Source: Yangguang Military and People's Liberation Army News and Communication Center Rong Media
There is no runner-up on the battlefield, every take-off is an expedition, and every confrontation is a contest of life and death. Li Ling, commander of a brigade of the Air Force Aviation Corps and a special pilot of the Air Force, with a high-flying ambition, wrote his clear love for the motherland on the blue sky. He led the troops to train hard to fly finely, to seek combat and combat, and to achieve a series of outstanding achievements in the areas of dress-up training, training method reform, and study of tactics; his brigade was rated by the Central Military Commission as an "advanced unit in the regularization of the whole army," participated in the "Golden Helmet" competition of the Air Force 8 times, won the first place in the group five times, and a certain subordinate flying brigade was awarded the honorary title of "Strong Army Pioneer Flying Brigade" by the Central Military Commission.
Li Ling, brigade commander of a certain air force aviation unit and special pilot of the air force
In the early morning of mid-winter, the fiery red morning glow sprinkled a golden glow on the runway of a military airport. On this day, the north wind was gusting, the weather was unusually cold, and a few dead leaves were fluttering in the air.
With a single order, several domestic new generation stealth fighterS-20s roared into the air and plunged straight into the sky. Above the blue sky, the fighter jumps, flips, attacks, defends, catches and kills, and moves fast, accurate, fierce, and fierce. Between the white clouds, the one who led the air battle was Brigade Commander Li Ling.
A few hours later, the fighter landed smoothly. Unable to drink water, Li Ling led the pilots straight to the evaluation room, where they analyzed the flight data one by one and looked for training "shortcomings" in the review discussion. Pilot Ye Qingfeng said that under the words and deeds of the brigade commander, every flight training and confrontation drill, they will cut every training link to the extreme. Using fine calculations to accurately win on the training ground has become the consciousness of the pilots of the whole brigade.
Ye Qingfeng: Every time the flight landed, the brigade commander had to take us to check the video playback repeatedly, and review the air status of each aircraft frame by frame, and every tactical action of the pilot. The brigade commander told us that whoever could do the best job of details would be able to take the initiative in air combat on the battlefield in the future.
Li Ling piloted the fighter plane and prepared to take off
The predecessor of Li Ling's unit was the first aviation unit formed by the People's Air Force, and it was also the first heroic unit to enter the DPRK to participate in the war and shoot down an enemy plane. On the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, young pilots dared to fight and fight, fought a decisive battle against a strong enemy in the long air, played a role in the prestige of the country and the army, made outstanding military achievements, and created many firsts in the history of air warfare in New China. Li Ling said: The spirit of the ancestors of "striving for the first and being the vanguard" has always inspired the officers and men of the whole brigade and encouraged everyone to regard seizing the "first" as a value pursuit, to practice hard and fly hard, and to forge ahead.
Li Ling: On the battlefield, there is only the first, not the second. Only by practicing the ability to fight wars and strengthening the skills of winning can we hold the "first" firmly in our own hands.
Li Ling when he won the "Golden Helmet" in 2014
The "Golden Helmet" is the supreme honor of the pilot of the Air Force fighter. In 2014, li Ling participated in the "Golden Helmet" competition, and Li Ling won all the big scores in the confrontation with the same model and the special model, and steadily collected the "Golden Helmet" and was rated as the "Air Combat Expert". Ding Wei, chief of staff of a brigade of the Air Force Aviation Corps, told reporters that under the leadership of the brigade commander, in 2017, the brigade set a record for the longest hit distance of a certain type of missile. The brigade participated in the Air Force "Golden Helmet" competition 8 times and won the first place in the group 5 times.
Ding Wei: As a pilot, Li Ling's situational awareness ability is particularly strong, and his physical fitness is also very good, there are some movements that others can't do, and there are some subjects that others dare not fly. He reacts quickly and can quickly grab the attack window and kill his opponent quickly. Li Ling has always been the "trump card" of the whole brigade.
Li Ling flew the plane to participate in air combat confrontation training
To be the first and be a pioneer, we must have first-class winning skills. In Li Ling's view, as a fighter pilot, we must firmly establish the concept of "taking off to meet the enemy, and taking off into the air is fighting." In recent years, the brigade has been equipped with a new generation of domestic stealth fighter J-20, and Li Ling, as a brigade commander, was the first to stand up and ask for the first flight, and was the first to complete all training courses.
Li Ling: The new aircraft has brought new challenges to our brigade. As a brigade commander, I must lead the officers and men to face the difficulties. I know that pilots who are first modified are more risky and face more unknowns. But I can't retreat, I want to give all the officers and men a look like me with my own deeds, and what I can do, they will be able to do.
After the troops were re-equipped with the J-20, the training concept and the methods and means of grasping training and managing training have changed drastically, and the challenges are extremely arduous. Li Ling led the officers and men to closely follow the cutting-edge concepts and actual combat standards, study and explore while steadily advancing the task of modification.
Li Ling: We have set a goal, to complete the rearmament training in the shortest time, to speed up the generation of combat strength in the shortest time, and to have the ability to perform various tasks in the shortest time. The amount of various materials and data that needs to be learned and mastered is very large, and everyone gathers wisdom day and night to tackle key problems, and no one shrinks back.
The heavy responsibility is on the shoulders, and the mission is urged. Pilot Xu Yinhui said that in order to deeply study the performance of the J-20, Li Ling always led everyone to use the remaining time and oil volume to verify a certain data after performing the established flight task to maximize the training benefits.
