Profiles of the Most Beautiful Revolutionary Servicemembers of the New Era | Rocket Force Unit Researcher Zhou Hongchao: Climbing Bravely Toward Combat in Scientific Research
Inside the command tent, a sharp and spirited female officer adjusts her plans in real time based on the battlefield situation. With her assistance, several missiles break through the "enemy's" pursuit, interception, and blockade, striking their targets with precision. She is Zhou Hongchao, the technical team leader for this exercise and a researcher at a unit of the Rocket Force. Over more than 30 years of military service, she has consistently focused on innovation and breakthroughs in missile weapons, leading her team to achieve major scientific research advances. She has won three first-place prizes and nine second-place prizes for military science and technology progress, and has been commended by the Rocket Force as one of its "Top Ten Sword-Sharpening Vanguard Fighters (十大砺剑尖兵)."
"As long as it concerns fighting wars, no matter how hard the bone, we must gnaw it down." Assigned the task of building a certain system and confronted with difficulties that exceeded expectations, Zhou Hongchao charged to the front and shouldered the responsibility. During the program development phase, she not only held her post and verified the code line by line, but also, whenever time permitted, went deep into each participating research unit to work alongside the equipment around the clock. After one year, the system successfully passed verification.
Zhou Hongchao has always aimed the sights of her research at the bullseye of actual combat, traveling year-round among laboratories, test ranges, and exercise and training grounds. To obtain accurate test results, she leads her team to missile impact zones at the first opportunity to search for missile debris and craters. Deep in the desert, with sand and wind swirling all around, everyone carefully examines traces at the scene, meticulously verifies parameters, and lets no detail go unnoticed.
During one scientific research results appraisal, Zhou Hongchao discovered that certain data contained errors and that the labeling on individual charts was not sufficiently standardized. She immediately pointed it out: "Research conduct is directly connected to combat effectiveness. A moment's carelessness in peacetime can bring risks and hidden dangers in war." This rigorous work style has deeply influenced the members of her team. Everyone cross-checked item by item and verified chart by chart, ensuring that all data were precise and all content was standardized.
The road of scientific research holds not only the joy of success, but also the torment that follows failure. On one occasion, a certain type of equipment developed by the team she led suffered consecutive failures during adversarial exercises, drawing some doubts and criticism. As the technical lead, she bore enormous pressure, and led the team in earnest study and sustained effort. After nearly a year of improvements and upgrades, the equipment ultimately demonstrated its full power on the exercise ground.
Facing new situations and tasks, Zhou Hongchao's gaze is resolute: "Launch new charges against one technical difficulty after another, and strive to write an outstanding answer sheet in the practice of strengthening the military through science and technology."