The People's Liberation Army Navy announced on Monday it will recruit university graduates from the class of 2023 for its naval aviation forces, its first attempt to attract educated youngsters to become carrier-based pilots.

According to the announcement, the navy has been embarking on new missions for several years and is continuing to accelerate its strategic transformation, resulting in an urgent need for talented personnel.

"To speed up the building of a team of carrier-based naval aviators capable of fulfilling important tasks, the Navy will in 2023 select fresh graduates from non-military universities. We invite young men and women who are enthusiastic about national defense, love the airspace and sea and have the necessary qualities to take part. Those future pilots will play their part in building a world-class navy and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," the navy said.

The announcement stipulates eligible candidates must be fresh, unmarried graduates from first-tier universities majoring in science, technology or engineering.

It continued, saying they shall be loyal to the Party, the motherland, the Chinese people and the cause of socialism and applicants and their family members must not have any record of criminal or disciplinary punishment.

Essential qualities also include being younger than 24, having a height from 165 to 185 centimeters, good vision and suitable nutritional condition. Male applicants must weigh at least 52 kilograms, while females 48 kg.

Disqualifying conditions include stutter, color blindness, color weakness, strabism, tattoos or difficulty hearing or smelling.

Ideal candidates should be fond of a military career and flying. They are also meant to have a host of other qualities, such as optimism and courage.

Interested graduates can download the application form from the website of the aviator recruitment office. They must submit the form, a reference letter signed by their department head and the result of medical examinations to the office before the end of March.

Those who pass the initial selection will go through physical, psychological and political background checks. Whoever passes this round will be entered into flight tests to see whether they are fit for military aviation.

Once the whole process is complete, candidates with the best performance will be admitted to the Naval Aviation University in Yantai, Shandong province, one of the Navy's top training establishments, for three to four years of theoretical and flight courses before qualifying for deployment.