Exercises Modernization

A Brigade of the 74th Group Army Conducts Cross-Domain Joint Training with Multiple Air Force Units

第74集团军某旅携手多支空军部队开展跨域联训

PLA Daily (解放军报) 5 July 2026

Summary

A brigade of the 74th Group Army dispersed its battalions across three geographically distinct field garrison training sites—Gobi desert, a coastal sea-area range, and an eastern Guangdong interior plain—this summer, conducting simultaneous air-ground coordination exercises with multiple PLA Air Force units, including live radar tracking, fire coordination, and red-blue force-on-force confrontation. The article documents a deliberate structural fix to a problem the brigade's leadership names explicitly: single-location garrison training produces insufficient system-of-systems integration depth, a narrow battlefield environment, and weak inter-service coordination that fails to meet full-domain and cross-domain operational requirements. The brigade's response—disaggregating battalions to separate sites, opening shared air-situation data links with Air Force units, and building a joint tactics database from collected training data—fits the broader PLA pattern of institutionalizing joint training at the brigade level, but the specificity here about command-link integration, electromagnetic and low-altitude target drills near a coastal environment, and the explicit reference to 'new-quality equipment' performance boundary testing makes this a useful record of how a southern theater Army air-defense unit is operationalizing joint training doctrine in practice.

Translation

A Brigade of the 74th Group Army Conducts Cross-Domain Joint Training with Multiple Air Force Units——

One Field Garrison Training Exercise, System-of-Systems Drills Across Three Locations

■ PLA Daily Reporter Chen Dianhong, Special Correspondent Zheng Ye

In the desert Gobi, radars spin rapidly, weaving a dense air-defense network across the sky. At a coastal location, missiles stand erect in a ready-to-launch state. In the interior plains, red and blue forces study and drill offensive and defensive tactics. This summer, officers and soldiers of a brigade of the 74th Group Army dispersed to multiple field garrison training sites and conducted synchronized air-ground coordination training with multiple Air Force units in complex environments.

[Caption] Missile unsheathed. Photo by Liu Guolei

"Modern warfare is a contest of system against system, a competition of network against network. Only by fusing multiple combat forces, combat units, and combat elements into an organic whole can one truly aggregate system-of-systems advantages and release the effectiveness of coordination (协同效能)." The brigade's leadership explained that as the form of warfare (战争形态) accelerates its evolution, the traditional training organization model of "garrison training at a single location, focused specialization in individual subjects" has exposed problems including insufficient depth of system-of-systems integration, a single battlefield environment, and inadequate coordination—making it difficult to meet the operational demands of full-domain emergency response (全域应急) and cross-domain offense and defense (跨域攻防) on the future battlefield. To address this, they proactively broke down barriers between arms of service, coordinated the dispatch of each battalion as an intact formation to multiple field garrison training sites, and together with multiple Air Force units opened up a path of system-of-systems training (体系练兵) characterized by "multi-point force deployment and cross-domain joint garrison training," driving the transformation of training and war preparation from single-domain precision training to multi-domain joint training.

With wind rising and sand swirling, smoke filled a certain Gobi desert exercise and training site, as special situations including multiple waves of target penetration and route tactical feints were randomly interspersed throughout. "Low-altitude target detected closing rapidly!" During the exercise, Huang Jiaozhi, a radar operator of a missile battalion of the brigade, was the first to acquire the target and maintained continuous stable tracking, sharing target parameters to the joint command shelter. Inside the shelter, battlefield data flowed at high speed and the battlefield situation updated in real time. The commander assessed the joint air situation, determined the decision to engage, and simultaneously issued coordination instructions to ground fire units and Air Force aircraft participating in the training. In the end, the air and ground sides coordinated closely to precisely "destroy" the "enemy" target.

With tides surging, a training ground near a certain sea area presented severe challenges to training subjects such as target reconnaissance and fire coordination due to complex meteorological conditions. On the air-defense positions, officers and soldiers of a missile battalion of the brigade, targeting the characteristics of near-sea operations, conducted focused and intensive drills on key and difficult subjects including the identification and engagement of low-altitude slow-moving targets and maritime stealth targets. Officers and soldiers used the Air Force units' aerial reconnaissance advantage to fill in their own detection blind spots, achieving full-domain detection (全域侦测) across land, sea, and air, and precisely identifying and rapidly locking onto incoming targets. After each round of fire engagement concluded, each fire unit immediately maneuvered and repositioned for concealed deployment, beginning preparations for the next round of fire engagement. Officers and soldiers trained their adaptability, coordination, and tactics in complex and unfamiliar battlefield environments, effectively tempering their combat effectiveness.

