Sharpening the Sword in Deep Blue! Directly Hitting the Fleet's Combat Training

Authors | Liu Gang, Wang Pengfei, Li Fengxiang

In the summer of the blue sea, sharpening swords in the ocean

Recently, the Navy's Xining and Nanchang ships formed a fleet

and headed to a certain area in the Yellow Sea to conduct

cross-day and night, high-intensity, multi-subject

realistic comprehensive offensive and defensive exercises

to comprehensively test the fleet's joint combat capabilities

and hone the soldiers' hard skills to carry out mission tasks in all weather conditions

Nanchang ship sailing towards a certain sea area, photo by Liu Zhenghe

As soon as the fleet arrived at the designated training area

the radar captured

multiple batches of suspicious "aerial targets" rapidly approaching

"Radar has detected a target, bearing xxx, battle alert!" The fleet commander immediately issued the order to launch decoys

Several decoys were launched into the air

creating a huge protective net above the ships

The ships simultaneously executed tactical maneuvers

Xining ship launching decoys, photo by Liu Zhenghe

Despite implementing electronic countermeasures

the "incoming targets" still broke through the interference zone and continued to approach

The ships quickly locked onto the targets

the gun barrels spun rapidly, and flames erupted

building a dense air defense firepower network

to accurately intercept the aerial "incoming targets"

Xining ship personnel issuing commands to fire the secondary guns, photo by Liu Mengshi

The maritime offensive and defensive situation changes rapidly

As soon as the air defense interception exercise ended

the fleet's main guns began training for fire strikes against the shore

"Fleet main guns, fire at the shore!"

With the fleet commander's order

each ship quickly adjusted its course and speed

to occupy advantageous firing positions

The personnel calculated target parameters and compiled firing data

Shells whistled out of the barrels, heading straight for the shore targets

accurately covering the target area

successfully completing the fire strike exercise against the shore

Xining and Nanchang ships conducting main gun firing exercises, photo by Liu Mengshi

As the smoke cleared

new "enemy" situation orders followed

The fleet quickly formed an anti-submarine combat formation

and maneuvered towards the suspected "enemy" submarine activity area

"Helicopter takeoff and deployment!"

Xining ship's onboard helicopter moving forward, photo by Liu Zhenghe

As the tower command was issued

the onboard helicopter took off to the mission airspace

efficiently networking with surface vessels

to build a ship-aircraft coordinated anti-submarine combat system

conducting comprehensive three-dimensional searches in the suspicious sea area

reporting positions in real-time

and guiding surface vessels to search and attack

Xining ship, Nanchang ship, and helicopter coordinating anti-submarine operations, photo by Liu Zhenghe

As night fell, the sea was windy and the waves surged

The deck airflow was complex, and visibility was limited

Low-light and dark night conditions

posed great challenges for submarine searching, onboard aircraft takeoff and landing

and aerial reconnaissance

Pilots adjusted their plans in a timely manner

using various onboard detection equipment such as electro-optical and radar

to conduct uninterrupted reconnaissance of underwater targets

under the complex conditions of the dark night

Xining ship's helicopter taking off at night, photo by Liu Mengshi

Only through diligent training in peacetime

can one strike decisively in wartime

In this maritime training

the fleet was scientifically coordinated and meticulously commanded

with each ship working together and closely collaborating

to comprehensively test and enhance the combat group's

capability to perform diverse mission tasks