Editor's Note: The delegates to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are outstanding Party members with remarkable achievements. They are selected from and trusted by more than 96 million members and more than 4.9 million grass-roots organizations of the CPC, embodying the pioneering nature of the CPC and carrying the expectations of the Chinese people. China Military Online is publishing a series of stories to elaborate the outstanding deeds of some delegates.
By Bao Rui, Zhao Weidong, Ye Haisong, and Wang Xin
As the cutting edge of science and technology is constantly changing, being sensitive to the changes has been the innovation source power of Wang Heng, a lab director of the PLA Air Force Research Institute.
At an airport in western Guangdong, several fighter jets soared into the sky when Wang Heng stared at the figures on the timer. This was a test to verify a certain aircraft technology developed by a research team headed by Wang Heng.
Wang chose to join the PLA Air Force Research Institute upon receiving the doctorate degree from Tsinghua University.
Quick reaction is key to winning on the future battlefield. How to make the air force combat units react faster? "In order to save time, Formula One (racing car) gets refueled and tires changed without stalling during the race. It occurred to me that whether this could be applied to a fighter jet so that the jet could also get refueled and armed with missiles without the engine shutdown," Wang recalled.
In 2014, Wang put forward the necessity and feasibility of developing the technology by virtue of his solid theoretical foundation and data analyses in quantity. Wang’s assumption, viewed as an adventure by many people, was finally listed as a research project. Wang and his team ultimately succeeded in the verification of the technology with test flight after years of relentless efforts. The application of the research achievement has greatly shortened the time for aircraft to take off again after landing, serving to be of strong support for improving the strike frequency and efficiency of warplanes.
"If we can outrun the opponent by one minute from take-off, transition to second take-off, we will definitely take the preemptive opportunity and change the battle situation," Wang said.
The closer the scientific research work is to the front line of combat readiness, the more demands will emerge, and the more achievements will be made. In Wang's eyes, these achievements are attributed to the cooperation between the scientific research institutions and frontline combat units, and the strong atmosphere of war-preparedness among the whole military.
"All military accomplishments around the world take quick reaction at its core. Our scientific research work should focus on the practical needs of the troops, so as to improve the quick reaction ability of the air force aviation troops through cutting-edge technologies," said Wang.
