A Report on Joint Opposition Training Conducted by a Brigade of the 76th Group Army Together with Neighboring Combined-Arms Forces
Weaving a "Sky Net" Through Army-Air Force Joint Operations — A Report on Joint Opposition Training Conducted by a Brigade of the 76th Group Army Together with Neighboring Combined-Arms Forces
■ Zuo Menghao, Cheng Tiebin
In the height of summer, smoke and dust filled a comprehensive training ground on the plateau. A brigade of the 76th Group Army, together with an Air Force unit and an Army Aviation unit, launched a round of army-air opposition training under realistic combat conditions.
Inside the command post, electronic display screens updated in real time with air situation data, fire elements, and other information, providing a clear and dynamic picture of the ground air-defense fire group, the aerial assault group, and the electronic countermeasures group.
The brigade's leadership introduced that, for this training exercise, they broke with the established pattern of each combat element operating under separate command, instead bringing together commanders and staff officers from each service branch to work in an integrated, coordinated manner at a shared station — jointly planning operational contingency plans through a unified command link.
"'Enemy aircraft' are releasing electromagnetic interference and conducting a low-altitude covert penetration from the northeast!" The Red Force's ground radar station was the first to detect the Blue Force's movements. Air Force unit staff officer Wang Pengfei rapidly plotted the "enemy aircraft's" penetration route. The air-defense group commander, after a comprehensive assessment of the returned situational data, decisively issued the order: "Front-line radar maintains real-time early warning; missile subunits deploy in echelon according to the contingency plan."
At the command, several fighter aircraft ignited their afterburners and climbed to seize air superiority positions; multiple armed helicopters formed up and used terrain cover to advance at low altitude in a nap-of-the-earth profile; on the air-defense positions, radar antennas spun at high speed and missile launchers stood arrayed with heads raised — a joint army-air defense "sky net" (天网) was quickly woven into place.
Above the clouds, the "enemy aircraft" continuously varied their flight attitudes. Inside the shelter, radar technician Tan Xin kept his eyes fixed on the screen, continuously tracking and locking onto the target while waiting for the optimal moment to counteract. The instant the target entered the effective strike range, the Red Force commander decisively issued the strike order. In an instant, missile exhaust flames sliced through the sky and struck the "enemy aircraft" with precision.
No sooner had the first wave of threats been neutralized than a succession of special situations (特情) arose. Blue Force helicopters used cloud cover to close rapidly on Red Force targets.
By the time the Red Force detected the anomalous air situation, the "enemy aircraft" had already closed to the edge of the missile defense perimeter. Inside the "central command tent" (中军帐), commanders from each service branch held an emergency consultation and assessment to determine the combat decision. An electronic countermeasures subunit covertly deployed on the flank activated its anti-jamming equipment and continuously emitted jamming waves to slow the "enemy's" offensive tempo, buying time for radar to lock onto the target. Once the target was locked, each air-defense fire echelon opened fire in sequence, shooting down the incoming "enemy aircraft" and successfully resolving the crisis.
The brigade's leadership introduced that throughout this training exercise, they operated in full integrated coordination with neighboring combat forces, conducting a continuous series of training subjects including full-airspace reconnaissance and early warning, multi-method penetration and strike, and multi-element coordinated complementarity, while randomly introducing special situations such as electromagnetic interference and communications disruption, comprehensively tempering the force's joint air-defense combat capabilities.
After two rounds of defensive engagements, the Red Force missile subunit moved positions on order. A reconnaissance subunit used the cover of the mountain terrain to conduct concealed surveillance; suddenly, a dense field of light spots appeared on the night-vision screen, indicating that a Blue Force drone swarm was quietly closing in.
The situation was urgent. Red Force aircraft rapidly descended in altitude to conduct a search, determining the bearing of the "enemy" drone swarm. The anti-aircraft artillery subunit corrected its firing parameters based on the returned data and quickly locked onto the targets. As the fire command was issued, multiple drones were successfully intercepted, with only two — which had moved beyond the gun's field of fire — continuing to close in. At the critical moment, aircraft already airborne filled the coverage gap in time; missiles screamed out and shot them down.
When the opposition exercise concluded, each combat element rapidly consolidated its equipment — the combat aircraft returned to base and the radars were withdrawn. In the after-action review room, participants from different service branches each offered their views, analyzing one by one the problems exposed during training and identifying the direction for improvement in future joint training exercises.