No Empty Steps in the Clouds, Real Marks Left Across the Sky — An Investigative Report from a Unit of the Southern Theater Command Air Force
No Empty Steps in the Clouds, Real Marks Left Across the Sky — An Investigative Report from a Unit of the Southern Theater Command Air Force
■ PLA Daily Reporter Chen Dianhong, Special Correspondent Wang Nan, Special Correspondent Zhao Yutong
The unit conducts formation flight training. Photo by Jiang Guangzhen.
Ten thousand li of open sky, wind and thunder surging — the thunderous roar of combat aircraft reverberates through the clouds, as if sounding a powerful and stirring anthem of victory in battle.
Across distant seas and vast oceans, waves roll and clouds billow. Combat aircraft pierce cloud and mist in a lightning strike, locking onto the "enemy" with the precision of a hunting falcon in a complex electromagnetic environment.
Data links share information in real time; battlefield situational awareness is integrated across the force; naval and air power clench into a fist for coordinated strikes… In early summer, a unit of the Southern Theater Command Air Force took the lead in organizing a multi-service joint offensive and defensive training exercise, further clearing away several bottleneck problems constraining the effectiveness of joint operations.
From tempering the sword on the Gobi to combat patrols over distant seas, from platform-centric victory to system-of-systems integration (体系融合)… Pressing forward in the new era on a new journey, this unit has thoroughly implemented Xi Jinping's thought on strengthening the military, established and practiced a correct view of performance (政绩观) in which everything serves combat and only practical results and truth are sought, consciously discarded empty achievements and hollow performance (虚功虚绩), and resolutely guarded against superficiality and impetuousness. In the course of training for war and forging ahead through hard challenges, the unit has tempered its hard skills for winning, striving to write an answer sheet for a strong military that is worthy of the era, worthy of the mission, and worthy of the people.
From Pursuing "I Am Strong" to "We Are Strong": Forging a New "Self" Through System-of-Systems Integration
Combat aircraft roar and circle overhead; ground-based air defense radar clusters form networked arrays; surface vessels patrol in readiness for battle… In April in the south of the country, under the unified direction and command of this unit, a multi-service combined arms training exercise gradually reached its stride.
On the air combat situational display, an "enemy" aircraft stealthily closes in. A pilot operates calmly, locks onto the target with precision — a combat result within easy reach, right before his eyes.
This was the perfect moment to demonstrate individual flight technical and tactical skill and claim a single-aircraft victory. All he had to do was press the launch button to secure a dazzling result. But at the instant his fingertip applied pressure, the data link simultaneously transmitted the battlefield situation: a friendly neighboring unit had not yet completed its attack positioning. A rash strike would prematurely expose their own position, disrupt the entire operational deployment, and could even lead to defeat in system-of-systems combat (体系作战).
Attack, or abort? This was the choice placed before the pilot.
"An individual's moment of glory is no match for the high-efficiency empowerment of the system operating as a whole!" Without hesitation, he immediately aborted the attack, broke off, and skimmed low over the sea to coordinate with the neighboring unit's action. The power of the system formed a mighty combined force, allowing them to quickly seize the initiative on the complex and ever-changing battlefield.
Stepping down from the aircraft, the pilot looked back at the situational display from that moment and felt deeply satisfied: "That was the right call!"
What was abandoned in that abort was individual visible achievement and personal recognition; what was supported in that assist was the overall situation and victory through the system.
"In the past, we always fixated on individual aircraft air combat scores and single-subject excellence rates. But it was only on the joint training ground that we truly understood — no matter how outstanding an individual is, separated from the system it is hard to form a combined force; no matter how prominent the scores, without coordination there can be no real training effectiveness." The unit's leadership explained: operating within a system-of-systems, every officer and soldier must possess this sense of the larger picture.
Operating within a combat system-of-systems, only by re-examining one's combat position and reshaping the capabilities and qualities of officers and soldiers can one adapt to the rapidly changing future battlefield. Confronting the imperative of joint operations, the unit mustered the courage to turn the blade inward and correct its course, setting off wave after wave of "brainstorming": centering on "for whom do we train, what kind of soldiers do we train, and how do we train them," officers and soldiers were guided to break free from the limitations of single-service thinking, and concepts such as "strength of the system is true strength" and "being able to fight and win is the greatest achievement" were genuinely engraved in their minds, fused into their blood, and brought to bear at their combat positions.
Confronting problem blockages head-on, the unit further deepened routine joint training with naval surface vessels, army air defense, radar early warning, and other forces — progressing from combined training with aircraft of the same type, to mixed training with aircraft of different types, to integrated ship-aircraft joint training and beyond — advancing layer by layer, closely aligned with actual combat, and driving joint training from "ad hoc combined exercises" to "routine required coursework."
