Source: Global Times - Global Network
Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the People's Navy has resolutely implemented the decision-making instructions of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission and President Xi Jinping, deeply studied and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Army, and opened a new voyage of building a world-class navy in an all-round way, and has made great progress in ideological and political construction, actual combat training, equipment construction and talent training. The people's navy has vigorously grasped the training of troops in actual combat and accelerated the transformation from a coastal defense type to a far-sea defense type; the first domestically produced aircraft carrier, a Type 055 0,000-ton destroyer, and other main battle equipment have been listed one after another, laying a solid foundation for the generation of combat strength; a new type of talent phalanx has risen and expanded, and a number of new-type captains and captains who can win battles, have a broad field of vision, and have comprehensive capabilities have stepped onto the stage of strengthening the army; from carrying out the task of "harmonious mission" to delivering rescue materials to Tonga, faithfully practicing the important concept of building a community with a shared future for the sea with practical actions. The People's Navy has become an important force in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests and safeguarding world peace, stability and prosperity.
- Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson Tan Kefei
April 23 marks the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Navy. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the tracks of the Chinese Navy, known as "mobile land", cover six continents and four oceans, representing China's image, and attracting international attention, especially the Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong, and the 10,000-ton destroyer Nanchang have successively entered the list and formed combat effectiveness, becoming the most direct "witness" of the navy's ten-year development.
Shandong vice captain: strive to have more aircraft carrier "flight license"
On April 22, the Chinese Navy released its first aircraft carrier-themed promotional film " Deep Blue ! Blue! " has aroused widespread concern from the outside world about the development of China's aircraft carriers.
As a pilot captain, Xu Ying, deputy captain of the domestic aircraft carrier Shandong, said in an interview with the Global Times reporter that in the future, the Chinese Navy will certainly have more pilots, aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft than today, and have more powerful capabilities and more reliable means, so as to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.
In 2012, to challenge the most difficult flight projects, Xu Ying transformed from an ordinary fighter pilot to a carrier-based fighter pilot. In 2013, the first carrier-based aviation unit of the Chinese Navy was formally established, marking that the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier force has entered a new stage of development. As the first generation of carrier-based aircraft pilots in the mainland, Xu Ying is facing an unfamiliar blank area: there is no technology, let alone any experience, everything is moving forward in exploration.
Ten years have passed, And China's aircraft carrier industry has grown from scratch, experiencing the development process from single aircraft carriers to double aircraft carriers, from day to night, from offshore to high seas, and from few to more pilots and carrier-based aircraft. "New breakthroughs have been made in the training of carrier-based aircraft flight talents, and aircraft carriers have sailed farther and farther into the sea area, and more and more flights have been carried out every day." Xu Ying said, "As a participant and witness to the development of the aircraft carrier cause, I am full of confidence in building a world-class navy in an all-round way. ”
Xu Ying believes that the development of China's aircraft carriers has now crossed the initial stage of "exploration", and now it is the stage of "improving, broadening, pioneering, and accelerating", and it is also the stage of accelerating the improvement of combat effectiveness. He said that the development of the combat capability of aircraft carrier formations is divided into three stages: "being able to get on the ship," "being able to fight," and "going out." "The focus on development is to go farther into the sea in the form of aircraft carrier formations, dispatch more carrier-based aircraft sorties, and continuously improve the ability to carry out tasks in the open ocean." Xu Ying further explained, "We need to go to more unfamiliar seas, more complex weather, sea conditions to perform more complex tasks, with more and more troops, this is the stage of combat effectiveness improvement, whether it is pilots, ship-aircraft integration, or the entire aircraft carrier formation, are facing task transformation, which is also an aircraft carrier formation to form a combat capability must cross a level." ”
The J-15 carrier-based fighters are ready to hang up the blocking cable. Photo by Hu Shanmin
In 2021, Xu Ying embarked on the post of vice captain of the Navy's Shandong warship, and the post change made Xu Ying's feelings for aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft deeper. "Originally, as a pilot, the focus of attention on the aircraft carrier was mostly focused on flight conditions and support conditions. Now as a deputy captain, I am not only concerned about the organization of the voyage, the lives of the crew and pilots, but also the working state of the equipment, the tactical performance and use of weapons, which have made me and the aircraft carrier more deeply integrated. This fusion also helped me improve my flying skills and ship control skills, because I knew what kind of conditions the aircraft and pilots wanted, and I would try to manipulate the ships to create such conditions. At the same time, because it is known that aircraft carrier maneuvering not only considers deck wind, but also considers many factors such as navigation safety, ship collision avoidance, formation position, etc., it will have a deeper understanding of the changes in these conditions when flying in the air and be prepared for ideological and technical expectations. ”
Talking about whether the flight experience on the Liaoning and Shandong ships is different, Xu Ying said that because the performance of the two Chinese aircraft carriers is close, take-off and landing are the same. Even if there are some nuances in the design, it will not cause too much interference to the pilot's maneuvering. Of course, if you fly on both aircraft carriers, the pilot's self-confidence and pride will still be greatly enhanced, after all, obtaining the "flight license" of the two aircraft carriers is a matter of pride.
