Recently, the rapid development of China's naval aircraft carrier forces has attracted worldwide attention. Particularly, the significant progress in aircraft carrier operations, talent cultivation, deck operations optimization, and logistics support of the first domestically built aircraft carrier, Shandong, has injected strong momentum into the formation of China's aircraft carrier combat capabilities. Since its commissioning five years ago, the Shandong has ensured the safe takeoff and landing of nearly 10,000 sorties of various types of carrier-based aircraft, achieving a continuous increase in aircraft sortie rate. These achievements not only make the Shandong a reliable platform for long-range defense operations, but also indicate that the upcoming Fujian will generate combat capabilities far exceeding external expectations, with more surprises to come.
In the past five years, the aircraft carrier operations team of the Shandong has cultivated a professional and high-quality team of carrier-based aircraft personnel through practical experience. From the first successful takeoff and landing of the J-15 "Flying Shark" on the Liaoning in 2012 to the current achievement of nearly 10,000 safe takeoffs and landings of various types of carrier-based aircraft on the Shandong, the crew of the operations team have accumulated rich experience through analysis of tens of thousands of training data and thousands of real-world flight missions. They are not only proficient in the support procedures of various types of carrier-based aircraft, but have also achieved a high level of integration between ships, aircraft, and personnel in realistic training. Military expert Zhang Junshe pointed out that the coordination ability between carrier-based aircraft pilots and support personnel has significantly improved, especially the ability to ensure takeoff and landing under all-weather conditions (including night and adverse weather), indicating that China's carrier-based aircraft forces have already acquired the capability to adapt to long-range operations and respond to emergencies.
The Shandong's aircraft carrier operations team has significantly optimized deck operations through continuous innovation and problem-solving. By exploring patterns from tens of thousands of training data, they have achieved the ability to safely take off and land multiple types of carrier-based aircraft within a short time. According to reports, the Shandong's aircraft sortie speed is getting faster, the scale is increasing, and the frequency of sorties has also significantly increased, with the sortie rate doubling. For example, during training in the Western Pacific in July 2023, the Shandong completed 380 sorties of carrier-based aircraft in seven days, an average of 54.3 sorties per day, including 240 sorties of J-15 carrier fighters and 140 sorties of carrier-based helicopters. The efficiency of these operations is sufficient to meet the needs of medium-to-high intensity local wars. This efficient deck operation capability greatly enhances the overall combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier battle group.
The Shandong has also made significant progress in its logistics support capabilities. Reports show that the support team can complete the takeoff and landing support tasks of various types of carrier-based aircraft in a very short time, including the J-15 fighter, J-15T catapult-type fighter, search and rescue helicopter, early warning helicopter, and transport helicopter. This indicates that the logistics support system has been highly integrated and can quickly respond to various complex mission requirements. In addition, the Shandong has successfully dealt with the close reconnaissance and tracking surveillance by foreign warships and aircraft during long-range dual-aircraft carrier fleet training. For example, during a nighttime mission, the support team quickly completed the takeoff support of the carrier-based fighter, professionally and steadily driving away the foreign aircraft, demonstrating all-weather response capabilities. This efficient logistics support and readiness level ensures the flexibility and reliability of the aircraft carrier battle group during long-range operations.
The "nearly 10,000 sorties" record of the Shandong and the successful experiences behind it in talent cultivation, process optimization, and logistics support have laid a solid foundation for the upcoming Fujian. As China's first aircraft carrier equipped with an electromagnetic catapult system, the Fujian is more advanced in design and technology, and its combat capability generation speed and quality are expected to surpass that of the Shandong. The aircraft carrier operations team of the Shandong has provided valuable experience for the Fujian's operations, such as the coordinated support of various types of carrier-based aircraft, all-weather combat capabilities, and efficient deck operations. These advances mean that the Fujian's combat capability generation will exceed external expectations.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533137233495212585/
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