A former Navy pilot accused of training Chinese military pilots is on trial in the United States. The procedure was initiated in 2017, but he was not arrested until October 2022.

The background to the long delay is that the whereabouts were unclear. The man is said to have become a citizen of Australia and was arrested there on the basis of an international arrest warrant. The pilot is accused of violating the US arms control law, US media reports.

The indictment states that the man is said to have trained Chinese military pilots at a South African flight school in 2010 and 2012. The pilot - who worked with South African and British "co-conspirators" - faces four charges, including conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to illegally export defense services to China, conspiracy to launder money and violation of arms export controls, Reuters reports. Also, a US-made North American T-2 Buckeye trainer aircraft was illegally acquired for training by providing false information in order to obtain an export license.

At the moment, however, it is still completely unclear whether Australia will extradite the man to the United States of America or not. The local judiciary is currently examining the case, which is why the competent public prosecutor's office did not want to comment, referring to the ongoing proceedings.