as it develops warplanes at a large scale. China is releasing hundreds of new warplanes that include not less than 100 fighter jets every year. The country's air force made record-breaking recruitment in 2018 after more than 1, 480 high school graduates enrolled in the program.
Chinese pilots are capable of flying almost all types of planes after the training. Those who have received special training to fly the latest heavyweight stealth fighter will be given the J-20 pilot title.
Bai Long, a 29-year-old J-20 pilot, was featured in the force's promotional video. Bai hits fame and became the face of the PLA's Air Force after flying a J-16 multirole strike fighter during an important military parade that marked the PLA's 90th anniversary in 2017. The event also marked the debut of the air force's fourth-generation fighter jet which was based on the Russian Sukhoi Su-30. The pilot said in an interview that it is his dream, turned real, to fly China's most advanced fighter jet.
The new stealth warplanes, J-20, were developed by Chengdu Aerospace Corporation. The plane was flight tested in 2011 and it officially entered into service in 2017. It is in-line with America's F-22 and F-35 as the world's third fifth-generation fighter jets. The new jets are said to be the key to China's dominance in air combat.
Zhou Chenming, a Beijing-based military expert, said that the United States is expected to send around 200 to 300 F-35s to assist the 187 F-22s in operation in the Asia-Pacific region by 2025.
