Exercises Political Work

Flight Tracks Measure the Training Journey, Each Takeoff Carries the Original Aspiration and Mission

航迹丈量练兵征程，起飞承载初心使命

PLA Daily (解放军报) 1 July 2026

Summary

A PLAAF pilot from a unit claiming the distinction of being the first organized, first to enter combat, and first to achieve victory in People's Air Force history — likely a Korean War-era fighter regiment — describes a training evolution from individual air combat skills toward joint system integration, citing a joint exercise in which real-time information sharing and multi-platform coordination produced record-setting performance. The article documents the institutional framing the PLAAF uses to connect Korean War combat identity ('aerial bayonet charges') to current joint operations doctrine, a rhetorical pattern that extends the PLA-wide effort to ground systemic warfighting concepts in unit heritage rather than present them as abstract reforms. The pilot's description of shifting training focus from individual technical-tactical proficiency to functioning as 'a key node within a joint system' provides a ground-level record of how that doctrinal shift is being internalized and narrated at the aircrew level.

Translation

"Our victory flight tracks were built on the loyalty of following the Party's command and the ethos of training as we fight!"

The unit I serve in is the heroic unit that was the first organized, the first to enter combat, and the first to achieve victory in the People's Air Force. On the battlefields of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, our predecessors used the fighting spirit of "aerial bayonet charges (空中拼刺刀)" to shatter the myth of the enemy's invincibility. Behind that fighting spirit lies the ideological foundation of absolute loyalty.

In recent years, the pace of combat-realistic training (实战化训练) has been firm and forceful, and our flight tracks have changed profoundly along with it. While carrying forward the fighting spirit and sense of responsibility, we have kept our eyes fixed firmly on the future battlefield. The center of gravity in training has shifted from the pursuit of individual technical and tactical skills toward how to serve as a key node within a joint system and bring the power of that system to bear.

Superior capabilities are forged at the limit. During one joint training exercise, the special situation (特情) was complex and the operational situation changed in an instant. Information streamed and was shared throughout the cockpit, and system forces coordinated and operated in concert across the airspace. My comrades and I kept our nerves taut throughout and set multiple records. From fighting alone to integrating into the system, the footprint of capability leaps has been etched ever more clearly in joint exercises and training.

Over these years, the mission that has moved my heart most deeply was escorting home the remains of fallen Volunteer Army martyrs. Sunlight bathed the wings, and the mountains and rivers below were magnificent. In that moment, history and reality converged. The peace that our predecessors defended with their lives is now being continued and upheld by our generation.

Every flight track measures the training journey; every takeoff carries the original aspiration and mission (初心使命). My training footprint began with inscribing the teachings of our predecessors in my memory, was consolidated through training, and was tempered through joint operations. Facing the goal of struggle toward the centenary of the founding of the army, I will continue in the posture of charging forward, flying out an ever more magnificent victory flight track!

Original Chinese

“咱们的胜战航迹，靠的是听党指挥的忠诚和真打实备的作风！”我所在部队是人民空军首支组建、首支参战、首获胜绩的英雄部队。抗美援朝战场上，先辈们靠“空中拼刺刀”的血性打破强敌不可战胜的神话。这份血性背后，是绝对忠诚的信念根基。这些年，实战化训练步伐坚实有力，我们的航迹也随之深刻变化，传承血性担当的同时，更将目光牢牢锁定未来战场。训练重心从追求个人技战术，转向如何在联合体系中当好关键节点，发挥体系威力。过硬的本领，在极限中锤炼。一次联合训练中，特情复杂，态势瞬息万变。座舱内信息流奔涌共享，空域中体系力量协同联动。我和战友全程紧绷神经，创下多项纪录。从单打独斗到融入体系，能力跃升的足迹在联合演训中刻印得更加清晰。这些年来，最触动我心灵的航程，是为归国的志愿军烈士遗骸护航。阳光洒满机翼，脚下山河壮丽。那一刻，历史与现实交汇。先辈们用生命守护的和平，正由我们这一代继续捍卫。道道航迹，丈量练兵征程；次次起飞，承载初心使命。我的练兵足迹，从铭记先辈教诲开始，在训练中夯实，在联合中淬炼。面向建军一百年奋斗目标，我将继续以冲锋姿态，飞出更加壮美的胜战航迹！