Accelerating the Transformation and Upgrading of Military Training | "Gold-Medal Pilot" Returns to the "Dragon-Tiger Rankings"
A Brigade of the 72nd Group Army Deepens Manned-Unmanned Collaborative Training —— "Gold-Medal Pilot" Returns to the "Dragon-Tiger Rankings"
■ Jian Lei, Liu Xilei, and PLA Daily Special Correspondent Lu Dongyu
The brigade organizes air-ground collaborative reconnaissance training. Photo by Zhang Naiyou.
In summer, a brigade of the 72nd Group Army conducted an intensive combat-realistic UAV assessment. At the assessment site, Staff Sergeant First Class Zhao Kunjie skillfully operated a UAV and successfully completed a patrol flight mission.
Zhao Kunjie is a well-known "gold-medal pilot" in his unit, having placed in superior-level competitions on multiple occasions. During this assessment, he performed steadily throughout and scored full marks on all basic subjects. Yet when the overall assessment results were posted, Zhao Kunjie's name was nowhere to be found on the list of "outstanding pilots."
"Zero errors on the basic subjects — so why wasn't he rated outstanding?" Several young UAV pilots were baffled.
"No matter how skilled you are flying a single aircraft, that's only passing the basic skills threshold. If you can't keep pace with the ground element and can't integrate into tactical operations, you'll be useless on the battlefield." Squad Leader Zhang Hai's words struck directly at Zhao Kunjie's weak point. It turned out that although Zhao Kunjie had scored full marks on the basic subjects, he had lost significant points in air-ground coordination, intelligence linkage, and tactical cooperation, leaving his composite score below the outstanding standard.
"'Gold-medal pilots' failing to make the 'Dragon-Tiger Rankings' was not uncommon in this assessment," Staff Officer Li of the brigade's operations and training section told this reporter. In the past, UAV training was organized primarily around single-aircraft, single-system operations, with personnel from different specialties each training on their own, and coordination was relatively lacking. As new-domain, new-quality combat forces (新域新质作战力量) accelerate their integration into the joint operations system, the brigade has, since the beginning of this year, benchmarked against combat requirements and institutionalized air-ground coordination, manned-unmanned system linkage, and related content as mandatory coursework (必修课) in routine training, substantially increasing the score weighting of coordination subjects in assessments.
Many backbone personnel initially did not take the adjustment to training content seriously. Zhao Kunjie had a similar mindset: after years of grinding through the training ground, having encountered all manner of operational environments and special situations, he felt his accumulated "experience and routines" were more than sufficient to handle any assessment. What he did not anticipate was that this time, points were deducted on seemingly minor coordination details.
This assessment forced Zhao Kunjie and his comrades to confront a reality: no matter how sharp your individual skills, if you cannot integrate into the system, you cannot be considered truly capable; no matter how outstanding your performance in a single area, if you cannot keep pace with battlefield changes, you cannot win.
Brigade leaders explained that, in order to strengthen manned-unmanned collaborative training and drive alignment between personnel capabilities and battlefield requirements, they adjusted assessment standards to guide personnel away from outdated notions of "fighting alone" and "each fighting their own battle" (单打独斗、各自为战), and to embed systems-coordination (体系协同) operational thinking into daily training. They convened backbone personnel from all specialties to jointly sort through coordination problems and clarify air-ground coordination procedures; they routinely organized UAV sub-units and ground squads to train simultaneously and conduct joint exercises; and they set up special situations such as strong electromagnetic interference and communications blackouts on an ad hoc basis, compelling everyone to strengthen coordination skills through realistic, full-resistance training.
After this assessment, Zhao Kunjie underwent a transformation. At the control station, he no longer focused solely on equipment parameters and flight attitude; instead, he coordinated tactical intent with ground-element comrades in advance and grasped the rhythm of combat. Once the UAV was airborne, he kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield situation, ensuring that wherever the ground element advanced, air support followed.
