In the morning light, a brigade of the Air Force Air Force ushered in the first flight day of the new year.
On the airport runway, several J-20 fighter jets were lined up neatly and ready to go.
Under the order of the tower, the curtain of war opened.
Accompanied by the roar of the engine, the Air Force super pilot and the brigade commander Li Ling drove the war eagle out quickly, stabbing the sky like a sharp sword.
Li Ling is the winner of the Air Force's "Golden Helmet" and a super-level pilot of the Air Force. He has performed many major tasks such as training in plateaus, defending rights at sea, National Day military parades, and escorting the remains of volunteer martyrs to return to China. He has written the mission of the People's Air Force in the new era.
"The motherland named us with the number one, and we will use the number one to repay the motherland"
The brigade was the first aviation unit formed by the People's Air Force, and it was the first to shoot down an enemy plane in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, and made great achievements.
The spirit of fighting for the first place is deeply engraved in the minds of the officers and soldiers of the brigade.
The reporter walked into the hall of the air service building, and a line of striking slogans was written on the huge exhibition board: "The motherland named us with the first, and we will use the first to repay the motherland!"
This is a phrase that Li Ling often talks about.
He hopes to always remind everyone to keep in mind that he is a soldier of the heroic army, to continue to inherit the heroic spirit, and to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests with stronger capabilities and more reliable means.
"There is no second place in air combat, only lose and win." For Li Ling, fighting for the first place represents the pursuit of victory.
That year, when Li Ling came to the former unit of the brigade, the first thing he did was visit the Shishi Museum.
Photos and historical materials brought his thoughts back to the war-torn years.
"I only knew then that in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, our troops shot down and damaged 88 enemy planes, and so many combat heroes emerged." Li Ling said: "I feel that as a fighter pilot, like the revolutionary ancestors, we must cultivate overcoming the enemy to win. Ability."
Over the years, Li Ling has often taken the lead in training. A sortie flight often requires multiple free air battles, and the load is pulled to 8 G, which is equivalent to 8 times his body weight.
"At the end of the day, his cockpit was full of sweat," said his comrade-in-arms.
In 2011, the Air Force held the first "Golden Helmet" competition. The brigade, as a seed player, lost in the first round by a score of 59:166.
"We will never forget that battle!" This defeat reminded Li Ling at the moment, "When we are still pulling a larger load and moving faster than anyone else, the opponent has already taken the lead by relying on electronic countermeasures. The training method must be changed. , let information power dominate combat power.”
In 2021, 10 years later, in the 11th "Golden Helmet" competition, the brigade won the first place in the group.
In the past 10 years, the brigade has participated in 8 competitions, won the team first 5 times, and 4 people have won the "Golden Helmet" 5 times.
In the past 10 years, Li Ling has grown from a contestant to a coach, and from a coach to a commander. Each stage plays an important role and continues to contribute to the improvement of the brigade's combat effectiveness.
"In these years, the brigade commander brought everyone together every day to carry out full-featured development of weapons and equipment, research and demonstration of tactical tactics, to find problems and countermeasures for us, and was often busy until late at night." Recalling the experience of these years, flying a large team Captain High School Qiang couldn't help but sigh.
"The drill is the pre-practice of the future air combat, and the outcome is often a matter of millimeters."
"The brigade commander often told us that every drop of jet fuel should be used to improve combat effectiveness," said pilot Ye Qingfeng.
That year, the brigade had just tried out the new syllabus.
At 7 p.m. on a certain flight day, Ye Qingfeng, who had been training for a day, was sweating and was taken to the tower by Li Ling for a tactical comment as soon as he got off the fighter plane.
"I didn't expect the brigade commander to play back my flight video frame by frame to analyze the operation and tactics. The commentary lasted until 10 p.m., and only talked about the second round." Ye Qingfeng didn't quite understand it at first, until the next flight. After flying, he realized that the night was not in vain. "I found that I was more skilled in operating equipment, and the speed of finding targets and launching missiles was faster."
