CHINA OFFERED TAIWANESE PILOT $16 MILLION TO DEFECT WITH US-MADE HELICOPTER
AIRPOWER, BREAKING NEWS
BY ALEX HOLLINGS
DECEMBER 12, 2023
China offered a Taiwanese military pilot $16 million to defect with an American-sourced CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter earlier this year, with plans to land the rotorcraft aboard an amphibious assault ship sailing through the nearby Taiwan Strait. The payment was to include a one-million-dollar fee upfront, and $15 million more – estimated to be about half of the helicopter’s value – upon his defection.
The agreement would have included safe passage to China for the pilot’s family after his defection, according to an indictment released by Taiwan’s High Court on Monday, but it’s unclear what he would have done with the rest of the helicopter’s crew. During most normal flight operations, there are at least three people onboard a CH-47 including the pilot.
According to the South China Morning Post, Taiwanese authorities have identified the pilot in question as Lt. Col. Hsieh of the Republic of China Army – the formal title of Taiwan’s largest military branch. Hsieh was reportedly approached by Chinese intelligence in June 2023 by way of a retired Taiwanese military officer. China initially offered Hsieh $6,355, or approximately $200,000 New Taiwan Dollars (NTD), per month upon his arrival in China with a CH-47SD Chinook. Hsieh reportedly rebuffed this offer, citing the significant risk associated with stealing one of only an estimated eight Chinooks operated by Taiwan’s Army.
https://www.sandboxx.us/news/china-offered-taiwanese-pilot-15-million-to-defect-with-us-helicopter/
