To win, you need to win by force and by intelligence! Today, let's take a look at these pilots who write code.
2024-08-19
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There is a group of pilots who write code here
■ Liao Shikuan, Wang Nan, and He Zhibai
Writing code is easier said than done.
In the dead of night, in the combat research room of a flight squadron of a brigade of the Southern Theater Command Air Force, the sound of keyboard typing could be heard, and pilot Guo Banghao was immersed in the world of programming.
Sitting in front of the computer, his eyes fixed on the screen, the framework of the algorithm is being built layer by layer in the mind of this post-90s pilot. He taps his fingers lightly, slides the mouse quickly, frowns and ponders, unfolding the infinite possibilities of logic, symbols and imagination.
Not long ago, it was these same hands that controlled the domestically-made advanced fighter jets and "killed" the target as fiercely as a hunting eagle.
Professional, boring, and brain-burning, this is the first impression of most people on programming, but Guo Banghao enjoys it. As a pilot jointly trained by Tsinghua University and the Air Force Aviation University, he believes that programming is a tool and a way of thinking. Through programming, he can convert his flight experience and tactical thinking into computer language, and then develop software tools that better meet actual combat needs.
Why use programming design software to assist flight training? Guo Banghao admitted that during a mission planning, he accidentally discovered that manually calculating flight data was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also prone to errors.
Using computers to assist the human brain can not only solve the problems of time-consuming calculations and inaccurate results, but also help pilots quickly understand the mission, become familiar with the battlefield environment and flight process, assist pilots in making aerial decisions, and improve the quality and effectiveness of combat training.
Writing code is easier said than done than you think.
When Guo Banghao first proposed the idea of designing and developing software, he himself was unsure: there is a lot of air combat data and the flight paths are complex. The process of collecting and analyzing data is tedious and boring. If he wants to make sense of it, he must put in a lot of effort.
When the comrades first heard about this, they were discussing, speculating, and waiting: "No one asked him to do it, so why would he do it? Can he do it? What's the point?"
"To be honest, I was also afraid at the beginning." Guo Banghao smiled shyly and said that he had taken a programming course in college, but writing code was just a personal hobby. When it came to actual application, he still felt a little overwhelmed.
Crossing the river by feeling the stones, the feeling of being lost and unable to find the direction put Guo Banghao on the brink of collapse time and time again.
"The most difficult thing is to take the first step." Guo Banghao used the resources of the school and the Internet to try step by step. After trying again and again, he found that the exploration had some effect, so he continued to follow up. Slowly, like a snowball, he gradually found the right path.
Only by continuous experimentation and exploration can we find the right direction and method.
Guo Banghao recalled that he encountered a hurdle when he first started - software development required a lot of time, so he had to invest more energy and basically spent his rest time on "typing on the keyboard". Unexpectedly, due to the uneven distribution of energy, his flight training results fluctuated.
Although the "waves" were not big, the young man was quite nervous: "I am particularly afraid that others will say that I am not doing my job properly!"
At this time, the support from the brigade leaders gave Guo Banghao confidence: "Young people should have a spirit of exploration. Feel free to do it boldly. We will back you up."
As former university classmates and current comrades-in-arms, pilots Li Hua and Zhang Rong also gave Guo Banghao a lot of ideological support and technical help. "Guo Banghao has a calm personality, but once he has an idea, he will burst with energy and be very excited." In Li Hua's view, acquiring knowledge and increasing new cognition is only the first step. It is also necessary to set application scenarios to achieve the target function, so as to open up the "last mile" from books to practice.
Zhang Rong still remembers what his senior said when he first started flying a fighter jet: "In flight, even a punctuation mark represents a logic. The comma represents division, and the semicolon represents parallelism. You must clearly understand the internal logic of each step."
A few friends decided to stick with it - this is meaningful and they have to do it!
Behind the determination is a mountain of pressure. Whenever he feels like he can’t breathe, Guo Banghao goes running, plays ball, or does strength training until he is exhausted.
With the wisdom of many, nothing is impossible. After obtaining the approval of the brigade leaders, Guo Banghao gathered pilots of different ages and related professionals to form a research team. They designed algorithms, collected data, wrote codes, trained and verified, and adjusted and revised... After more than two months, they finally developed a software.
Without hesitation, my comrades started to test the system. How was the result? Everyone’s feedback: It is easy to use and saves time!
"Simplifying complex tasks and automating repetitive tasks, this is why I like programming." As a pilot, perfectly executing every combat mission is a professional pursuit; as a programming enthusiast, meticulously completing each line of programming statements is also a pleasure.
In the eyes of leaders and teammates, the biggest characteristics of "Guo Banghao" are their strong learning ability and willingness to study. "In the past, flying relied more on 'skills to win', but now air combat is more about 'wisdom to win'. Young pilots not only have drive and ideas, but can also withstand pressure and do what they want to do." Veteran pilot Xu Bing is full of expectations for the younger generation of pilots.