Xu Ying stressed, "In the future, the Chinese navy will certainly have stronger capabilities and more reliable means to more firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests." As a pilot, I also hope to follow the pace of the Navy, strive to have more aircraft carrier 'flight licenses', and accumulate more landings and flight experience, which is the embodiment of the value and ability of pilots. ”
Liaoning Sergeant Major: From the excitement of the first release to the calm after normalization
Zhang Naigang, a first-class sergeant major, is the captain of a certain district of the aviation support department of China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, and is responsible for operating the stop gear. In layman's terms, Zhang Naigang is responsible for the release of J-15 carrier-based fighters like the take-off assistant in the "aircraft carrier Style" that was popular all over the country in 2012, and it is the last pass before the release of the J-15.
The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning received lateral supplies. Photo by Wang Songqi
"As a take-off station operator, my duty is to press the release button to release the J-15 carrier-based fighter." Zhang Naigang, dressed in a yellow vest, wearing a communications helmet and goggles, told the Global Times that his daily battle position is at the take-off station on the side of the aircraft carrier's flight deck. Each time the carrier-based aircraft skids and takes off, the stop wheel stop should stop the carrier-based aircraft before the engine reaches the maximum thrust. When the takeoff assistant gives the "aircraft carrier style" gesture, Zhang Naigang needs to press the stop wheel gear release button, at this moment the stop wheel gear is quickly released, and the carrier aircraft slides and jumps in the roar.
Zhang Naigang released the J-15 at the take-off station on the side of the flight deck. Photo by Zhao Ziqing
On September 25, 2012, China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was handed over, and China entered the era of aircraft carriers. On November 23 of that year, Zhang Naigang pressed the release button, and the J-15 successfully completed the skid jump for the first time. At the time, he recalled, "the mood was particularly agitated, unparalleled excitement." In the years that followed, the breakthrough brought about by growth returned to calm. In the past ten years, the Liaoning warship has grown and expanded step by step: overcoming the technical difficulties of night take-off and landing, the J-15 has refueled air partners day and night, and completed the actual combat training in the far seas... "The previous high is unattainable, and now it is becoming more and more ordinary and normalized, with the increasing number of aircraft launched on the ship, the data continues to accumulate, our support experience is becoming more and more abundant, there is no sense of fear in the face of more difficult and heavier tasks, and we are confident that we can do it." Zhang Naigang's tone was calm and firm.
The country's strong strength and the ability to temper it again and again have made the Chinese navy's self-confidence continue to increase. On the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Navy in 2021, the "People's Navy" new media platform shows the vicissitudes of the People's Navy in 72 years with 72 pictures, including photos of the US guided-missile destroyer "Mastin" sailing side by side with the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning. Zhang Naigang said he noticed the relevant reports, "We were not particularly surprised, although the two ships were very close at that time, but we trained as planned that day." The crew of the ship would shoot and produce the program on the ship's television station, the TV hung in the restaurant, everyone stopped eating to watch the program, and the discussion was very heated. Many of the crew working in the cabin did not understand the situation on the deck, but such a picture stimulated everyone's sense of honor and enthusiasm for training, which was the best education. ”
Mr. Zhang, who enlisted in the army in 1994, has spent 28 years in the military and said the past decade has been the fastest growing decade for the Navy. "The Liaoning is the first aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy and has attracted worldwide attention. When performing tasks, we can often see large surface ships such as the Type 055 10,000-ton large-scale drive and the Type 075 amphibious assault ship, and we will lament the rapid development of naval construction, of which the most proud thing is to see the growth and expansion of brother troops. Zhang Naigang was very affectionate when talking about the brother troops, and when he said that the brother troops were referring to the domestically built aircraft carrier Shandong warship. Although the Shandong warship entered the queue late, it is a domestic aircraft carrier completely independently designed and built by the mainland, and I sincerely wish them to go further and more steadily. Zhang Naigang's affection for the Shandong warship was not only out of pride in being an aircraft carrier, but also because many of the crew members of the Shandong ship were from the Liaoning ship. The Liaoning not only sent talents to sister units, but also carried out training in various aspects such as equipment support, so it is worthy of the title of "a seed in naval construction".