From pursuing "I am strong" to "we are strong," forging a new "self" through system-of-systems integration. All participating units pooled their wisdom around "unified command, unified language, unified action," embodying joint victory in the smooth operation of every data link, the maturation of every set of tactics, and the tacit coordination of every joint action. They successively solved training difficulties such as ship-aircraft coordination and dissimilar-aircraft adversarial training, and compiled multiple sets of practical tactics. They broke with traditional assessment models and adopted the system contribution rate (体系贡献率) as the primary standard for measuring training quality and effectiveness.
Another battle commences. In the air, multiple types of combat aircraft engage in fierce offensive and defensive action; at sea, surface vessels and aircraft build an integrated combat system. After one pilot is locked onto by the "enemy," he executes a high-angle maneuver to break free, simultaneously shares situational data and requests guidance, and quickly completes a counterattack.
"Victory or defeat in battle does not depend on numbers, but on separation and combination — only by integrating into the system can one prevail in the future." Stepping down from the aircraft, the pilot said.
Multi-service forces broke down barriers to "sharpen their swords on the same stage," driving system-of-systems training onto the "fast track." Today, cross-domain coordination and active integration have become a training instinct for officers and soldiers; joint exercises and training have achieved routine and standardized operation; multiple cross-domain coordination challenges have been overcome; and the unit's system-of-systems combat capability has steadily improved.
Better a "Low Score" with High Combat Content Than a "Gold Medal" Divorced from Actual Combat
Radar equipment vehicles filed out one after another and raced into position — a mobile combat training assessment organized by a subordinate unit of this formation got underway abruptly.
Special situations arose in rapid succession; complex and ever-changing electromagnetic signals surged in like a tide, and pressure spiked sharply. Someone privately suggested: "Perhaps we could moderately reduce the jamming intensity, stabilize the unit's excellent assessment scores, and preserve our ranking and face."
Maintaining high scores versus training for actual combat were placed on the same scale. Which outweighs which was self-evident.
The commander did not hesitate for a moment, his position resolute: "Training for war is for winning. We would rather have a low score earned through hard knocks and grinding, and absolutely will not accept a false high score inflated with water!"
"Training hard with live ammunition today is so that tomorrow we can fight without disgracing our mission. Training for war cannot tolerate even a trace of showmanship — it must be real, it must be hard." Staff Officer Xu of the unit said: "Every additional unknown problem solved today means one more point of advantage on the battlefield tomorrow."
Dawn light barely breaking, another daybreak arrived on schedule. An air defense alarm suddenly pierced the sky at the position of a detached training sub-unit of this formation, as an unidentified air situation arrived without warning.
Officers and soldiers quickly took their positions upon receiving the order; targets were detected in a timely manner; camouflage and protection were in place. Yet throughout the exercise, they repeatedly "fumbled."
What appeared to be an abnormal exercise failure was in fact the officers and soldiers deliberately setting their own "hard mode" — reporting key information such as radar activation timing and position fire configuration to sister units, intentionally creating an extreme environment of one-sided battlefield "transparency," forcing officers and soldiers to temper their skills and tap their potential in passive situations and perilous, desperate circumstances.
"We proactively raised the training threshold and set up strong 'enemy' opponents ourselves, precisely to construct an asymmetric battlefield environment close to actual combat." The sub-unit commander explained: by forcing the issue under extreme conditions, they specifically attacked weak points in tactics and methods, filled gaps in coordination and cooperation, and tested equipment performance bottlenecks, comprehensively improving the unit's emergency response, combat readiness, and war-winning capability under complex situations and passive circumstances.
Proactively adding pressure is not blindly piling on, but a mission consciousness that brooks no delay, and a training commitment oriented toward and for war. During training, the unit consciously broke down the ingrained thinking of prioritizing rankings over effectiveness, visible achievements over latent achievements, and set routines over actual combat. It resolutely wrung out the water from training, cleared away the hollow gloss of training, and consistently used the measure of actual combat to assess training results and verify training effectiveness.
During one major mission support task, a certain aircraft maintenance sub-unit received orders from higher command: combat aircraft must be ready to take off at any time, with a mandatory one-start success, zero faults throughout, and return without special incidents.
On the apron, Mechanical Technician Gao Jiajun led his crew in sifting through the engine, flight control, hydraulic, fuel, and other critical systems item by item. During the final re-inspection, he discovered a barely perceptible trace of oil seepage deep inside the engine nacelle.
"Anomaly detected — halt work and re-inspect immediately!" He immediately ordered work stopped. "Taking off means going into combat. We cannot fly out with even a trace of a hidden hazard!"
The crew searched through the heat, and ultimately found a hairline crack at an extremely concealed conduit fitting. They rapidly replaced the component, repeatedly pressure-tested and adjusted, until all parameters met the standard.
At the break of dawn, the combat aircraft roared into the sky and returned safely hours later — zero faults, zero deviations throughout.
