"Always Ready to Fight, Everything for Victory" (Strong Military Frontline)

The Air Force's "Shenwei Missile Battalion" implements multi-disciplinary integrated training, closely aligned with the battlefield and system victory.

"Always ready for battle, everything for victory" (Strengthening the Army on the Frontline)

Soldiers of the "Shenwei Missile Battalion" pledge allegiance to the battle flag.

Photo by Cao Jiacheng

Missile launch scene of the "Shenwei Missile Battalion."

Photo by Wu Ziliang

As the autumn wind sweeps through, the camp's battle flag flutters, and the words "Shenwei Missile Battalion" shine brightly in the sunlight.

Not long ago, a certain unit of the Central Theater Command Air Force invited ten distinguished veterans to return to the "Shenwei Missile Battalion" to share the perseverance and glory behind the camp's battle flag with the soldiers.

In the 1980s, this battalion was tasked with executing rotation combat missions. During an air defense operation, all soldiers accurately assessed the air situation, closely coordinated, and successfully shot down a reconnaissance aircraft that violated our airspace. Later, the battalion was awarded the honorary title of "Shenwei Missile Battalion."

The battle flag continues to be passed down, and the original intention remains unchanged. During a training mission, the "Shenwei Missile Battalion" successfully intercepted two new missiles simultaneously for the first time. During the mission, one missile changed direction rapidly, and the soldiers reacted quickly, seizing the moment to achieve a precise interception. The spirit forged in the fires of battle has become the source of strength for generations of soldiers defending the country and sharpening their swords to win.

"Defending the homeland, continuing the glory, comrades, are you ready?" Facing the new generation of soldiers, the old commander Wang Futian asked loudly.

"Always ready for battle, everything for victory!" The resounding oath echoed throughout the camp, lingering for a long time.

"Countless repetitions are all for that moment; no matter how much sweat and tears are shed, it is worth it."

In the honor museum of the "Shenwei Missile Battalion," a piece of enemy aircraft wreckage is displayed, spanning decades. As a frontline commander back then, the old battalion commander Lu Junying recounted the stories, bringing the thoughts of the soldiers present back to the smoke-filled battlefield. "The confidence to win comes from strong support, well-trained personnel, and even more from the fighting spirit of all soldiers in the battalion who dare to fight and win."

Five months of long-term standby and resolute determination at critical moments... Lu Junying, from the perspective of an eyewitness, interpreted the battalion's soldiers' spirit of "daring to take on heavy burdens, daring to venture into dangerous waters, and daring to win" deeply moved everyone present.

Back then, the then-company commander Zhang Zhiyu would wake up before dawn with the logistics team to train, practicing all day long. After countless repetitions, every action became muscle memory, and every technique was honed to perfection.

Zhang Zhiyu firmly stated, "At that time, there was only one thought: no matter who it is, if they dare to invade, they will never return."

"Taking over the battle flag from our predecessors, I felt immense glory, but I also knew the heavy responsibility on my shoulders. As the new generation of inheritors, we must carry this spiritual torch forward," said the battalion's political instructor Jia Jun. He introduced that whenever new soldiers join the battalion or new officers take office, they will organize a ceremony to pledge allegiance to the battle flag, assign Shenwei numbers, learn the battalion song, and visit the honor room, gradually strengthening the soldiers' sense of identity, mission, and honor, embedding the red bloodline through subtle influences.

The passing of the battle flag signifies not only past glory but also the unwavering belief in winning.

Last year, post-00s soldier Long Jie stood out in assessments due to his solid military qualities, becoming the first soldier bugler for the live-fire interception mission of the battalion. After pressing the button and successfully destroying the target, he couldn't contain his excitement and wrote a letter to report to the veterans.

In the letter, he wrote: "The first time I sat in the launch seat and pressed the button to shoot down the target, it felt like a heavy burden was lifted. Countless repetitions are all for that moment; no matter how much sweat and tears are shed, it is worth it."

Taking over the sword from the predecessors means shouldering the responsibility of guarding the skies. The new generation of soldiers is responding to the earnest expectations of their predecessors with fearless charges.

"Our mission is to blaze new trails; with no precedent, we will forge a new path."

"Transitioning to first-class combat readiness, personnel in position!" With a series of urgent alarms, the soldiers quickly rushed to their combat positions.