Zhang Naigang imagined the appearance of the Chinese Navy in the next decade countless times, "I have envisioned that if there is another military parade at sea in the next decade, we will have more large surface ships, more fighter models, and more new equipment... The Navy is really evolving very fast, there will be many breakthroughs, and my imagination may not be able to keep up with the reality of the future. ”
Captain Nanchang: Across the ocean and across the sea, now we are very open-minded
The installation of the nanchang (hull number 101) of the first ship of the Type 055 10,000-class destroyer is of great significance, it is the most advanced design concept and the largest tonnage ship in China's combat ships, marking the leap from the third generation to the fourth generation of destroyers of the Chinese Navy. Captain Zhou Minghui of the Nanchang warship has successively worked on qingdao ships, Xining ships and other types of ships, he told the Global Times reporter that in the past ten years, the leapfrog development of Chinese navy ships, the concept of ship use has also undergone tremendous changes, especially the new type of ships must go to the open ocean to carry out as much tempering as possible, which is more conducive to the improvement of the combat effectiveness of subsequent ships.
On January 12, 2020, the Nanchang was listed in Qingdao, officially becoming a member of the Chinese naval family. Today, the Nanchang warship has attracted the attention of the public several times and become a "focus ship", and what is the mystery behind it, Zhou Minghui has answered this one by one.
Type 055 destroyer first ship Nanchang. Photo by Wang Songqi
First of all, the "debut" of the Nanchang warship caused a sensational effect. On April 23, 2019, during the naval parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Navy, the Nanchang warship appeared in front of the world as the first ship of the escort ship formation. In the ship family, it is not common to participate in major tasks such as military parades without being listed. Although more than two years later, Zhou Minghui's tone was still tinged with excitement, "It is very honorable for the officers and men of the whole ship to participate in the parade, and at the same time we also have some concerns. In this regard, we made a detailed assessment and careful arrangements and various risk management and control, and finally successfully completed the task. But what makes us feel at the bottom of our hearts is the industrial level of our country's ship construction and the maturity of production and construction technology. In addition, at that time, we had already conducted navigational tests of the ship's power and power systems; at the same time, we had carried out some basic training, and the people and equipment had also been worn together for a period of time to be able to skillfully control the ship, and these elements finally ensured the completion of the task. ”
Secondly, in 2021, the Nanchang warship broke through the island chain several times and went to the far sea to participate in major training missions many times, which is a veritable "labor model". Zhou Minghui explained with a smile that this is likely to be the high degree of attention paid by the outside world to the Nanchang ship, so he felt that the Nanchang ship was the busiest ship, in fact, the Nanchang ship was only a microcosm of the people's navy. "For the Navy, all the ships are busy, whether it is the intensity of the sea, the amount of mission, the number of days of deployment at sea is almost the same degree. Naval ships must be trained in the open ocean, not stay in port for a long time. ”
Third, the Nanchang warship has the highest exposure rate. The Frequency of major missions carried out by the Nanchang ships is unmatched by other ships. In 2021, the Nanchang participated in the Sino-Russian joint military exercise and the first Sino-Russian joint maritime cruise. Zhou Minghui said, "In the past year, the Nanchang warship has performed more major tasks, which precisely reflects the change in our concept of using new ships. As the first ship of the Type 055, the Nanchang ship is not only a combat platform, but also a test platform, we use every opportunity to perform as many diversified military tasks as possible to test and verify the reliability of the ship, so as to continuously find problems and improve the performance of subsequent ships. ”
As a ship commander, Zhou Minghui believes that the development of the Chinese navy in the past decade has been earth-shaking. The first is that the ship construction cycle is getting faster and faster, there was a saying that "a ship is built in ten years", and now it can be seen from public reports that the ship construction cycle is constantly shrinking, reflecting the continuous improvement of the mainland's industrial level, national defense construction capabilities and levels. Secondly, with the increase of new modern ships, the concept of ship application is also constantly changing, and it is necessary to use as many new ships as possible to expose the problem to provide experience for subsequent ship construction. Third, before we will pay more attention to the performance of single ships, such as speed, missile range, etc., now we pay attention to the performance of ships, but also pay attention to whether it can be integrated into the development of the naval system, how much support and contribution rate can be provided for the construction of the system.