With clouds and mist rolling in, the smell of gunpowder hit one in the face at a certain exercise and training site in eastern Guangdong, as a joint land-air confrontation training exercise entered a white-hot stage. Each combat unit of the brigade and the Air Force units served as each other's opponents, alternating in offensive and defensive roles. Faced with complex battlefield special situations set by the Air Force units, officers and soldiers of the brigade participating in the training proactively explored the performance boundaries of new-quality equipment (新质装备), drove new-domain new-quality combat forces (新域新质作战力量) to accelerate integration into the joint operations system, and worked out multiple sets of innovative tactics.

"The field training ground is both a 'sword-forging platform' for units to conduct conventional training and a 'sword-tempering pool' for forging joint operational capabilities. Great efforts must be made to advance combined arms and inter-service joint training and research." The brigade's leadership explained that over these years of field garrison training, they have established a long-term mechanism for joint training and joint research with multiple Air Force units. Through cross-domain grouping and synchronized training modes, they have opened up air-ground command and communications links, achieved real-time sharing of air situation awareness and interconnection of operational data, and accelerated the generation of the unit's joint operational capabilities. Targeting typical operational terrain such as desert Gobi, coastal tidal flats, and interior plains, they organized officers and soldiers to use complex and unfamiliar environments to deeply mine equipment potential and carefully study tactics and training methods, producing a batch of tactical results. They collected and compiled training data and special-situation handling case studies from each exercise and training point, promptly entering them into the brigade's full-domain tactics database to provide data support for subsequent optimization of tactics and training methods. They broke down mental barriers, established a scientific and efficient open-sharing mechanism, upgraded single-service training grounds into joint tactics "incubation pools," routinely conducted cross-regional, cross-arm, and cross-unit joint training, and drove deep coupling of combat and training (战训深度耦合).

One field garrison training exercise, system-of-systems drills across three locations. As this reporter visited each of the brigade's exercise and training sites, it was observed that after each round of exercises concluded, commanders and participating officers and soldiers immediately conducted after-action reviews, jointly combing through existing shortcomings and deficiencies, formulating improvement plans item by item, and clarifying the direction of effort for subsequent training. "Relying on different regional conditions, we conducted joint garrison training with multiple services and arms, collected a large volume of operational data, accumulated rich practical experience, effectively resolved multiple key and difficult training subjects, and fully tempered the unit's capabilities for multi-domain coordination, full-domain maneuver, and system-of-systems victory (体系制胜)." The brigade's leadership explained that they will join with multi-service and multi-arm units to deepen system-of-systems joint training, consolidating the foundation of the unit's full-domain operations and system-of-systems operations capabilities through real-force-on-force confrontation, ensuring readiness at all times and the ability to fight at any moment.

Cross-Domain Joint Training Empowers the Transformation of Training

■ Fan Enda

The form of warfare is accelerating its evolution toward systemization and full-domain operations, compelling an iterative upgrade of training models. A brigade of the 74th Group Army broke the traditional training organization model of "garrison training at a single location, focused specialization in individual subjects," and conducted cross-domain joint training with multiple Air Force units, providing a vivid example for grassroots units to carry out system-of-systems training and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of military training.

A mighty pine cannot grow in a flowerpot; an eagle cannot soar from a birdcage. Stubbornly training behind closed doors invariably makes it difficult to break through training bottlenecks and improve training quality and effectiveness. Only when units at all levels proactively step beyond the limitations of "service thinking" and "arm-of-service thinking," open up the critical joints of "joint" (联), and generate the key capabilities of "combined" (合), can they truly forge a sword of victory.

Training for war, drilling for war—the essence of military training transformation and upgrading is to draw combat power from the system-of-systems and draw effectiveness from integration. The brigade's training practice enlightens us: only by closely adhering to future operational patterns, proactively breaking down training barriers, routinely conducting cross-domain joint training, and continuously deepening the coupling of combat and training, can one continuously temper the hard-core capabilities of full-domain maneuver, multi-domain coordination, and system-of-systems victory, laying a solid foundation for forging elite troops capable of fighting and winning.

Opponents on the Field, Teammates off the Field

■ Liu Shengan, Staff Officer, Operations and Training Section, a Brigade of the 74th Group Army

During this three-location cross-domain joint garrison training exercise, I followed the entire process as a staff officer responsible for training planning—both a participant and a witness.

