A brigade of the army organized a night surface-to-air missile firing exercise

Source: Learning Corps, People's Liberation Army News and Communication Center

Author: Wang Yanxiang, Feng Dengya, Zhou Yupeng

In early winter, the temperature in the northwestErgobi plummeted. A live-fire drill of a portable surface-to-air missile in a certain brigade of the army opened the curtain in the night.

Against the cold wind, Chen Wei, commander of the portable surface-to-air missile company of the brigade, repeatedly searched over the position with a command mirror, but never saw the figure of the target plane, and could not help but beat the drum in his heart.

"The choice to organize live-fire drills under dark night conditions is aimed at further tempering the combat capabilities of the troops." The leader of the brigade told reporters that in the past, most live-fire shooting was carried out during the day, and there were shortcomings and weaknesses in the unit's night combat capability.

In a comprehensive night combat exercise previously organized, the company was organized as a subordinate force and was organized into multiple groups and dispersed to various battalions to accompany the support. After the battle began, the marching echelons encountered reconnaissance by "enemy" aircraft on the way, and the groups immediately began to observe on alert. However, until the "enemy situation" was lifted, the officers and men never found the "enemy" target.

This defeat made Chen Wei realize that there was a considerable gap between the company's night combat capability and the actual combat requirements.

When reviewing the review, many officers and men felt that "their faces were hot." Subsequently, the whole company deeply searched for shortcomings and weaknesses, formulated an intensive training plan in a targeted manner, and focused on improving the troops' all-time and domain combat capability by strengthening the specialized and refined training of difficult subjects such as night shooting, inter-march shooting in the tactical background, and multiple salvos.

Before the exercise, Chen Wei took the initiative to apply for the whole process of live-fire shooting to be integrated into the tactical background and placed at night. He said: "The battlefield is day and night, and the enemy will not wait for you to be ready to attack." Only by daring to challenge the limit can we temper our strong ability to win. ”

"The 'enemy' plane was found in the southwest direction!" On the position, the notice of the observer made the atmosphere at the scene tense up suddenly.

In the dark night conditions, the aerial target loomed, and the shooter Li Mengqiang quickly stepped forward to occupy the favorable terrain. As the "enemy" plane entered the firing range, Chen Wei decisively issued the order to shoot.

Unlock, convert, launch... In an instant, the missile dragged the flames towards the target, and the "enemy" plane blossomed in the air.

Chen Wei led the shooters to quickly shift their positions. During the maneuver, the "enemy" planes attacked again. The driver immediately reduced the speed of the car, and the shooter seized the favorable opportunity, quickly intercepted, fired decisively, and successfully hit the target again.

"The ability to win battles comes from thousands of hammers and hammers." At the end of the exercise, Chen Wei said that in the future, in accordance with the principle of "practicing hard what is needed for fighting a war," they will regularly carry out training in heavy and difficult subjects such as night operations and coordinated operations, and constantly improve their full-time combat capabilities.

(Produced by the Media of the Learning Corps and the People's Liberation Army News and Communication Center)