Rockets Roar Over the Karakoram — Training Images of a Rocket Artillery Subunit of a Certain Regiment Under the Xinjiang Military District

Rockets Roar Over the Karakoram — Training Images of a Rocket Artillery Subunit of a Certain Regiment Under the Xinjiang Military District

■ Photography Report by Wu Jiaqing, Xie Yulin, Liu Fasen

A rocket round pierces the sky.

Reconnaissance personnel rapidly advance.

Officers and soldiers deploy on emergency alert.

The formation conducts a motorized march.

Howling wind drives gravel clattering against the armored vehicles. Several rocket rounds trailing tail flames streak straight into the sky, carving sharp trajectories across the deep blue canopy and screaming toward distant targets.

Deep in the hinterland of the Karakoram Plateau, a rocket artillery subunit of a certain regiment under the Xinjiang Military District is in the thick of live-fire training.

"Target effectively covered!" Billowing smoke rose from a distant valley, and real-time footage relayed by a reconnaissance UAV showed that the "enemy's" forward concealed fortifications had been struck with precision. As the smoke gradually cleared, a report came over the radio from the reconnaissance element: "Remaining 'enemy' forces detected!"

Before the words had faded, the exercise control group issued an impromptu adjustment: the firing position had been exposed, and "enemy" counter-battery fire was about to arrive.

"Withdraw immediately!" The formation swiftly began breaking down and displacing. The vehicle cluster that had just been thundering with fury quickly shifted to a motorized march. Dust and sand swirled as the formation raced toward the alternate firing position. Overhead, reconnaissance UAVs circled like hawks, pushing real-time updates on the movements of the "enemy" remnants to the vehicle terminals.

During the movement, the sound of keyboard strokes rose and fell inside the command vehicle as firing data was rapidly updated. By the time the formation reached the alternate firing position, combat orders had already been simultaneously transmitted to each gun position. Officers and soldiers leapt from the hatches, loaded ammunition, and corrected firing data in one fluid sequence of movements.

"Ready — fire!" Rocket rounds left the tubes in succession, weaving a dense fire network. In an instant, a series of thunderous blasts echoed from the distant valley, and the "enemy's" remaining targets were destroyed in their entirety.

The gale continued to howl, and the gun barrels had not yet cooled. The vehicle formation started up once more, and the torrent of steel gradually merged into the vast twilight…

Layout design: Zhao Yahui