Better a "low score" with high combat content than a "gold medal" divorced from actual combat. These aircraft maintenance officers and soldiers proved through their actions: the confidence to win in war never comes from a momentarily dazzling result, but from every maintenance check that can withstand the test of actual combat.
Not for Awards, Not for Fame — Only to Be Able to Fight and Win
The roar of engines wrapped in waves of heat; the aircraft maintenance workshop was a scene of busy activity. Warrant Officer Second Class, Squad Leader Wang, was leading technical backbone personnel in repeatedly comparing measurements and studying details around an aircraft's tires.
In routine aircraft maintenance support, using traditional measuring tools to calculate tire compression produced excessive error and insufficient precision; high-altitude maintenance lacked a stable working platform, which was both time-consuming and labor-intensive, and posed safety hazards. These long-standing shortcomings and pain points had at one time troubled front-line support officers and soldiers.
As a grassroots "maker" on the front line, Squad Leader Wang saw this clearly and felt the urgency keenly. Drawing on years of practical experience accumulated in aircraft maintenance, he hand-drew design sketches and improvised with available materials and on-site modifications.
Accumulating day by day, persisting over the long term — a tire compression measurement tool that was easy to operate and precise in calculation, and a mobile, highly stable high-altitude maintenance work platform, quietly took shape in his hands. These innovation results both simplified the maintenance process and reduced working time, while also improving support precision and reinforcing the safety baseline, earning praise from officers and soldiers.
Throughout the entire process, Squad Leader Wang's innovations sought neither surface gloss nor awards and recognition. Nor were voices of incomprehension absent around him: spending so much effort researching and innovating, when it is hard to win awards and hard to stand out — what exactly is the point? Facing others' skepticism, Squad Leader Wang knew clearly in his own mind: innovation and improvement serve only one purpose — to give comrades-in-arms one less risk, and to give the combat aircraft one more measure of reliability.
If Squad Leader Wang's small grassroots innovations represent the practical commitment of front-line officers and soldiers standing firm at their posts, then the concentrated hard work of scientific research backbone personnel has injected even stronger technological momentum into the unit's transformation and development.
An ordinary room of just over ten square meters — one desk, a few computers, a whiteboard covered in formulas and plans, plus a server — this is the entirety of Senior Engineer Zhang's domain within the unit. Yet within this room, all manner of possibilities for unit innovation and combat power improvement are taking shape.
"Not seeking awards or rankings, not seeking fame or recognition — only treating the pain points of combat training as research and development targets, taking 'combat content' (含战量) as the sole standard for measuring innovation results, and pressing forward with the spirit of hammering in a nail, one strike after another." This is the founding commitment to innovation that Senior Engineer Zhang upholds.
"In the past, aircraft maintenance support work required carrying a thick stack of paper work cards at all times. After a mission, they had to be manually organized and summarized line by line — the process was cumbersome, efficiency was low, and errors and omissions were easy to occur." Targeting the accumulated deficiencies and shortcomings of the traditional support model, Senior Engineer Zhang proactively took the lead in forming a research and development team, determined to create an intelligent system integrating daily support, professional training, and maintenance assistance, and to give multi-aircraft-type universal support the wings of technology.
To overcome the technical challenges as early as possible, he kept company with vast amounts of data and made the server room his home. After repeated rounds of debugging and optimization, iterative upgrades, a multi-aircraft-type support assistance system was successfully developed and deployed, making aircraft maintenance support processes more standardized, analysis and judgment more precise, and handling more efficient.
By virtue of its significant practical combat value, this innovation result ultimately won the gold award at the "Strong Equipment Cup" (强装杯) unit equipment management and application innovation competition.
The trophy and the honor affirm innovation and improvement, but they were never the objective. For Squad Leader Wang and Senior Engineer Zhang, there is only one form of genuine sense of achievement: comrades-in-arms can use it, the battlefield can rely on it, and there is confidence to win.
Innovation is not for awards, not for fame — only to be able to fight and win. Today, on the journey of empowering combat training through digital intelligence (数智赋能), this unit has a large cohort of pioneers like Senior Engineer Zhang who dare to blaze new trails and take on practical responsibilities —
Dr. Luo leads a software group with participation from officers and soldiers across different positions, successively developing multiple systems serving flight training and combat operations, helping to integrate flight data, intelligently assess training quality, and dynamically track pilot status. Senior Engineer Li developed a combat aircraft external stores management system, optimizing the loading process and reducing sortie turnaround time, greatly improving the rapid response capability of combat aircraft…
"No innovation is too small — if it's practical, it's a treasure." In the view of this unit's officers and soldiers, anything that helps achieve victory is the greatest commendation for innovation.
From system-of-systems training to actual combat tempering, from practical commitment to digital-intelligent empowerment, this unit has consistently treated winning as its sole pursuit and greatest achievement. On the journey toward realizing the centenary goal of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, they spread their wings to soar, their steps resolute and resounding — and all the tempering and striving points in one direction: the future battlefield, victory with a single strike.