The Nanchang warship, which sails on the high seas, is always under the eyes of the world and often encounters with its counterparts from various countries. For example, when traveling near the Sea of Japan, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are never absent, will the Nanchang ship "under the aura" feel the pressure? Zhou Minghui said, "The officers and men of our ships have shown great confidence and composure, whether it is in radio communication with foreign ships, or in the close-range navigation to occupy a favorable position, we are not inferior to other ships, but also further verified the excellent maneuverability of our ships." ”
In the past two years, Zhou Minghui has keenly felt a detail change, "Now we are very open-minded, when we encounter foreign warships, we will use the rules of accidental encounters at sea or the international rules of maritime collision avoidance to actively communicate and interact with each other, and make some briefings as soon as possible." In the past they were very proactive and willing to communicate, but now it seems that the two sides have swapped roles and they are becoming more and more cautious. ”
This year's Nanchang warship is still very busy, and when the Global Times reporter contacted Zhou Minghui for an interview, the phone was in an unreachable state for several consecutive days. For Zhou Minghui and the crew, there are some surprises and pride in the vast sea that outsiders cannot understand, which is enough to offset the boredom and hardship. "Last year, when we sailed to the open ocean, we encountered a Chinese merchant ship. When we announced on the radio that we were a Chinese Navy ship, we could hear the excitement and joy of the other side's crew from the microphone. Every time we communicate with Chinese merchant ships and fishing vessels at sea, we can feel their bottom line from the bottom of our hearts: no matter where we go, there is a Chinese navy around us. This is what we are most proud of and proud of. ”
Marines: We're stronger than in the movies
First-class Sergeant Xu Xiaofei is a Platon Marine, and in his mind, the Marine Corps is far more powerful and powerful than the "Jiaolong Commando" in the movie "Operation Red Sea", and both the quality of personnel and the level of weapon modernization are higher than the plot of the movie.
Chinese Marines practiced beach landing. Photo by Huang Xi
As one of the five major branches of the Navy, the Marine Corps has the title of "Land Tiger, Sea Dragon, and Air Eagle", and marines will appear in both the escort formation and the joint training. Since 2012, Xu Xiaofei has participated in escort missions to the Gulf of Aden with the ship, to the support base in Djibouti, and to the Sino-Russian maritime joint exercise and other major tasks. In addition, he has participated in three international military competitions and won the title of "Best Sniper" twice.
"The barracks is my best stage in life, and becoming a soldier is the most correct choice in my life." Xu Xiaofei said very frankly that he had nothing to do all day before stepping into the barracks and was addicted to online games. Xu Xiaofei, a 21-year-old college graduate, walked into the barracks with the decision of "regretting being a soldier for two years, regretting not being a soldier for a lifetime", and it was the most bitter and challenging Marine Corps.
To this day, Xu Xiaofei, who is armed with eighteen martial arts, still remembers the hardships of recruit training. "For two years of volunteering, we need to learn fifty or sixty subjects such as gun operation, shooting, diving, parachuting, and blasting, and every day is either training or on the way to training." Sleeping at night was never steady, either awakened by the emergency collection whistle of the squad leader, or thrown into the gas by the instructor and startled. "But what makes Xu Xiaofei feel pressure in his heart is not bitterness, but finding that he knows nothing in the face of the subject, and is afraid and afraid because he doesn't know." After coming to the Marine Corps, I found that swimming in the swimming pool in the past could only be called playing with water, during our sea training, the water was 5,000 meters, and the bottom line to become a super landing soldier was 10,000 meters, I challenged for 5 consecutive years and failed for five years, and only reached 10,000 meters in the sixth year. This sense of triumph of self-challenge makes Xu Xiaofei enjoy and enjoy it. Now Xu Xiaofei is familiar with the operation of more than 20 kinds of weapons, his favorite is the feeling of driving a chariot on the training ground, and his best is sniper shooting.
In 2017, as one of the new combat forces, the Marine Corps began the acceleration of transformation. As a global combat service, Xu Xiaofei and his comrades-in-arms have trained footprints from waterfront beachheads and ocean islands to alpine mountains and desert Gobi, which can carry out multi-domain combat tasks from amphibious operations to land, sea and air, and have full-time, all-domain and special operation capabilities.
The belief of Xu Xiaofei and his comrades-in-arms is that they can fight when they are recruited, they can fight when they come, and they must win the battle. Therefore, their daily training courses are arranged very compactly, and some special courses are now general training courses, and individual soldiers have to complete dozens or even nearly hundreds of training items every year.
Now Xu Xiaofei is an amphibious armored soldier, and when it comes to his profession, he said that flood penetration operations are the most combat-oriented training. "This course is difficult, amphibious armored vehicles flood the water to warships, armored vehicles and warships swaying in the water affected by wind and waves, and the hatches of warships are the same width as armored vehicles, which requires testing our ability to operate accurately." Xu Xiaofei still remembered the training in which his side won a complete victory in a real-combat exercise of red-blue confrontation. "At that time, as the Red Army, we wanted to seize the position of the Blue Army in three days, and on a night when the waves were higher than the armored vehicles and the water was not allowed, not only did the other side feel that we would not take action, but the commander issued an order, and the opposite was done, and our amphibious combat vehicles successfully landed on the island and successfully seized the position."
When referring to the "Jiaolong Commando" in the "Red Sea Action" movie, Xu Xiaofei showed certain and confident: "The Jiaolong Commando in the movie only describes a small collective in the Marine Corps, in fact, we not only have the commando team, but also the armored troops, anti-chemical warfare troops, etc., whether it is the quality of personnel or the level of weapon modernization is higher than the plot of the movie, we are more powerful and more powerful." ”
(Source: Global Times reporter Guo Yuandan)