Young pilots from a brigade of the Southern Theater Air Force use self-developed software to conduct analysis and research. Photo by Zhang Weizha
Only by imagining and daring to innovate can we achieve high levels and develop hard skills.
Soon, Guo Banghao's team designed a live-fire shooting assistance software for different combat scenarios.
In the midsummer in the northern frontier, Guo Banghao and his teammates flew fighter planes, loaded with live ammunition, and took off in the heat waves, heading for the target airspace.
Faced with the stringent implementation conditions, which involve large amounts of air maneuvers, demanding entry conditions and a short time window, they used auxiliary software before the mission to accurately calculate the navigation parameters and attack conditions and plan the optimal route.
On the day of the mission, each target was firmly locked and destroyed in an instant.
Looking at the endless yellow sand desert, Guo Banghao breathed a sigh of relief: Although this result was "calculated", it was quite surprising.
If the troops' initial display of strength at the beginning of their equipment replacement benefited from their equipment advantages, then the in-depth improvement of their combat effectiveness requires more innovative exploration and breakthroughs in their capabilities by pilots.
"Flying is a wonderful thing. It must be as precise as machinery, but sometimes it also requires human initiative." Pilot Chen Ming is a young man who likes to "tinker" with all kinds of new things.
During a training last year, the superiors required the pilots to complete the close observation, judgment and decision-making of the target within a strict spatial range. This subject itself is not difficult, but it is very difficult to do it smoothly.
Chen Ming and his team have a heavy responsibility - as the flight test team of the entire brigade, they must explore and promote a better set of standardized operating procedures for all pilots.
Chen Ming explained: "When you draw a circle on paper, 100 people will draw different circles. We have to drive dozens of tons of steel in the sky to draw circles, and we have to unify the movements to ensure that the circles are as similar as possible."
Chen Ming got inspiration from a book. He turned his attention to his old friend, mathematics. He has always liked mathematics since he was a child. The boring numbers and abstract logical symbols in the eyes of ordinary people have a special charm in his eyes.
Chen Ming first simplified the dimension of aerial movement into two dimensions, starting from the basic mathematical model of plane geometry, and then introduced variables such as speed and time to perform three-dimensional modeling. In repeated flight practice, he constantly corrected the error value, thus deriving a mathematical model that describes specific tactical actions.
As you drag the mouse, the altitude and speed values change accordingly, and the fighter's flight trajectory appears on the computer screen, shortening the process of relying on repeated training to understand tactical actions and relying on subjective experience to correct action deviations.
Behind this standard is the result of his undivided attention and dedication day after day, countless calculation drafts and hundreds of take-offs and landings. Finally, the data produced by Chen Mingfei was standardized and promoted to the entire brigade.
At this moment, in the sky, new pilots are flying fighter planes, following an "invisible" trajectory to quickly and accurately circle and approach the target. Their growth and "advanced" path is smoother and simpler.
Mathematics and flying have a lot in common in that they both use numbers and logic to describe concepts.
Pilot Zhang Rong and Chen Ming share the same understanding - the key to solving difficulties is to constantly divide them up, decompose complex things into simple elements, and then conquer them one by one.
When Zhang Rong was just assigned to the brigade as a new pilot, the first difficulty he faced was "completing the high-intensity learning tasks within the specified time."
Team leader Zhao Yu saw Zhang Rong’s dilemma and pointed out the direction for him: classification and induction.
The operating manual and theoretical materials of the new fighter are clear and concise. The difficulty lies not in reading but in understanding. Zhao Yu provided Zhang Rong with a new idea, which is to break down the categories of functions, system composition, etc. in a specific way and then understand and digest them.
To simplify complex problems and to visualize abstract problems, these pilots born in the 1990s all chose the same method when faced with difficult problems. This method not only helped them overcome difficulties, but also gave them new thoughts on flying itself and pilots themselves.
This group of young pilots "love toss around", and the navigator Wang Qing can be said to "love and hate" them. As the pilots' "loyal partner", whether it is daily training, live-fire shooting, or special training tasks, every exploration is inseparable from his running figure.
"From mission preparation, route planning to charting, these young pilots really made us suffer." Besides joking, Wang Qing said with admiration: "Only by imagining and daring to innovate can we fly at a high level and develop hard skills. After completing the mission, we all feel that the process was very meaningful."
A brigade of the Southern Theater Command Air Force is conducting flight training.
Today's pilots are not only fighter operators, but also "half aircraft designers"
Sharp turns and pull-ups, stall deviations, dive attacks... In midsummer, the heat wave was rolling, and in a certain training airspace, many pilots of the brigade were "fighting" fiercely in their fighter planes.
How to determine the outcome in the air? When the fierce battle is over and the debriefing begins, the flight data has been transcribed into a training information system developed by the brigade.
