Only through real confrontation can one develop combat effectiveness. The growth path of a blue team
2024-08-26
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A "real enemy" flies over the desert
■ Pei Zechao, Liberation Army Daily special correspondent Hu Yonghua
In midsummer, a confrontation training kicked off in a radar brigade of the Air Force.
Dozens of kilometers away, a small team was setting up ground equipment, assembling drones, adjusting parameters... With the commander's command of "release", team leader Liu Zheng rushed forward and threw a drone into the wind; after seeing the plane leave his hands, Sergeant Dong Shiyang quickly controlled the plane to fly towards the designated area.
Liu Zheng and Dong Shiyang belong to the same team, a blue team independently established by the brigade. In this training, this blue team will become the "real opponent" of the officers and soldiers.
"In the future early warning battlefield, miniaturization, modularization, and multi-functionality will become more and more prominent." The brigade leader said that many radar stations do not have enough training resources and methods for confrontation training against "low, slow, and small" targets. Therefore, in order to further improve the effectiveness of training, they focused on improving early warning capabilities such as target detection, tracking and monitoring, and identification and judgment, built interference and anti-interference, camouflage and de-camouflage platforms, set up typical targets such as stealth fighters and drones, and proposed the idea of independently forming a blue team.
Last year, the brigade's Blue Team was formally formed. Two months later, the Blue Team had its first battle - serving as an "examiner" for the officers and soldiers of the mobile unit.
This assessment made the Blues team famous.
"I didn't expect that a newly formed team could bring us so many battlefield 'problems'." After leaving the examination room, the deputy station chief of a radar station sighed that the drones controlled by the Blue Army team sometimes flew at low altitudes and sometimes released interference, which made the candidates feel the real challenge.
After that, the chief officers of each radar station sent "invitation letters" one after another, inviting the blue team to their units to carry out confrontation training together.
——At a certain radar station, the Blue Team released a drone late at night. The "tricky" flight route made it impossible for the station commander to determine the "next landing point" of the flight trajectory.
——At a certain radar station, the Blue Team’s drone attempted to break through at low altitude, taking advantage of the cover of the mountainous area. The radar station operator Chen Guoliang searched for “clues” in the clutter like looking for a needle in a haystack.
——At a certain radar station, the Blue Army team's drone launched electromagnetic interference. Looking at the "snowflakes" on the screen, radar station technician Xu Liang responded with conventional means, but with little effect...
"Only through real confrontation can we develop combat effectiveness." Faced with the "stinging" brought by the Blue Army team, the officers and soldiers of the brigade were deeply touched: actual combat confrontation training is like a mirror, reflecting many problems in training and illuminating the direction of progress.
In the training department of the brigade, a thick stack of blue team information records the following data: the total flight range of the UAV is more than 6,000 kilometers, and it has conducted more than 40 confrontation trainings... "Real opponents" flew in from the desert, and changes followed one after another.
The growth path of a blue team
■Li Zhonghua, Liberation Army Daily special correspondent Hu Yonghua
Liu Zheng, captain of the Blue Team, prepares to launch a drone. Photo by Hu Yonghua
Self-examination
Be as familiar with your equipment as you are with your own body
When Liu Zheng was first selected into the Blue Team of a radar brigade of the Air Force, he was full of anxiety.
"To be a good opponent, you must first figure out what you are like." Liu Zheng knew that if he wanted to be a "hunter" for radar soldiers, he must first master more working principles of radar. It would not be enough to rely on impressions or half-knowledge. He had to study it carefully from beginning to end, from the outside to the inside.
After joining the Blue Army, Liu Zheng faced new challenges. Learning more types of radar equipment became a top priority.
The day after joining the Blue Army, Liu Zheng went to a radar station to learn how to use new equipment. Faced with this new radar with complex parameter adjustments and diverse working modes, he kept a record of the questions he didn't understand and what he learned.
Liu Zheng has a loose-leaf notebook in his bedside table. He records a little bit when he studies theory at night and a little bit when he practices operation during the day. As time goes by, the notebook becomes thicker and thicker, and he becomes more and more familiar with radar equipment of various models. In order to be as familiar with the equipment as he is with his own body, Liu Zheng will take out his notebook to check what are the key data, what are the important operations, and what are the evasive measures even when he is lying in bed...
In order to master the basic skills, Liu Zheng set his sights on further study: focusing on the application of radar combat technical and tactical performance and the support methods of various types of aircraft.
Once, the brigade held a "ring competition" and Liu Zheng took the initiative to sign up for it. Not only did he gain a deeper understanding of equipment operation, he also began to explore methods of releasing interference.
"Only by fully understanding the performance of the equipment can we know how to conduct targeted confrontation training." In Liu Zheng's view, only by understanding and mastering the characteristics of the equipment can we be targeted when serving as the blue team.
During a training session, Liu Zheng adjusted a parameter value, causing the radar screen to be filled with clutter. After the training session, Liu Zheng did not let go of this "mistake", but conducted multiple verifications to find out the cause.
As learning progresses, the accumulated first-hand data becomes the key support for the Blues to conduct targeted training. The Blues use this data to sharpen their weapons to test their opponents.
"From the planning of the drone's route, the selection of its flight attitude, to the type and time of the interference, everything is determined based on the characteristics of the equipment," said Dong Shiyang, a drone operator. The blue team tactics they developed all target the boundary points of the performance of various types of equipment, "so that we can truly test the opponent's 'bottom line'."
