According to the Air Force statement released on Friday, The People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s first female flight instructors began training students late last month.
Several female fighter jet pilots were selected in August for flight instructor training at the Aviation University of the PLA Air Force, and they passed qualification tests in February.
The instructors are graduates of the university and can fly basic trainer and advanced trainer planes as well as fighter jets.
They have been training flight students in CJ-6 basic trainer aircraft since late March, the Air Force said.
The Chinese military enrolled its first female pilots in 1951, and about 580 female aviators in 10 generations have joined the Air Force since then.
The first seven generations of female pilots only flew transport planes, but some have been selected to operate fighter jets since the eighth generation.
In the selection for the 10th generation in 2013, the Air Force selected 38 women who graduated from high school that year and sent them to its Aviation University. After five years of strict training, 17 graduated and qualified as fighter jet pilots.
Thirty-five female students are currently learning to fly at the Aviation University. After graduation, some will become the 11th generation of female pilots.
