A brigade of the 71st Group Army organized an offshore platform take-off and landing training
Army helicopters flew onto naval warships
Photo by Xiang Xu
At dawn in late autumn, the engines of an airport along the coast of northern Jiangsu were roaring, and multiple helicopters from a brigade of the 71st Group Army accelerated their take-off and maneuvered into the predetermined airspace over the sea. A ship-aircraft coordinated support exercise began.
"There are three severely wounded people on the island, and they need to be transported and evacuated urgently!" During the sea flight, Wang Wen, the captain of the formation, received an order from the tower and immediately adjusted the course and led the formation to the target location.
Arriving in the sky over the target island, Wang Wen ordered the formation to be disbanded. The attack helicopter was guarded by the air, and the transport helicopter quickly selected a site and landed.
After completing the loading of the wounded, the pilot controlled the helicopter to take off again and went straight to the maritime relay platform.
Different from flying on land, the wind direction on the sea is changeable, the wind is strong, and the ship is swaying under the influence of swells, making it more difficult for the pilot to accurately land the ship.
During the flight, the crew members cooperated closely to overcome technical difficulties such as difficult speed control, inaccurate state judgment, and difficult maneuvering, and adjusted the flight attitude in time to ensure the safety of flying at sea.
10 kilometers, 5 kilometers...As the helicopter gets closer and closer to the ship, the huge hull is looming on the sea level. The pilot adjusts the radio frequency in time to establish wireless communication with the ship's guide.
"Sea state × level, wind direction × × degree, hull roll × degree..." Wang Wen led the formation to prepare for the ship based on the maritime weather conditions reported by the ship's guide.
20 meters, 15 meters... On the sea, the height of the helicopter continued to drop, and the high-speed rotating blades rolled up waves.
Close to the deck, due to ground effects, the helicopter appeared to raise its head and vibrate. Wang Wen cooperated with the co-pilot, one of them observed the reference outside the cabin, the other closely watched the instrument data, and manipulated the helicopter to continuously adjust its attitude.
At the same time, the ship’s guide also used anti-aircraft radio to help the pilot determine the timing of the ship’s landing and pinpoint the location of the ship.
With the cooperation of ship and aircraft, the three helicopters landed accurately.
After the helicopter stopped steadily, the crew on the ship quickly transferred the wounded, and the maintenance personnel on the deck who had been on standby had a clear division of labor and performed their duties.
After more than 10 minutes of intensive work, 3 helicopters were supplied and overhauled.
Upon receiving the tower's instruction, the pilot took off again with the Hawk and re-entered the battlefield.
At noon, the helicopters that completed the landing training returned to land one after another. At the review meeting, Xu Yifeng, the deputy brigade commander of the brigade, introduced that in view of the high-consumption, high-input, and fast-paced characteristics of modern combat, they used the opportunity of field training to actively explore ways of joint support, which opened up the way for helicopter cross-sea operations. Supply line.