"Treetop Height" Presents a New Landscape of System-of-Systems Operations (体系作战)
Army Aviation Units Build a Multi-Element, Cross-Dimensional, Three-Dimensional Modern Air-Ground Combat System (多要素跨维度立体化现代空地作战体系); "Treetop Height" Presents a New Landscape of System-of-Systems Operations (体系作战)
Editor's Note: Chairman Xi has emphasized the need to work hard to build a powerful, modernized new-type Army. As a landmark force in the Army's transformation from flat-plane operations (平面作战) to three-dimensional offense and defense (立体攻防), Army Aviation units are working intensively to build a multi-element, cross-dimensional, three-dimensional modern air-ground combat system. From "giving the Army wings" to "making the Army's wings stronger," the air-ground integrated, highly composite, flexible and efficient Army Aviation eagles are continuously flying toward new heights and advancing toward an ever broader battlefield.
PLA Daily report by correspondent Fan Enda and special correspondent Xu Junqiang: In the air, iron rotors spin as attack helicopters strike targets and transport helicopters precisely deliver combat equipment; on the ground, armored vehicles surge forward as assault troops conduct three-dimensional penetration aboard helicopters… Not long ago, a multi-element air-ground coordination training exercise of an Army air assault brigade (空中突击旅) was carried out in full intensity.
One training exercise, multiple aircraft types clenched into a fist, multiple arms of service operating in integrated linkage. This scene is a microcosm of Army Aviation units' intensive efforts to build a multi-element, cross-dimensional, three-dimensional modern air-ground combat system. The battlefield space of "treetop height" is presenting a new landscape of system-of-systems operations (体系作战).
From "single aircraft type" to "composite eagle swarm (合成鹰群)," training formations are continuously optimized——
At a training ground in northern Henan, at the commander's order, dozens of helicopters—reconnaissance, attack, and transport—advanced in echelon, with the "composite eagle swarm" arrayed for action. During training, multiple aircraft types were mixed into combined groups, with pilots paired by experience level, conducting high-intensity adversarial exercises including command coordination in complex electromagnetic environments, tactical airspace takeoffs and landings, and simulated guided-weapons attacks.
In recent years, as new equipment has been successively fielded, Army air assault units have routinely organized multi-type aircraft joint training at the same venue, exploring multiple large-formation, multi-type aircraft tactics and methods (战法).
From "support and attachment" to "primary combat employment (主战主用)," role definition achieves a leap——
Seven years ago, when pilots of the Army's "Wind and Thunder" aerobatic display team performed zoom climbs in their helicopters, the pull-up angle was less than 60 degrees; today, they can fly sharp trajectories at right angles or even negative pitch angles. This leap in flight maneuvers reflects the profound transformation of Army air assault forces from a supporting role on the battlefield to a primary combat force.
Over the past year, an Army air assault brigade organized cross-region mobility operations on multiple occasions, with new helicopters' flight tracks spanning more than half of China, and a series of entirely new tactics and methods (战术战法) were tempered and refined through realistic combat exercises and training.
From "flat-plane operations (平面作战)" to "all-domain offense and defense (全域攻防)," the space for training soldiers accelerates in expansion——
Assault infantry conduct anti-vertigo training to pilot standards; pilots study infantry and artillery tactics… When the reporter reviewed the training plan of an Army air assault brigade, "cross-domain (跨界)" training had already become routine.
"In the past we focused more on our own tactical-level assault operations; now, only by actively integrating into the joint operations system (联合作战体系) can we play a nodal role across a larger battlefield space." A training and operations staff officer of the brigade told the reporter that over the years they have jointly researched coordination data links with Air Force aviation units, conducted coordination exercises with Joint Logistic Support Force units, and carried out joint training with a unit of the Information Support Force… The unit's "training circle of friends (练兵朋友圈)" has continuously expanded, and the training ground has extended into multi-domain depths.
Rotors shake the thunder, a sharp blade breaks the enemy's formation. Looking across the entire military's exercise grounds: in the southeastern maritime domain, helicopters and landing ships train together; in the northwestern air and space domain, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles operate in coordination; on the grasslands of the far north, helicopters and armored vehicles maneuver freely… From "giving the Army wings" to "making the Army's wings stronger," the air-ground integrated, highly composite, flexible and efficient Army Aviation eagles are continuously flying toward new heights and advancing toward an ever broader battlefield.