He made a "gas fighting machine" for the country

——Remembering Wang Xiaomo, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and "the father of China's early warning aircraft"

【Remembrance】

Having an AWACS aircraft is the expectation and dream of generations of China!

In the early 20s of the 90th century, AWACS research was still a blank in our country. To defend 960.470 million square kilometers of land and <>.<> million square kilometers of territorial waters, the development of early warning aircraft has become a top priority in China's national defense construction.

"We must develop not only an AWACS aircraft, but also a world-leading AWACS aircraft!" A radar researcher vows sonorously.

He is Wang Xiaomo, the pioneer and founder of China's early warning aircraft industry and the winner of the country's highest science and technology award. Today, in the sky behind him, domestic AWACS aircraft with excellent performance are circling, gazing, and guarding his beloved Shenzhou hot land.

One thing to polish in a lifetime

On October 2009, 10, at the military parade marking the 1th anniversary of the National Day, an aircraft "carrying a large mushroom on its back" led a huge fleet of aircraft to fly over Tiananmen Square as the vanguard of the air formation.

On the viewing platform, Wang Xiaomo, who was 71 years old at the time, excitedly pulled the clothes of the people around him, pointed to the plane and shouted: "Look, this is what we do." Before he finished speaking, there were already tears in his eyes. This "strange aircraft" that first appeared in front of the world is the Air Police 2000 AWACS aircraft led by Wang Xiaomo.

Back in 1938, Wang Xiaomo was born in Jinshan, Shanghai, to a family of patriotic officers. When he was a child, he liked to listen to Peking Opera, but his family could not afford to buy a radio, so he used the early money he had saved for several months to buy a piece of ore, a copper wire, a headphone, and another wire as an antenna. After some tinkering, the assembled thing can actually make sound. "When Mei Lanfang's play came out of the headphones, I was so excited that I didn't sleep all night, and I was very fond of radio waves." Wang Xiaomo recalled, "When I finally went to university, I chose to major in radio at Beijing Institute of Technology (formerly Beijing Institute of Technology). ”

Because of the connection between Peking Opera and radio, the spirit of learning Peking Opera to practice solid basic skills also deeply influenced Wang Xiaomo's later scientific research path.

In 1961, Wang Xiaomo, who graduated from the radio department of Beijing Institute of Technology, entered the former Tenth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense and became a scientific researcher "wearing military uniform". A few years later, because of his outstanding ability, he undertook an important task - to develop the most advanced three-coordinate radar in the world at that time. "At the time, it was a project to catch up with the Premier League." Wang Xiaomo was quite proud.

After 13 years of baptism of wind and rain, China's first three-coordinate radar was born, and the technical indicators of the radar reached the international advanced level, and was called "the golden phoenix flying out of the ravine". As a result, China has entered the advanced ranks of the three-coordinate radar technology world in one fell swoop, and air defense radar has achieved a leap from a single alert function to precise command and guidance. In 1985, this project won the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.

To fight for the country

In the 20s of the 80th century, Wang Xiaomo, who had been fighting on the front line of radar research for decades, did not hesitate to devote himself to the development of China's early warning aircraft. In order to speed up the development of the early warning aircraft, China at that time explored foreign cooperation, and Wang Xiaomo was the chief technical officer of the project. Ignoring pressure from outside, he proposed a new AWACS scheme using a large disc, piggyback, three-sided active phased array. There was no precedent for success at the time. At that time, some people questioned: "Can the old hen become an eagle when he goes to heaven?" But Wang Xiaomo was unmoved. At the same time, he insisted that China lead the development plan and synchronize the development at home.

"You must fight for breath!" He issued a military order to his superiors: If you can't do it, you will see you! When the partner unilaterally tore up the contract and China's early warning aircraft cause was about to be strangled in the cradle, Wang Xiaomo actively suggested to the leading comrades of the central authorities and relevant departments to independently develop a domestically produced early warning aircraft.

At that time, the independent development of AWACS aircraft was the first in China, and the difficulties and pressures faced were unprecedented. The AWACS aircraft that people remember is a large aircraft with a huge disc-shaped radar antenna on the fuselage. "Just that big mushroom, don't say make it before, it's hard to buy it from abroad and put it on the plane." Wang Xiaomo said.

