U.S. accuses SA flight academy of aiding China with NATO expertise

The United States has accused a prominent South African flight training company of illegally exporting U.S.‑origin technology and recruiting former NATO pilots to help train China’s military.

On 15 January 2026 the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking permanent custody of two mission crew trainers (mobile classrooms) that were built by Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) and seized while being shipped via Singapore to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). U.S. officials say the equipment was designed to teach Chinese aircrews how to operate airborne warning and control system aircraft and to conduct anti‑submarine warfare, using restricted U.S. software and technology. TFASA, which operates flight‑test facilities in South Africa and China, denies the accusations, claiming the units were basic training classrooms with no sensitive technology as first reported by News 24

Verified facts and allegations

U.S. allegations and seizure:

• The Justice Department’s complaint says that in November 2024 U.S. authorities intercepted two Mission Crew Trainers (MCTs) housed in shipping containers as they transited Singapore on a China‑bound COSCO freighter. The units were later seized under U.S. export control laws.

• According to court documents, the MCTs were intended to train PLA personnel in operating airborne warning and control system aircraft and anti‑submarine warfare aircraft. The system’s layout reportedly mimicked the P‑8 Poseidon, the U.S. Navy’s maritime patrol aircraft, and used software based on a U.S. flight simulator that TFASA engineers enhanced with technical data from Western anti‑submarine platforms.

• The project, referred to by TFASA staff as “Project Elgar”, aimed to give Chinese aviators the ability to locate and track U.S. submarines operating in the Pacific. Former NATO pilots were allegedly recruited to ensure the training matched Western procedures.

• U.S. officials say TFASA “masquerades as a civilian flight‑training academy” while transferring NATO aviation expertise and restricted technology to the PLA. Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg described the company as a “pipeline for transferring NATO aviation expertise, operational knowledge and restricted technology” to China. FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky warned that the alleged illegal export of U.S. military simulator technology and NATO expertise “jeopardizes U.S. national security” and risks American service members’ lives.

• The Justice Department said the seizure demonstrates the threat posed by China and its enablers in obtaining U.S. military technology, and noted that TFASA had previously been placed on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List in 2023 for training Chinese military pilots using Western sources.

TFASA’s response: