A Brigade of the 72nd Group Army Deepens Manned-Unmanned Collaborative Training
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
Photo: The brigade conducts air-ground collaborative reconnaissance training. Photo by Zhang Naiyou.
In the summer heat, a live-condition UAV assessment was in full swing at a brigade of the 72nd Group Army. At the assessment site, Staff Sergeant First Class Zhao Kunjie skillfully operated his UAV and successfully completed a patrol-flight mission.
Zhao Kunjie is a well-known "gold-medal pilot" in his unit, having placed in multiple higher-echelon skills competitions. During this assessment, he performed steadily throughout, scoring full marks on every foundational subject. 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 foundational subjects — so why didn't he rate outstanding?" Several young UAV operators were baffled.
"No matter how proficient you are flying a single aircraft, that's only basic skill. If you can't keep pace with the ground element and can't integrate into tactical action, you're useless on the battlefield." Squad leader Zhang Hai's words struck directly at Zhao Kunjie's weakness. It turned out that although Zhao Kunjie had scored full marks on the foundational subjects, he had lost significant points in air-ground coordination, intelligence linkage, and tactical cooperation, leaving his composite score below the outstanding threshold.
"'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 had centered mainly on single-aircraft, single-system operation, with personnel from different specialties each training in isolation and coordination largely neglected. 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 actual-combat requirements, codifying air-ground coordination and manned-unmanned system linkage as mandatory coursework (必修课) in routine training, and substantially increasing the scoring weight of coordination subjects in assessments.
When the training content was adjusted, many experienced personnel initially did not take it seriously. Zhao Kunjie shared a similar attitude: after years of grinding through the training ground, he had encountered all manner of combat environments and contingencies, and believed his accumulated "experience and routines" were more than sufficient to handle any assessment. What he had not anticipated 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 called truly capable; no matter how outstanding your individual performance, if you cannot keep pace with battlefield changes, you cannot win.
Brigade leadership explained that to strengthen manned-unmanned collaborative training and drive alignment between personnel capabilities and battlefield requirements, they adjusted assessment standards to steer personnel away from outdated notions of "fighting alone" and "each going their own way," and to embed systems-integration combat thinking (体系协同的作战思维) into daily training. They convened experienced 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 combined drills; and they randomly introduced contingencies such as heavy electromagnetic jamming and communications blackouts, compelling everyone to forge coordination skills through realistic, hard-fought practice.
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 coordinates tactical intent with ground-element comrades in advance and masters the rhythm of the fight. Once the UAV is airborne, he keeps his eyes fixed on the battlefield situation, ensuring that wherever the ground element advances, air support follows.
"Equipment is upgrading, training syllabi are being refined, and the battlefield is constantly evolving," reflected Battalion Commander Min of a battalion in the brigade. Modern warfare is fought on systems and won through integration. Old experience alone will not take you far; a single-domain advantage alone will not win. Only by actively integrating into the combat chain and training with actual-combat requirements in mind can one stand the test of the battlefield.
In a recent tactical assessment, Zhao Kunjie served as the primary UAV operator supporting a ground element in a coordinated attack. Once the assessment began, he operated the UAV to relay battlefield information in real time — zero delay, zero error throughout — and successfully completed 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 every officer and soldier in the combat system must internalize. Modern warfare has long since left behind single-platform, single-domain contests and entered the stage of system-on-system confrontation (体系对抗). Practice has repeatedly demonstrated: one weak link can lead to the loss of one domain, and even render the whole situation passive. Winning future wars requires far more than individual fighting positions being up to standard; 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 underpin overall victory.
Whether it is a reconnaissance UAV patrolling overhead or an assault element on the forward position, every component is interlocked and tightly connected. A misalignment at one link, a lag in one instance of coordination, will constrain the expression of overall combat effectiveness. If officers and soldiers cannot break out of the parochial mindset of "guarding their own plot of land" and focus only on honing individual combat skills, they will become the weak point in the system combat chain.
Winning on the future battlefield requires every combat unit to clench into a fist. The news from this brigade of the 72nd Group Army reminds every officer and soldier: you must both cultivate your own specialty and sharpen your skills, and also embrace the system and keep the overall situation in mind. Only by actively integrating into the system 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 had a profound impact on me. On the assessment ground, I was single-mindedly focused on controlling the UAV's flight attitude and sharpening the reconnaissance feed, striving to make every step of my operation airtight. Yet precisely because I was too focused on my own "prescribed actions," I neither paid attention to manned-unmanned coordination nor considered the squad's overall rhythm, 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 weaknesses, I shifted my training focus to coordination. Before each combined drill begins, I communicate in advance with ground comrades from other specialties, align on the overall action flow, and adjust my flight reconnaissance posture to match the combat rhythm. After training ends, I actively participate in after-action reviews, identify deficiencies, and work hard to close my coordination gaps.
Dedicated effort pays off. Through repeated coordination training, I have gained a much clearer understanding of the UAV's role in squad-level coordination and even battalion-and-company-level engagements. Beyond that, the process of drilling alongside 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 training has taught me: you must not only "be able to fly," but "be able to fight." Every post is one link in the system combat chain, and fighting alone cannot win system-on-system warfare. Going forward, I will continue to integrate into system training, solidly practice coordination, and strive to forge myself into a reliable, load-bearing link in the system.
(Compiled by Du Yijie)