"Equipment is being upgraded, training programs are being refined, and the battlefield is constantly evolving," reflected Battalion Commander Min of a battalion in the brigade. Modern warfare is about systems and integration — old experience alone will not take you far, and a single-domain advantage alone will not win. Only by actively integrating into the operational chain and training with an eye toward combat requirements can you withstand the test of the battlefield.
In a tactical assessment held not long ago, Zhao Kunjie served as the primary UAV pilot in coordination with a ground element during a combined attack. Once the assessment began, he operated the UAV to relay battlefield information in real time, with zero delay and zero error throughout, successfully completing the coordinated combat mission. When the overall assessment results were posted, Zhao Kunjie had returned to the "Dragon-Tiger Rankings."
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Embrace the System, Integrate into the System
■ Yang Yue
"One who does not plan for the whole is not fit to plan for a part." This saying is not the exclusive province of commanders — it is a warning that every officer and soldier in the combat system must internalize. Modern warfare has long since left behind single-system, single-domain contests and entered the stage of systems confrontation (体系对抗). Practice has repeatedly demonstrated: one weak link can lead to the loss of one domain, and even to passivity across the board. Winning future wars requires far more than excellence at a single position; only when every link and every post firmly establishes coordination awareness and systems thinking (协同意识和体系思维) can local excellence support overall victory.
Whether it is a reconnaissance UAV patrolling overhead or an assault unit on the forward position, every element is interlocked and tightly connected. A misalignment at one link, a lag in one instance of coordination, will constrain the overall effectiveness of combat operations. If officers and soldiers cannot break out of the parochial mindset of "tending their own plot of land" (守好一亩三分地) and focus only on honing individual combat skills, they will become the weak point in the systems combat chain.
Winning on the future battlefield requires all combat units to clench into a fist. This news item from a brigade of the 72nd Group Army reminds every officer and soldier: you must both cultivate your own duties and sharpen your own skills, and also embrace the system and keep the overall situation in mind. Only by actively integrating into the systems combat chain can you consolidate the foundation for victory and forge a truly iron fist.
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Not Just "Able to Fly," but "Able to Fight"
■ Staff Sergeant First Class Zhao Kunjie, a Brigade of the 72nd Group Army
For a long time, I placed the center of gravity of my training on UAV flight control and equipment inspection and calibration. I always felt that as long as I mastered the operations, I could fly the UAV well.
The assessment not long ago gave me a profound jolt. On the assessment floor, I was single-mindedly focused on controlling the UAV's flight attitude and clearing up the reconnaissance feed, striving to make every step of my operation airtight. Yet precisely because I was too focused on my own "prescribed movements" (规定动作), I neither paid attention to manned-unmanned coordination nor considered the overall rhythm of the squad, and in the end I was not rated outstanding.
This assessment sounded an alarm for me, and made me realize that "able to fly" does not mean "able to fight." After identifying my own weak points, I shifted the center of gravity of my training to coordination and cooperation. Before each joint exercise begins, I communicate in advance with ground comrades from other specialties, align on the overall action procedures, and adjust my flight reconnaissance posture to match the operational rhythm; after training ends, I actively participate in after-action reviews, identify deficiencies, and work hard to close the coordination gap.
Dedicated effort yields results. Through one coordinated training session after another, I have gained a clearer understanding of the UAV's role in squad coordination and even in battalion-company-level confrontations. Beyond that, the process of joint exercises with comrades from other specialties has given me a more direct understanding of their tactical intent and combat rhythm. In the recent tactical assessment, it was precisely because of my seamless coordination with the ground element that we successfully seized the strike window and delivered a decisive blow to the opposing force.
This period of experience has taught me: you must not only "be able to fly," but "be able to fight." Every post is one link in systems combat — fighting alone cannot win a systems battle. Going forward, I will continue to integrate into systems training, solidly practice coordination and cooperation, and strive to forge myself into a reliable, capable link in the system.
(Compiled by Du Yijie)