PLA Air Force earns nod with its H-6K bomb that can launch long-range, precision strikes. (Photo : Reuters)
Chinese high school students can now learn how to fly an airplane, as the Ministry of Education and Public Security and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Political Department have jointly announced the launching of flight training for 1,000 students, from 14 to 16 years of age.
According to the announcement, the PLA Air Force has already begun selecting schools to set up training bases and start with the training later in 2015.
The two agencies said that the students who will be given training will be selected based on their applications. Applicants who will be accepted will get a subsidy and must stay and live in the school. They will also be required to sign contracts as commitment to apply for the aviation universities of the PLA and take the pilot recruitment tests after they graduate from high school.
Peng Junxia, head of the Air Force recruitment bureau, said that the applicants will undergo a comprehensive set of tests that include psychological exams.
The announcement said that the selection of schools for training bases will be decided by the education and the Air Force officials, who will both manage the training.
The two agencies assured applicants that they will be fair and impartial in evaluating the applications as well as in the selection of schools where the training bases will be built.
Peng said that the Air Force new scheme requires pilots to have an extensive education since weapons of the air force have become more complex.
The PLA Air Force said that they will continue to recruit more high school graduates, even without flying experience, contrary to common practice in other countries where pilots are required to have flight experience before they are allowed to join the air force.
The agency has recruited more than 1,000 high school students in 2014.