In previous years' field garrison training, exercises were largely confined to fixed sites and a single arm of service, with a relatively rigid mindset for organizing training. Over the past two years, the brigade's leadership led us to break fixed thinking patterns and explore a new path of system-of-systems training characterized by "multi-point force deployment and cross-domain joint garrison training," giving me a more genuine and profound understanding of the transformation and upgrading of military training.

Take professional training as an example. As an Army air-defense unit, it is difficult to simulate on our own the aerial special situations frequently encountered in actual combat. In previous years after garrison training commenced, when officers and soldiers encountered difficult problems such as complex air situations and electromagnetic interference, they frequently exposed shortcomings such as untimely response and unfamiliarity with coordination. This year's garrison training saw us proactively link up with neighboring Air Force units, fully leveraging the advantages of both sides, exchanging offensive and defensive roles and engaging each other as opponents, while simultaneously conducting real-force-on-force confrontation in complex environments such as desert Gobi and coastal tidal flats.

Opponents on the field, teammates off the field. Units from different services and arms differ in institutional mechanisms, professional domains, and thinking and concepts. To achieve deep jointness, it is essential to strengthen mutual understanding through sharing of experience and joint resolution of difficult problems. During garrison training, we standardized training after-action reviews as a priority task. After each training session concluded, dedicated time was arranged to organize officers and soldiers from the participating Army and Air Force units to conduct collective after-action reviews—from map plotting to joint tactics and coordinated tactics, to fire strike priorities—with both sides fully expressing opinions and communicating ideas, deeply analyzing a series of difficult problems in air-ground joint training, and pooling collective wisdom to work out multiple sets of innovative tactics.

Future warfare has no heroes fighting alone, only winners who achieve victory through system-of-systems superiority (体系制胜). In recent times, the brigade's leadership has led the staff to comb through and summarize the experience of cross-domain joint training, enrich and improve the full-domain tactics database, and continuously optimize and refine the garrison training plan for the next phase. I firmly believe that as joint training and joint research across multiple services and arms becomes routine, the unit's steps toward full-domain operations and system-of-systems victory will grow ever more steady and solid.

(Compiled by PLA Daily Special Correspondent Li Lianjie)