The armored vehicles are lined up neatly, and the soldiers are concealed and ready for battle. A full-element air-ground confrontation exercise begins.

"Target detected, missile launch!" At the commander's order, they simulate intercepting the "enemy" aircraft. The commander assesses the situation and decisively orders, "Position exposed, immediately relocate!" The soldiers promptly retract their equipment and rush to the reserve position.

From single-target interception to complex multi-target interception, from fixed defense operations to distributed defense operations... In response to the call of future battlefields, this glorious and meritorious unit continues to sharpen its combat edge and marches forward.

Over the years, this battalion has operated in the Gobi Desert, high plateaus, and coastal frontlines, spending more than one-third of the year on mobile deployments and field training, honing their winning capabilities through real combat.

In the exercise field, special situations change rapidly, and challenges often follow one after another. During one training session, sustained high temperatures caused important equipment to suddenly malfunction, interrupting the command and communication links, turning the position into an "information island," greatly hindering tasks such as air situation reception, target reporting, and command communication.

In a critical moment, soldier Yuan Xinan accurately assessed the fault location, simultaneously directing the team to disassemble equipment, debug links, and quickly establish an emergency backup link.

In the battlefield, soldiers must race against sudden emergencies while facing new variables and challenges.

During a Gobi training exercise, the target attributes far exceeded interception technical indicators, making the strike difficult and risky, akin to hitting a mosquito with a cannonball.

"As a newly equipped unit, our mission is to blaze new trails; with no precedent, we will forge a new path!" said battalion staff officer Wang Xin, admitting that everyone knows that lying in a comfort zone will never lead to a breakthrough. For victory, one must venture into uncharted territory.

They constructed a training framework based on the idea of "theory as the foundation, practical operations as the progression, and collaboration as the formation," exploring a complete set of practical results covering operational specifications, setup processes, field support, and personnel training, achieving first-hit accuracy and laying a solid foundation for subsequent missions, accumulating valuable experience for building new combat capabilities.

"Modern air defense operations emphasize system integration; mastering more skills increases the odds of victory on the battlefield."

How many people are needed to lift a missile into the air? The answer is written within the system, on every combat position.

Focusing on modern combat needs, the "Shenwei Missile Battalion" actively breaks down professional barriers, integrating positions such as wired communication, wireless setup, and radar power supply into groups, promoting multi-disciplinary integrated training. After meeting the standards in their primary assessments, soldiers can also learn across disciplines, achieving multi-skilled capabilities.

Now, dozens of soldiers in the battalion possess skills in more than two combat specialties. Second-class sergeant Han Yinxing is one of them; he has grown from a technician focused on radar operations to an all-around combat backbone skilled in radar maintenance, vehicle driving, communication setup, and logistical support.

"All efforts are for victory." Han Yinxing often encourages young soldiers, "Modern air defense operations emphasize system integration; mastering more skills increases the odds of victory on the battlefield."

A few years ago, faced with rapidly changing complex air situations, manually identifying each item was inefficient. Company commander Zou Bo, a military academy graduate, resolved to solve this problem using his knowledge. He actively volunteered to join a higher-level research group and participated in system development work. He said, "What we learn must meet the needs of combat positions." The logical architecture model he designed effectively improved air situation handling efficiency and target identification accuracy, and it was promoted to units with similar equipment.

The practical advantages of system empowerment have been validated in numerous confrontations. During a complex electromagnetic environment exercise, the battalion's radar experienced strong interference and briefly became "blind." The soldiers did not passively wait; instead, they quickly leveraged the advantages of joint combat networking, utilizing reconnaissance and early warning resources from neighboring units to complete air situation assessments and capture targets, successfully accomplishing their interception mission.

In system confrontations, there are no absolute protagonists or supporting roles; every link is crucial. Within the joint combat system, more and more soldiers are stepping out of their positional thinking and actively integrating into the system's combat chain.

From defeating enemies with a single sword to achieving victory through systems, what has changed are the equipment and tactics, but the sincerity of defending the country remains unchanged. The thunderous roar of the past forged the name "Shenwei," and today, beneath the bright red battle flag, the new generation of soldiers remains true to their original intentions, marching forward with resolute steps.

(Contributions by Zhu Jianghai and Meng Xiaoya)