Source: Yangguang Military, PEOPLE's Liberation Army News and Communication Center Rong Media Author: Wang Bing
November 11, 2021, is the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Air Force. On November 11, 1949, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force was officially established. After 72 years of construction and development, the People's Air Force in the new era has historically stepped into the threshold of the strategic air force and is accelerating towards the goal of building a world-class air force in an all-round way. So, how has the People's Air Force achieved such great development achievements in the past 72 years? Facing the future, how should the People's Air Force further expand its functions and missions? On related topics, Wang Bing, a reporter from the Central Broadcasting Corporation of the People's Republic of China, interviewed Liang Yongchun, a military observer.
From staggering on the ground to flying high in the air, from single-armed combat to multi-aircraft system confrontation, from national air defense to air-space integration, and both offensive and defensive, the People's Air Force has gone through a unique development path and made tremendous achievements in construction since its establishment 72 years ago. Military observer Liang Yongchun believes that the development and growth of the people's air force is inseparable from the inheritance of red genes. Firm revolutionary ideals and convictions have provided an inexhaustible driving force for the growth of the People's Air Force.
Liang Yongchun: The starting point of the People's Air Force can be traced back to the old northeast aviation school established in Tonghua, Jilin Province, at that time it was poor and white, the school had no teaching materials to write its own, no teaching aids to make it by itself, no tractor to use horse-drawn aircraft on the runway, no aviation gasoline to use northeast sorghum, corn to extract high-purity alcohol as an alternative fuel for the aircraft... In this way, the old northeast aviation school has trained a large number of elite pilots such as Li Han, Wang Hai, Zhang Jihui, Liu Yudi and so on. When he embarked on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Zhang Jihui was only 24 years old, Wang Hai was 25 years old, Li Han was 26 years old, and Liu Yudi was only 28 years old. It was such a young team, facing the US Air Force, which was known as the world's first at the time, dared to fight bayonets in the air, and they used their courage and blood to defend the tranquility of the country and also played the prestige of the Chinese Air Force. Over the past 70 -odd years, the pilots of the People's Air Force have changed stubble after stubble, and the weapons and equipment have changed their old appearance and new look, but the spiritual inheritance represented by the "spirit of the old aviation school in northeast China" and the "spirit of fighting bayonets in the air" has never changed. Therefore, no matter what era it is, we must persist in arduous struggle and dare to overwhelm all enemies, so that we can create miracles and always provide a solid air and space security guarantee for national development.
On August 31 this year, a spokesman for the Chinese Air Force said that the Chinese Air Force has historically stepped into the threshold of the strategic air force. Liang Yongchun, a military observer, held that the eight words of "stepping into the threshold of the strategic air force" are an accurate positioning of the achievements of the people's air force in the current construction.
Liang Yongchun: In 2018, the Chinese Air Force announced a "three-step" development plan. The first step is to basically cross the threshold of the strategic air force by 2020. How can it be called a strategic air force? In 2019, the Chinese Air Force proposed to accelerate the promotion of capacity building such as air-space strategic strikes, strategic early warning, air-space defense and strategic delivery. These are the capabilities that we must have to build a strategic air force. We have seen that the Chinese Air Force has now established an air force with the J-20 and the fourth-generation fighters as the backbone, and the J-10 series, J-11 series, J-16 and other third- and third-generation semi-fighters as the main body, so that we will have more confidence in winning the national air defense operation. In recent years, with the service of new fighters such as the Y-20 and the continuous improvement of the H-6 series of fighters, the strategic delivery capability and strategic strike capability of our Air Force have also been continuously enhanced, and the radar early warning system has also been comprehensively upgraded. Why is it that we are only stepping into the "threshold" of the strategic air force now? This is because although many capabilities are already available, there is still a certain gap compared with the world's top air forces. President Xi Jinping demanded that we strive to build the People's Air Force into a world-class air force in an all-round way, and we must continue to work towards such a goal.
Military observer Liang Yongchun held that in order to protect the core interests of the motherland and the people, as a strategic branch of the armed forces, the strategic capabilities of the people's air force should be adapted to the expanding national interests and the ever-changing security situation. The future people's air force is worth looking forward to!
Liang Yongchun: In recent years, the Chinese Air Force has patrolled the East China Sea, patrolled the South China Sea, gone out of the western Pacific, and cruised around Taiwan Island; a few days ago, the Chinese Air Force was still in the direction of the Taiwan Strait and participated in the joint combat readiness patrol of multiple services and arms; the Chinese Air Force's tracks are getting farther and farther, the combat radius is constantly expanding, and the air supremacy in the Taiwan Strait area is more and more stable in our own hands. In recent years, the US military has conducted internal deductions on many occasions, and they have finally come to the conclusion that if the US military sends troops to interfere in China's great cause of reunification, they will not be able to win the war in the Taiwan Strait, that is, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, including our people's air force, has played the role of "fixing the needle of the sea god." After more than 70 years of arduous struggle, the People's Air Force has initially realized the "integration of air and space, both offensive and defensive." Next, the People's Air Force will also make unremitting efforts toward the goal of building the army for one hundred years. It is precisely because we have such an important force that the sky and sky of the motherland will be peaceful and clear, and the core interests of the Chinese people can be effectively defended.
(Produced by the Central Broadcasting Military and People's Liberation Army News and Communication Center)