"The brigade commander is good at studying the details of the battle and grasping the way to win." Wang Hongmin, the political commissar of the brigade, introduced that Li Ling always played the video of the air battle with the opponent repeatedly, studied each action one action at a time, and figured out how to accurately kill the "enemy". .
Li Ling told the pilots that the concept of "lifting into the air is combat" must be established, and every aircraft must fly with combat effectiveness.
Zhang Wei, a pilot who once partnered with Li Ling to participate in the air combat competition, told reporters: "If there is a little data error during training and research, he will definitely pull us to study it repeatedly until we understand it."
During a discussion, Li Ling asked everyone: "What is the best Mach number when turning in an air battle?"
Pilots, you speak my words and give answers based on your own experience.
The answers vary, but the numerical differences are small.
Li Ling was not satisfied with such accuracy: "It seems that we have to study this matter carefully."
Later, for this data, Li Ling took the pilots to repeatedly demonstrate and test, and finally found the optimal solution in actual combat.
"Rehearsal is the pre-practice of future air combat, and the outcome is often a matter of millimeters!" In Li Ling's view, algorithms are tactics, and arithmetic is tactics.
Over the years, through precise calculations and repeated deductions, many important combat parameters have been "pulled out" by Li Ling, providing a solid support for winning.
"It is the best reward for this honor to exchange for stronger combat power with hard training and flying."
All the pilots in the brigade said that Li Ling was very easy-going at ordinary times, but very serious at work.
Someone observed very carefully: "Especially when making comments, the brigade commander never smiled."
"Comrades in arms can talk to you during training, but the enemy won't in battle. Anything you ignore in training may become your fatal injury." In Li Ling's view, when you go to the battlefield, you want to win We must have absolute strength, so we must let everyone clearly see their own gaps and face the problem to solve the problem.
It is precisely under Li Ling's almost demanding high standards and strict requirements that the brigade has cultivated batches of outstanding pilots.
The pilot Xu Yinhui said: "The brigade commander is a leader in air combat. He has a lot of skills and experience. He is afraid that we will learn slowly and will not learn the essence, so he is very serious in teaching. We can all feel this."
In 2016, when Xu Yinhui first arrived in this brigade, the high-intensity training rhythm made him a little overwhelmed.
Fortunately for him, from the ground research preparation, to the lift-off and flying in the same cabin, and then to the tower to direct the flight, Li Ling passed on the experience bit by bit and picked up the movements, helping him to make rapid progress.
Today, Xu Yinhui has become a highly skilled squadron captain.
In this regard, Li Ling humbly said: "The potential of young people is endless. My responsibility is to teach methods, establish norms, and help them tap their potential." Li Ling attaches great importance to the standardization of operating procedures, and the purpose is to let pilots encounter For any situation and problem, there are standard practices for reference, and they are resolved according to standard procedures.
During a live-fire training, the weather over the shooting range gradually deteriorated, but there were still several young pilots who did not complete the bombing.
"Looks like it's going to land with bombs. It's a rare opportunity, just practice!" Li Ling said.
Landing with bombs has strict requirements on remaining fuel and landing speed, which is a test of technology.
The young pilots were a little nervous when they encountered this situation for the first time.
"In any case, everyone must adhere to the principle of 'the current situation, think about the process first', and deal with the situation calmly and handle the situation prudently." Li Ling started commanding from the tower. After learning about the situation of each aircraft in detail, he calmly guided the pilots. Align the runway, put the speedbrake... The pilots followed the procedure instructed by Li Ling and drove the fighters to land smoothly one after another.
Under the leadership of Li Ling, the brigade's talent team has continued to grow.
In 2019, the brigade's first flight team was awarded the honorary title of "Strong Army Pioneer Flight Team" by the Central Military Commission.
"This is our supreme honor." Li Ling said: "The mission is in hand, and the responsibility is on our shoulders. Only by sitting on the sidelines, moving forward bravely, and exchanging hard training for stronger combat effectiveness is the best reward for this honor. ."
Our reporter Li Longyi