A former French Navy Rafale pilot has been placed under formal investigation in France over allegations of conducting intelligence activities for the benefit of China, according to media reports.
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Pierre-Henri Chuet, who previously flew Super Étendard and Rafale M fighter jets from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, appeared before an investigating magistrate in Paris during the week of July 20 after being questioned by France's domestic intelligence agency, the Directorate-General for Internal Security (DGSI). Authorities also searched his residence.
According to Aerotime, Chuet faces four charges: disclosure of national defence secrets by a person entrusted with them, intelligence with a foreign power, collection of information relating to France's fundamental national interests, and providing information to a foreign power. He has been placed under judicial supervision.
Under French law, a "mise en examen" (formal investigation) does not amount to a conviction or a decision to proceed to trial. It indicates that an investigating magistrate believes there is sufficient evidence to justify a formal judicial inquiry.
China visits under scrutiny
The investigation stems from a referral made by France's Ministry of the Armed Forces to prosecutors in February 2025, according to French media reports.
Investigators are examining two trips Chuet allegedly made to China in September 2018 and August 2019 while he was still serving in the French Navy. The visits were reportedly organised and financed by a South African aviation company and were allegedly undertaken without informing his chain of command, as required under French military regulations.
Chuet, who holds both French and Canadian citizenship, later became a commercial airline pilot, author, corporate speaker and aviation YouTuber after leaving military service following a stroke.
French naval aviation expertise is considered particularly valuable because France operates the only non-US Navy aircraft carrier equipped with catapult-assisted take-off and arrested recovery (CATOBAR) operations.
Pilots trained on the Charles de Gaulle possess specialised knowledge of carrier operations that could be of strategic interest to China, whose People's Liberation Army Navy currently operates three aircraft carriers and is expanding its carrier fleet.