Xu Yinhui: After the completion of the air flight training mission, there is often some time left. At this time, the brigade commander will ask everyone to use the remaining time and the remaining amount of fuel to verify some data during the flight. The J-20 is a brand new model, and we must have a thorough understanding of its performance and base number in order to make its performance play to the extreme.
From ground research preparations to personal command from the tower, Li Ling, while imparting experience and carefully cutting actions, also adopted different methods to carry out teaching according to the characteristics of each pilot, led the officers and men to complete the modification training with high standards, and quickly formed an overall combat capability. Li Ling said: At present, the officers and men of the whole brigade are speeding up the tempering of their emergency response capabilities in the spirit of waiting for no time and seizing the day, ensuring that they can sheath their swords at any time, fight decisive battles, and repay the motherland and the people with winning wars.
Li Ling: Wherever national interests expand, the mission of the people's army extends. In the face of the historical opportunity of the strategic transformation of the People's Air Force, I will continue to lead the officers and men of the whole brigade to actively participate in the practice of strengthening the army, regard "being the first" as an unchangeable pursuit, and have the courage to shine the sword and live up to the mission when the party and the people need it.
After a night flight training, Li Ling, commander of a certain brigade of the Air Force Aviation Corps, said that at the beginning of the new year's training, they increased the difficulty and intensity of night flight training, and normalized the actual combat training in the middle of the night and at dawn, with the purpose of forging an iron fist in the air that is ready for war at all times and can fight at any time.
Li Ling: The J-20 has good stealth performance, excellent maneuverability, and high situational awareness. After the change of equipment, how to build a team of flying talents who can control the new fighter as soon as possible and quickly convert the performance of the new aircraft into combat effectiveness is a problem that we urgently need to solve.
Li Ling (center) exchanges experience with comrades-in-arms after completing training (Photo by Yu Hongchun)
Hu Jialiang, a pilot of a certain brigade of the Air Force Aviation Corps, told this reporter that under the influence of the brigade commander, the pilots of the whole brigade have a kind of "skill panic." Everyone holds the attitude of being responsible for combat effectiveness, prepares for war while making changes, and constantly strengthens the combat capability through methods such as study, research, and review, so that all pilots have achieved a leap from being able to fly to being able to fight to being able to win.
In Li Ling's view, as a fighter pilot, we must be close to the limit of actual combat and aim to temper our ability to win and improve the "battle content" of flight time. Pilot Wang Yu said: "Training to the upper limit of the outline, hitting the boundary of weapons, and flying to the maximum load" has now become the norm for the whole brigade's actual combat training.
Wang Yu: Our training rhythm is very tight. For example, just after a "air battle", you will immediately move on to the next one. The brigade commander asked everyone to use the amount of fuel as much as possible in the course of flight, and each flight was trained until the amount of oil returned to the field before landing, the purpose was to let our young pilots get more exercise.
As the commander of the ace unit, Li Ling led the troops to concentrate on changing equipment for battle, keeping a close eye on strong opponents, strengthening the specialization of emergency response, and forging excellent practical combat skills. Shi Lei, a political instructor of the three major flight teams, said that in addition to practicing hard and refining flight, the brigade commander often guides everyone to think about problems other than flying.
Shi Lei: Young pilots are more concerned about how to refine their flying skills. The brigade commander's requirements for everyone are not only to master the performance of the aircraft, have the ability to fight, but also to think about "Who is my combat opponent?" "How do I fight him?" "How do you win a battle?" "How to better use combat power?" "Where will the future combat area be?" Wait, this is very useful for the troops to cultivate a sense of war.
Li Ling (left) prepares for takeoff
To dare to "fight bayonets in the air" with a strong enemy, we must not only have the fighting spirit of "not being afraid of suffering and not being afraid of death," but also have flexible and mobile tactical tactics. Li Ling fully carried forward military democracy and led pilots to use their brains, break with conventions, and innovate tactics.
Li Ling: I often tell the officers and men of the troops that after changing into advanced fighters made in china, they should still more vigorously carry forward the spirit of "fighting bayonets in the air" forged by their revolutionary predecessors, practice courage, technology, and wisdom, and be able to strike with courage and thunder when the party and the people need it.
During the preparation of an air combat exercise, everyone worked together to make suggestions and studies and developed a surprise tactic. Relying on this strange move, deputy brigade commander Wang Yuandong defeated the enemy in one move in the confrontation drill and won a complete victory.
Wang Yuandong: This tactic was studied by us together, and after comprehensive judgment, everyone thought that they could try it, and finally won. In fact, the development of the people's air force up to now, the gap between the various units is not large, and if we want to win in confrontation, we are required to study tactical tactics in a more refined, detailed, and deeper way.
Li Ling (middle), Yao Kai (left), and Gao Qiang (right), the "Golden Helmet" pilots who emerged from a large flying team
Nowadays, under the leadership of Li Ling, a large number of young pilots have rapidly grown into the backbone and backbone of the battle, and the effect of flocking geese in the training of flying talents has gradually emerged. In recent years, the brigade has won the "Sky Eagle Cup" twice, won the "Golden Helmet" for 5 times, and many pilots have won the honors of "the most beautiful revolutionary soldier in the new era" and "advanced individual in military training of the whole army".
Li Ling: Today, we have begun to take on the task of combat readiness. In the days to come, the officers and men of the whole brigade will certainly make every effort to make more efforts and contributions to the country's air defense construction and the motherland's tranquility. Rest assured that we have been struggling.
(Produced by the Central Broadcasting Military and People's Liberation Army News and Communication Center)