Why US is targeting a South African firm over china military training
The United States has moved to seize military training equipment linked to a South African flight academy, accusing the company of illegally helping to train China’s armed forces and transfer sensitive Western military expertise to Beijing.
The Justice Department recently filed a forfeiture complaint against two mission crew trainers (MCTs) intercepted while being shipped from the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The mobile training units are designed to function as classrooms, enabling personnel to learn how to operate advanced airborne warning and control systems and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
US officials say the equipment posed a direct national security risk because it relied on American-origin software and technical data, and was intended to strengthen China’s ability to track and counter US submarines in the Pacific.
What is TFASA?
TFASA is a South Africa–based company founded in 2003 with support from the South African government to promote aviation cooperation with China. It specialises in military flight testing and pilot training, operating facilities in both South Africa and China.
According to its own website, TFASA has trained Chinese military pilots for both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) standards. US authorities allege the firm went further by recruiting former NATO pilots and transferring restricted operational knowledge to China’s military.
The Justice Department says TFASA “masquerades as a civilian flight-training academy” while acting as a conduit for transferring Western military expertise and technology to the PLA.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg insisted that “The National Security Division will continue to act decisively to preserve the U.S. military’s qualitative edge by preventing U.S. technology from falling into the hands of our adversaries."
What are the mission crew trainers?
The seized MCTs are mobile simulators designed to train air crews in complex missions, particularly anti-submarine warfare. Court documents say the trainers were modelled on the P-8 Poseidon, a Boeing-manufactured aircraft that serves as the US Navy’s primary maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare platform.
The trainers were built to run custom software developed by TFASA under a programme known internally as “Project Elgar.” The software was based on a flight simulation platform developed by a US company and enhanced using defence-related technical data tied to Western anti-submarine warfare aircraft, including the P-8.
US prosecutors say the goal of Project Elgar was to improve the PLA’s ability to locate and track US submarines operating in the Pacific, a core element of American naval strategy.
Why the US intervened
US officials say the transfer violated export control laws designed to prevent sensitive military technology from reaching adversaries.
“This seizure demonstrates the ongoing threat that China and its enablers pose to the national security of the United States,” said Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia. Other officials warned that the alleged activities could endanger US service members by eroding America’s military advantage.
TFASA response
In a statement the TFASA said the containers cited were basic equipment. The statement read in part, “containers in question were basic mobile classroom units and did not comprise or represent any form of tactical simulators, advanced systems, or any classified, sensitive, or mission-specific, tailored military training capabilities; they were limited to non-sensitive, procedural and instructional use, using publicly available and commercially licensed inputs, and were designed as mission crew training (MCT) systems aimed at supporting crew resource management (CRM) functions within maritime patrol aviation environments.”
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