Original Chinese

第74集团军某旅携手多支空军部队开展跨域联训—— 一场野外驻训三地体系练兵 ■解放军报记者陈典宏特约记者郑烨大漠戈壁，雷达飞旋织密防空天网；濒海某地，导弹起竖保持待发状态；平原腹地，红蓝双方研练攻防战法。夏日，第74集团军某旅官兵分赴多个野外驻训场，携手多支空军部队在复杂环境中同步开展空地协同训练。导弹出鞘。刘国磊摄 “现代战争是体系与体系的对抗、系统与系统的较量，只有把多种作战力量、作战单元、作战要素融为有机整体，才能真正聚合体系优势、释放协同效能。”该旅领导介绍，随着战争形态加速演变，传统“一地驻训、单项专攻”的组训模式，暴露出体系融合不深、战场环境单一、协同力度不够等问题，难以适应未来战场全域应急、跨域攻防的作战需求。为此，他们主动打破兵种壁垒，统筹各营整建制分赴多个野外驻训场，携手多支空军部队走开“多点排兵布阵、跨域联合驻训”体系练兵路子，推动练兵备战从单域精训向多域联训转型。风起沙扬，某戈壁演训场硝烟弥漫，多批目标突防、航路战术佯动等特情随机穿插。“发现低空目标快速逼近！”演训中，该旅某导弹营雷达号手黄皎智率先捕获目标并持续稳定跟踪，将目标参数共享至联合指挥方舱。方舱内，战场数据高速流转、战场态势实时更新。指挥员研判联合空情，定下抗击决心，同步向地面火力单元和空军参训战机下达协同指令。最终，空地双方密切协同，将“敌”目标精准“摧毁”。潮起浪涌，某海域附近练兵场，复杂气象条件给目标侦察、火力协同等训练带来严峻考验。防空阵地上，该旅某导弹营官兵针对濒海作战特性，围绕低空慢速目标、海上隐身目标识别抗击等重难点课题展开专攻精练。官兵借助空军部队空中侦察优势补全自身探测盲区，实现陆海空全域侦测，精准识别、快速锁定来袭目标。一轮火力抗击结束，各火力单元随即机动转移、隐蔽部署，展开下一轮火力抗击准备。官兵在复杂陌生战场环境中练应变、练协同、练战术，实战能力得到有效锤炼。云雾漫卷，粤东某演训场硝烟味扑面而来，一场陆空对抗联合训练进入白热化阶段。该旅各作战单元与空军部队互为对手，交替扮演攻防角色。面对空军部队设置的复杂战场特情，该旅参训官兵主动探索新质装备性能边界，推动新域新质作战力量加速融入联合作战体系，摸索出多套创新战法。 “野外训练场既是部队开展常规训练的‘铸剑台’，也是锻造联合作战能力的‘淬剑池’，必须下大力推进军兵种合练共研。”该旅领导介绍，这几年野外驻训，他们与多支空军部队建立联训联研长效机制，通过跨域编组、同步施训模式，打通空地指挥通信链路，实现空情态势实时共享、作战数据互联互通，加速部队联合作战能力生成；针对荒漠戈壁、海岸滩涂、平原腹地等典型作战地域，组织官兵利用复杂陌生环境深挖装备潜能、精研战法训法，梳理出一批战术成果；收集整理各演训点位训练数据、特情处置案例，及时录入旅全域战法数据库，为后续战法训法优化提供数据支撑；打破思维壁垒，建立科学高效的开放共享机制，将单兵种训练场升级为联合战法“孵化池”，常态开展跨地域、跨兵种、跨单位联合训练，推动战训深度耦合。一场野外驻训，三地体系练兵。记者走访该旅各演训场看到，每轮演练结束，指挥员与参训官兵立即展开复盘，共同梳理存在的短板不足，逐项制订改进方案，为下步训练明确努力方向。“我们依托不同地域条件，与多军种展开联合驻训，采集了大量作战数据，积累了丰富实战经验，有效破解多个重难点训练课题，部队多域协同、全域机动、体系制胜能力得到充分锤炼。”该旅领导介绍，他们将携手多军兵种部队深化体系联训，在实打实抗中夯实部队全域作战、体系作战能力基础，确保全时待战、随时能战。跨域联训赋能练兵转型 ■范恩达战争形态加速向体系化、全域化演变，倒逼练兵模式迭代升级。第74集团军某旅打破“一地驻训、单项专攻”的传统组训模式，携手多支空军部队开展跨域联训，为基层部队开展体系练兵、加速军事训练转型升级提供了生动样本。花盆里长不出劲松，鸟笼里飞不出雄鹰。一味关起门来埋头苦练，往往很难突破训练瓶颈、提升训练质效。各级只有主动跳出“军种思维”“兵种思维”等局限，打通“联”的关节要害，生成“合”的关键能力，才能真正锻造制胜利剑。练为战、训为战，军事训练转型升级本质是向体系要战力、向融合要效能。该旅的练兵实践启示我们：唯有紧贴未来作战样式，主动破除练兵壁垒，常态化开展跨域联训，不断深化战训耦合，才能持续锤炼部队全域机动、多域协同、体系制胜的硬核能力，为锻造能战善战的精兵劲旅筑牢坚实根基。场上当对手场下成队友 ■第74集团军某旅作训科参谋刘圣安此次三地跨域联合驻训，我作为负责训练筹划的机关参谋全程跟进，既是参与者，也是见证人。往年野外驻训，大多局限于固定场地、单一兵种，组训思维相对固化。近两年，旅领导带领我们打破思维定式，探索“多点排兵布阵、跨域联合驻训”体系练兵新路，让我对军事训练转型升级有了更真切、更深刻的感悟。以专业训练为例。作为一支陆军防空部队，仅靠自身力量难以模拟实战中经常遇到的空中特情。往年驻训展开后，官兵遇到复杂空情、电磁干扰等难题时，常常暴露出处置不及时、配合不熟练等短板。今年驻训，我们主动对接友邻空军单位，充分发挥双方优势，互换攻防角色、互为对手抗击，同步在荒漠戈壁、海岸滩涂等复杂环境开展实打实对抗。场上当对手，场下成队友。不同军兵种部队在体制机制、专业领域、思维理念等方面存在差异，要想实现深度联合，必须在经验共享、难题共解中加强彼此了解。驻训中，我们将训练复盘作为重点工作加以规范，每场训练结束后，专门安排时间组织参训的陆空部队官兵集中复盘，从地图标绘到联合战术、协同战法，再到火力打击重点，双方充分发表意见、沟通想法，深入探析一系列空地联合训练难题，集思广益摸索出多套创新战法。未来战争没有单打独斗的英雄，只有体系制胜的赢家。近段时间，旅领导带领机关梳理总结跨域联训经验，丰富完善全域战法数据库，持续优化完善下阶段驻训方案。我坚信，随着多军兵种联训联研常态展开，部队全域作战、体系制胜的步子必将越迈越扎实。（解放军报特约记者李连杰整理）