Spreading Wings, Sailing Far! Officers and Soldiers of an Air Force Aviation Regiment Pilot the "Kunpeng" and Soar into a New Era

Soaring Through the Clouds, Spreading Wings, Sailing Far

— Images of Officers and Soldiers of an Air Force Aviation Regiment Piloting the "Kunpeng" and Soaring into a New Era

■ Yu Hongchun, Zhang Shuai; PLA Daily Correspondents Li Jianwen, Zhang Lei, Zhu Enju — Photo Report

In the heartland of the Central Plains, at the airfield of an Air Force aviation regiment, several Y-20s roar into the sky and fly toward their training airspace. As the cargo doors open, fully armed officers and soldiers file out one after another. In an instant, parachute blossoms bloom in succession, landing precisely on the target area……

Officers and soldiers conducting parachute training aboard the Y-20 leap from the cabin as parachute blossoms bloom high in the sky.

As a strategic airlift force (战略投送力量), the regiment has, since being equipped with the Y-20 series aircraft in 2019, left flight tracks across every part of the motherland as well as dozens of countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. Every movement upon receiving orders, every thunderous strike, demonstrates the responsibility and commitment of the People's Air Force to fight and win wars.

Faithful to the mission, battling the vast skies. After the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the regiment's officers and soldiers piloted the recently fielded Y-20, pressing on through the night to rush to the front lines of epidemic response in Wuhan, injecting powerful confidence into the nation's fight against the epidemic. In April of this year, the Y-20B — equipped with a new domestically produced engine — flew abroad for the first time, receiving and repatriating the remains of the 13th batch of Chinese People's Volunteer Army martyrs from the Republic of Korea. It was warmly praised by hundreds of millions of Chinese people: using the most surging "Chinese heart," to welcome home the bravest of people.

Pilots return with honors from a competition, placing the trophy on the honor display stand.

A flight instructor explains key technical points to a young pilot.

During leisure time, pilots engage in heart-to-heart conversations.

Pilots march in formation with high morale.

Under the cover of night, a Y-20 formation taxis, preparing to set out on a mission.

Flying hard toward combat, achieving dominance in air and space (制胜空天). Since the new equipment entered service, the regiment has kept its sights fixed on strategic transformation requirements, routinely conducting training in a variety of high-difficulty subjects, and has innovatively developed and practiced tactics and training methods (战法训法) such as "minimum-interval sequential takeoff" and "large-formation dense grouping." Combat capability has achieved a qualitative leap (质的跃升). In May 2021, the regiment's officers and soldiers piloted the Y-20 to compete for the first time in the Air Force's "Golden Dart" (金飞镖) competition and evaluation. In a complex environment with no ground guidance, no range markings, and no detailed meteorological data, they precisely airdropped heavy equipment onto the target area, winning the double championship in both the team and crew categories.

Appearing in the Taiwan Strait, conducting alert patrols (警巡) over the East China Sea, conducting combat patrols (战巡) over the South China Sea… In recent years, the regiment's officers and soldiers have piloted the Y-20 in coordinated formations with various types of combat aircraft, striking as a system (体系出击), guarding ten thousand li of sky with wings of steel. Above the clouds, the flight tracks of victory continue to extend.

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Layout design: Zhao Yahui