In this system, a series of safety monitoring data is transmitted and displayed on the screen of the review room in real time, and is also automatically pushed to the participating pilots and the quality supervision and evaluation team. One-click access, data sharing, and full network interoperability, this independent innovation result has been highly praised by air and ground crew officers and soldiers.
Pilot Li Ze, who is also a member of the flight quality supervision and evaluation team, pointed to the warning list provided by the system and said: "Some relatively small details were difficult to monitor in the past. Now, the system directly presents all kinds of data together, and deviations are clear at a glance, which greatly improves the efficiency of quality monitoring."
Innovation comes from the pressure of the situation and is driven by the mission. In recent years, the data generated by the brigade's flight training has become more and more sophisticated and larger in volume. The existing software and hardware facilities are stretched to the limit to manage and interpret the massive data, and the interpretation efficiency is not high.
When these young pilots proposed the idea of developing and optimizing the information system, they quickly received strong support from the brigade party committee. A multi-department and multi-level research team was formed, including personnel from the business department, flight, maintenance, factory, scientific research institutes, and other departments.
As a member of the research team, Guo Banghao set his sights on data. Without data, there is no reference, no basis, let alone judging the flight. Therefore, collecting as much data as possible became the first problem that everyone needed to solve.
Collecting data is a "dull job" and there is no shortcut. The only way is to fly, summarize, evaluate and research tirelessly.
The system architecture is a "professional job". The pilots repeatedly discussed and polished it with factories and research institutes, and often went to sister units to learn and draw lessons.
At first, the experts from the factory and research institutes were relatively patient with the pilots' inquiries. But after a while, many people were afraid to receive calls from the pilots because they would ask endless questions!
An expert told the author: "Today's pilots are not only fighter operators, but more like 'half-aircraft designers'. In some ways, the depth and breadth of their understanding of weapon platforms is even beyond our imagination."
In fact, more data and information do not mean more benefits and greater value. The aggregation of data is only a "primary product", and in-depth analysis full of "war flavor" is the key. Guo Banghao and his team members want to provide pilots with the most intuitive perception through big data analysis.
The pilot Li Ze felt this the most. During flight training, one of his important tasks was to monitor the quality of flight training. He would provide a monitoring report every month without fail. As a key link in the training and management chain, this report must provide information support for the Party Committee and must be objective and accurate.
However, the data collection process was complicated and cumbersome, which once gave Li Ze a headache. Now, the training information system centralizes, curves and tabulates the flight data of a certain stage, which not only improves the efficiency of data processing, but also provides dynamic and detailed data support for Li Ze's report. He said happily: "From extensive training analysis to accurate data portraits, the guidance of the report is more scientific."
The first person to be "profiled" by the data was a new pilot, Chen Hao, who was in the initial stage of switching to a new fighter jet. The training information system scientifically analyzed the data of all his training sorties since switching to a new fighter jet, and used numbers to depict his operating habits.
By analyzing the data curve at a certain stage of the flight, Chen Hao realized that his control of the fighter plane was not precise enough and the landing quality was not stable enough, which were areas that needed further improvement.
In the midsummer, during the red and blue system attack and defense training organized by the superiors, Li Hua, as the defender, used flexible tactics and varied strategies. Sometimes he made a big turn and turned sharply to break through the siege, and sometimes he descended and used the terrain to cover himself to cleverly get rid of the "enemy" tracking.
While paying attention to the HUD data, Li Hua visually spotted the target, then decisively locked onto it, pressed the missile launch button, and shot down the "enemy plane" in one fell swoop...
The clever moves and tactics on the battlefield often come from reflections on conventional practices and common phenomena. With the help of the training information system, Li Hua discovered that he had weaknesses in his flying, such as careless operation and excessive energy loss. During his daily training, he consciously overcame these weaknesses and ultimately gained the upper hand in this mission.
New situations force new ideas, and new ideas lead to new solutions. The common experience of these young pilots is: "No matter what the situation is, all we have to do is observe it, analyze it, and then solve it."
The leader of a base affiliated with the brigade said that these young pilots have driven the engine of new quality combat effectiveness growth and set off a "brainstorming" on data awareness and data thinking. At present, more and more young pilots are keeping a close eye on the forefront, aiming at the front line, and "borrowing wisdom" to train and prepare for war.
The road to innovation is not always smooth. More often than not, it is normal to move forward in "no man's land" and look for glimmers in the dark. Pilot Hu Lin is deeply touched by this. Currently, he is designing and developing a software to strive to accurately match the required bomb type and quantity according to the mission objectives and requirements.
Looking at the screen full of codes and comparing them with the equipment performance indicators, Hu Lin discovered that there was infinite combat power hidden here...
(At the request of the interviewees, some names in this edition are pseudonyms)
Source: China Military Network-People's Liberation Army Daily
