Domestic Large Transport Aircraft Y-20 Begins Mass Production

Reshaping the Transportation and Delivery System, Innovating Delivery Support Models

Our military's strategic delivery capability steadily reaches new heights

Editor's Note

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party, President Xi has placed great importance on military logistics, emphasizing the need to focus on ensuring victory, accelerate transformation and reshaping, and strive to build a strong modern logistics system. Strategic delivery capability is an important measure of modern logistics. In recent years, as national defense and military reforms have deepened, our military's transportation and delivery system has undergone systematic reshaping from "dispersed support" to "joint delivery," from "labor-intensive" to "technology-enabled," and from "flat transportation" to "three-dimensional delivery," with strategic delivery capability steadily reaching new levels.

Not long ago, the new soldier transportation and delivery work for the first half of this year was successfully completed. New soldiers from 18 provinces and cities across the country departed from over 400 railway stations, more than 30 civil aviation airports, and multiple ports, with over 80% of new soldiers arriving at their units within 24 hours. This is a vivid reflection of our military's leap in joint delivery capability. In recent years, our military's strategic delivery capability has continuously broken through in three dimensions: joint support, intelligent delivery, and task coordination, reshaping the transportation and delivery system and continuously innovating delivery support models, gradually unfolding a three-dimensional intelligent delivery picture.

Data picture: Multiple Y-20 transport aircraft from a certain unit of the Air Force conduct practical training. The picture shows soldiers boarding quickly. (Photo by Tan Sicheng)

Joint delivery, moving from "fighting separately" to "integrating as one" —

At a certain railway platform, the team leader of a task force commands the loading of equipment. He introduced that in the past, during cross-regional maneuvers, the same equipment needed to have its loading plan approved repeatedly at different railway bureaus, making the process complex. Now, the military and local authorities jointly formulate loading plans and establish universal standards, allowing units to implement them for smooth nationwide transport.

In a recent long-distance delivery mission, a certain naval unit of the Southern Theater Command, aboard the Jinggangshan ship, transported an army detachment to a joint training ground. From loading to departure, all parties coordinated throughout the process, significantly shortening loading time. In a collaborative training session between a military representative office and naval forces, a certain dispatch center of the joint logistics support force organized military representatives to receive training from the naval forces, mastering supply essentials, and conducted multiple joint training sessions with civilian ship support personnel.

Intelligent delivery, giving frontline support "wings of technology" —

Entering the command hall of a certain comprehensive coordination center of the joint logistics support force, a large screen displays real-time national railway operation lines and military transportation plans in transit. Last year, the transportation and delivery readiness database system was fully operational, integrating national transportation data, allowing for rapid planning of cross-regional maneuver delivery routes. Dispatcher Song Hengyu introduced that the static and dynamic data within the system form a data resource pool, enabling dispatchers to grasp key information immediately and make scientific decisions. A relevant person in charge of the center stated that next, they will work with local transportation departments to focus on the needs of combat readiness, deepening cooperation in areas such as intelligent algorithms for transportation scheduling, seamless multimodal transport connections, and real-time perception of in-transit status, promoting a new leap in our military's strategic delivery capability.

At a certain army base's three-dimensional warehouse, soldiers rely on big data analysis and intelligent scheduling systems to achieve real-time aggregation of material demand data, intelligent route planning, and resource coordination. After operators input commands, horizontal transfer vehicles automatically arrive at designated locations to retrieve materials, working with vertical lifts for rapid outbound delivery, significantly enhancing efficiency.

On high mountains and islands, drones deliver urgently needed supplies precisely to frontline outposts. A certain brigade of the Eastern Theater Navy has opened a "drone aerial supply line," greatly reducing the time taken for the entire process. Now, when radar observation units stationed on high mountains and islands encounter severe weather that makes supply ships unable to navigate, after reporting their needs, drones can deliver supplies accurately along planned routes.

Three-dimensional delivery, forming a delivery chain of "air as wings, sea as base, land as network" —

Air delivery capabilities have developed rapidly. The domestically produced large transport aircraft Y-20 has been mass-produced, significantly enhancing long-distance delivery capabilities. Several Y-20s from a certain air force aviation regiment completed full-unit delivery with airborne troops under complex weather conditions, with delivery efficiency increasing exponentially.

Maritime delivery forces are continuously growing. A certain new type of comprehensive supply ship of the navy implements maritime supply for escort formations, using horizontal, vertical, and three-dimensional supply modes, capable of simultaneously supplying fuel, ammunition, food, and other resources to various types of vessels such as aircraft carriers and destroyers, with supply efficiency greatly improved compared to the previous generation.

"Training together in peacetime allows us to unite in wartime." At the comprehensive training ground of a certain brigade of the 75th Group Army, several helicopters formed an assault formation, implementing precise strikes under the guidance of reconnaissance teams, opening a path for airborne delivery. A flight staff member stated that synchronizing command decisions in the air and on the ground shortened decision-making processes and improved delivery efficiency.

From the "one-stop direct delivery" of new soldier transportation, to the "intelligent scheduling" of cross-regional maneuvers, and to the "three-dimensional delivery" of practical exercises — joint delivery runs through both peacetime and wartime. From speeding up the railway artery network, to strengthening maritime delivery forces, and to the aerial delivery "Kunpeng" spreading its wings, our military's multi-dimensional three-dimensional delivery network is accelerating its formation.

In response to future battlefield demands, the military's transportation and delivery system continues to tackle challenges in multiple fields, with the development of new delivery equipment achieving phased results, and delivery support models continuously innovating. From "dispersed support" to "joint delivery," from "labor-intensive" to "technology-enabled," and from "flat transportation" to "three-dimensional delivery," our military's strategic delivery capability is undergoing systematic reshaping, providing solid support for winning future wars.

Source: PLA Daily

Authors: Chen Xiaojing, Zhang Tiansu