In the face of difficulties and pressure, Wang Xiaomo and his team did not flinch, vowing to make Chinese their own "qi fighting machine". "You have to ask me what impressed me most about the AWACS aircraft? I think it's still the slogan 'Fight for Breath'. Wang Xiaomo said.

The test flight conditions of AWACS aircraft are difficult and life-threatening. At the test flight site on the Great Gobi, the summer sun is like fire, roasting the yellow sand in the sky steaming hot, and the temperature in the closed cabin of the AWACS aircraft has reached more than 40 degrees Celsius, and working in it is like steaming a "sauna"; In winter, the water drips into ice, minus 4 or <> degrees Celsius, and even the wrapped coat trembles. "Every time after getting off the plane, my ears kept roaring, and I couldn't hear the sound clearly for two or three hours", but Wang Xiaomo often worked overtime for more than <> hours at night, and worked for more than two months.

In 2001, the Air Police 2000 was officially approved for the project, and the domestic independent development of early warning aircraft broke all kinds of doubts and took the first step. The Chinese-led and synchronous research and development that Wang Xiaomo insisted on at that time also showed its foresight at this time. In the process of synchronous development, the state has invested a lot of money and carried out technological transformation of domestic scientific research and production conditions, and Chinese is getting closer and closer to the dream of developing an AWACS aircraft on its own.

In the end, Wang Xiaomo led the development team to break through the most critical "two highs and one low" technology for the development of early warning radar, and established the largest test chamber in Asia and the largest autoclave in Asia. Domestic AWACS aircraft has created 9 firsts in the history of the development of AWACS aircraft in the world, broken through more than 100 key technologies, and obtained nearly 30 major patents. China's early warning aircraft has become one of the world's farthest and most functional, and most complex airborne informationized weapons and equipment.

From scratch, from something to strong, the dream of a domestic AWACS aircraft has become a reality in this generation.

Pass on talent training

"There will be all kinds of opportunities in a person's life, and meeting Academician Xiaomo is the luckiest thing in my life." Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Lu Jun, said with emotion. Many years ago, Wang Xiaomo, then director of the 38th Institute of China Electronics Technology, was thirsty for talent, and spent 40,7 yuan in one fell swoop to recruit and train <> oriented students at the University of Science and Technology of China.

It was also the year that the Air Police 2000 was officially approved for the project, at a critical moment, 63-year-old Wang Xiaomo chose to take a step back and offered to no longer serve as the chief designer of the Air Police 2000 mission system. In order to ensure that the early warning aircraft business was passed on, he proposed that the army take on the task. And he himself devoted all his energy to developing a program for export-type AWACS aircraft.

At that time, the Air Police 2000 and Air Police 200 had already been formally approved and implemented, and the personnel who had been hard to reserve and train for the development of early warning aircraft had already been put into them, but Wang Xiaomo had found a different way and became the general responsible person himself, and also recruited some old comrades who had taken a back seat and young people who had just graduated to pull up an export-type early warning aircraft development team of "old men and baby soldiers."

Under such a painstakingly designed talent training mechanism, Wang Xiaomo also appointed Cao Chen, who was only 30 years old at the time, as the deputy chief of a certain type of early warning aircraft. "According to Teacher Wang's summary, 'I don't care, I can't manage it all'. Because he has a deep heart, he can accurately foresee possible problems and make plans in advance. Cao Chen said.

In May 2022, the Academician Laboratory led by Wang Xiaomo was officially established in the Electric Power Research Institute, aiming at new opportunities in the era of network information, aiming to break through the key core technologies of the development of the AWACS industry and discover, train and accumulate high-quality talents.

Under the impetus of him and generations of "AWACS people", the domestic AWACS family continues to grow and develop; It serves both domestic and international markets. The early warning aircraft he developed and the talents he trained have formed a pedigree and forged a shield in the sky, escorting the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

As a scientific researcher, Wang Xiaomo developed the most advanced three-coordinate radar in the world at that time, and the domestic early warning aircraft manufactured by him led the United States, creating 9 firsts in the history of the development of early warning aircraft in the world; As a teacher, he set up funds, cultivated talents, improved the internal environment of AWACS aircraft, brought out a team of leading talents, and created "the mainstay of domestic AWACS industry".

The Sri Lankans are gone, and the meditation endures. When he came, the land of the Central Plains was still suffering from the ravages of war; When he left, the motherland behind him was already thriving.

(Guangming Daily reporter Cui Xingyi, correspondent Zheng Lihui)