The night was as dark as ink, and the antennas were spinning. Everything was ready, and the Blue Army team took the initiative to attack.
Soldiers of the Blue Army team inspect and repair a drone. Photo by Hu Yonghua
Examining the confrontation
The greatest charm of adversarial training is uncertainty
In the northern desert, the night sky is dotted with stars.
Liu Zhixiong, a sergeant on duty at a radar station, noticed a group of targets suddenly appearing on the radar. He immediately checked the flight plan and confirmed that there was no training in this direction. Liu Zhixiong immediately became alert and reported the air situation while tracking and monitoring.
After a while, the target suddenly disappeared. Liu Zhixiong suddenly became nervous and took a combination of operations to reposition the targets that appeared and disappeared from time to time. Liu Zhixiong realized that the target was trying to use the terrain to avoid radar search. A tough opponent appeared... This opponent was the blue team of the brigade.
This was an "unannounced" confrontation training conducted by the brigade's headquarters under the guidance of the Blue Team, aimed at testing the construction effectiveness of the Blue Team and the combat readiness of the radar station.
This confrontation made the radar station "fall flat on its face". For the blue team that performed brilliantly, this confrontation made them more determined in their own ideas: to randomly dispatch and confront the radar stations without any prior notice, and only by taking improving combat effectiveness as the only goal can the confrontation training effect be enhanced.
"If you ask what radar soldiers lack the most, they lack resources for confrontational training." The brigade leader said that the emergence of the Blue Team made everyone excited that they finally had a "real opponent" around them, but also nervous about the uncertainty brought about by this confrontational training mode.
In Liu Zheng's view, it is not easy to train yourself to look like an "enemy". The key to acting realistically is to start from a practical perspective. As an important form of actual combat training, the greatest charm of confrontation training is uncertainty. We should update the concept, connect with the battlefield, optimize the layout, and leverage the transformation of actual combat training.
"It is precisely this uncertainty that can make the problems in routine training concentratedly manifest themselves during the confrontation process." Peng Wenjing, an operator of a radar station, said that for the officers and soldiers of the radar station, the more tricky the blue team is, the more it can help the officers and soldiers of the radar station discover problems and then study and explore ways to solve the problems.
It was another early morning, and the Blue Army team quietly appeared next to a radar station. They released the drone, and another confrontation training began...
Review of victory and defeat
The harder the "grindstone" of the Blue Army is, the stronger the "Red Army" will be.
The Gobi Desert is shrouded in war clouds.
As the drone took off, a full-element system confrontation training kicked off. Within hundreds of square kilometers, more than 20 radar teams moved into positions, scanning the sky and preparing for battle.
It was already early morning. Liu Zheng, as the captain of the Blue Army team, led the assessment team to a certain area, directed the content on the spot, and organized confrontation training.
After the confrontation began, strong electromagnetic interference caused "snowflakes" to float on the radar screen. The target that had just been discovered turned around and hid in the endless "snowflakes". The radar operator tried to eliminate the "snowflakes" while staring at the target in the "snowflakes". He finally captured it, but lost it again during the tracking phase.
A hundred kilometers away, the drone controlled by Dong Shiyang sometimes flew at low altitudes and sometimes released interference, making the trainees "complain repeatedly."
Wei Yonglei, a second-class sergeant who participated in the confrontation training for the first time, was a little "confused": in the past, the "enemy situation" was written on paper and kept in the pockets of the commanders. Several situations were presented at a stage, and everyone knew what was going on, making it easier to deal with. Now, the time, route, and altitude are unclear... Wei Yonglei admitted that the route flown by the enemy was even more "tricky" than the ones he encountered during combat readiness duty.
Although the confrontation was extremely fierce, both sides were extremely indifferent to the final outcome.
After the training, the blue team and the radar station officers and soldiers quickly formed a team and conducted an on-site review overnight, sorting out more than 10 problems such as command link faults and disjointed operations. Liu Zheng said frankly: "In confrontation training, winning or losing is not the point, but to make yourself stronger by discovering and solving shortcomings."
The brigade headquarters also conducted reflection and summary at the first opportunity. The shortcomings of each radar unit, suggestions for the blue team to perform realistically, and the research results of key and difficult subjects were all listed as the focus of the next step of training.
"In a sense, the Blue Army is used to discover 'problems'. When discovering other people's problems, the Blue Army must also face up to its own shortcomings and weaknesses, so that it can better become a 'sharpening stone' that lives up to everyone's expectations." The brigade leaders are full of expectations for this autonomous confrontation model, "I am afraid that the confrontation will be distorted and nothing new will be brought to others. Every confrontation training must make the trainees feel real pressure."
After repeated confrontation training, the blue team has a clearer understanding of winning and losing: if you attach too much importance to winning and losing in confrontation training, it may be counterproductive. Winning and losing can be avoided, but problems cannot be avoided. Winning does not necessarily mean there are no problems, and losing does not necessarily mean all problems. The ultimate goal of conducting red-blue live-fire confrontation exercises is to discover and solve problems, and in the process of discovering and solving problems, promote a leap in the combat effectiveness of the troops.
"The growth of the 'Red Army' is the real victory of the Blue Army," said Liu Zheng.
(Source: China Military Network-Liberation Army Daily)
