(The content of this article is based on authoritative sources, and there are literature citation sources at the end of the article)
In 2015, the "Eagle Strike-2015" Sino-Thai Air Force joint training was launched under the attention of countries around the world.
As a rare military cooperation between the mainland and ASEAN countries in the new century, this exercise should have been a major progress in exchanges between the two countries.
Regrettably, the Continental Air Force suffered a setback in this battle, and was even reported as a crushing defeat by some bad media.
Four years later, Li Zhonghua, then deputy director of the Air Force Command College, disclosed many details of the Sino-Thai air battle at a report meeting. All kinds of problems with equipment and personnel were the main reasons for the defeat of our army at that time.
It is precisely because of this baptism of defeat that the mainland air force has been able to make continuous progress in the course of reflection, and finally achieve transformation and grow into a truly powerful modern service.
China and Thailand clash with each other
In 2015, news that the Chinese and Thai air forces were going to hold joint training spread around the world and attracted widespread attention.
This is not an ordinary military exercise, but the first large-scale military cooperation between the mainland and ASEAN countries since the end of the last century.
As a military ally of the United States, Thailand has a delicate relationship with the mainland, and the fact that the two sides can sit down at the negotiating table to discuss joint exercises is enough to show that the two countries have taken a crucial step in their exchanges.
In fact, since 2007, economic cooperation between China and Thailand has become increasingly close, but exchanges in the military field have been relatively limited.
Thailand, which has long viewed its neighbors as a potential threat, has been looking for the right partner to conduct military exercises to test its military capabilities.
The main fighter of the mainland at that time, the J-11, was comparable to the equipment of Thailand's imaginary enemy, and it happened to become the ideal training object for Thailand. After active communication between the two sides, the joint training, codenamed "Eagle Strike-2015", was finally completed
However, it is regrettable that the performance of the Continental Air Force in this exercise was not satisfactory. Especially in the first project, our army suffered a miserable defeat with a disadvantage of 1:4.
For a time, the major media overwhelmingly reported the news of our army's "fiasco", and even the statement that "China's total defeat" appeared.
In fact, although the Thai Air Force is small, its equipment and training level should not be underestimated.
During the exercise, the Thai army sent an advanced "Gripen" fighter, a third-and-a-half-generation fighter imported from Sweden, which has superior performance, not only surpassing our army's J-11 and Su-27 in radar, missiles and electronic equipment, but also having an advantage in medium and long-range combat capabilities.
On the other hand, the equipment of our army, although the J-11 and Su-27 still have a competitive strength in close combat, they are obviously at a disadvantage in medium and long-range confrontations.
In addition to the gap in equipment, our army also exposed many long-standing problems during this exercise.
Air combat is a combat mode that relies heavily on teamwork, but when our army cooperates, there are frequent situations of "fighting on their own," lacking tacit understanding between them, and many good opportunities for offensive attacks have been missed.
In addition, our pilots lacked practical combat experience, and they were constrained in the face of the "Gripen" fighters, and they were overstretched in evading missiles and predicting the enemy's movements, which ultimately led to our army's defeat in the first round of confrontations.
In stark contrast to our army, the Thai army demonstrated NATO-style combat methods and skillful combat skills in this exercise.
Thanks to long-term training and actual combat exercises, the Thai pilots are well aware of the performance of the "Gripen" fighter and are able to give full play to its advantages of long-range and multi-target attacks.
Reflect on the loss
The Sino-Thai air war in 2015 was a significant opportunity for reflection in the development of the mainland air force.
In order to find the root cause of the failure, Li Zhonghua, then deputy director of the Air Force Command College, conducted a meticulous review and summary of the exercise.
In the summary report, Li Zhonghua attributed the reasons for our army's defeat to two major aspects: equipment and personnel. First of all, there is a gap in the performance of the fighters of the two sides.
Although the "Gripen" fighter used by the Thai army belongs to the same third-generation fighter as the J-11 and Su-27 of our army, it has obvious advantages in radar detection range, missile range, and electronic equipment.
This makes the "Gripen" like a fish in water in medium- and long-range combat, while our fighters can only rely on close-range combat to seek breakthroughs.
By comparing the parameters of the fighters of the two sides, Li Zhonghua found that the radar reflection area of the "Gripen" is much smaller than that of the Su-27, which means that it is more difficult for it to be detected and locked by our fighters.
The advanced electronic warfare equipment and data link system carried by the "Gripen" have further enhanced its ability to obtain and process battlefield information, making it more powerful on the battlefield. In contrast, although the J-11 of our army is a heavy fighter-bomber with fierce firepower, it does not have an advantage in air combat.
Li Zhonghua pointed out that during the exercises, our military pilots frequently failed to cooperate with each other and neglected one at the expense of the other, thus exposing the shortcomings of the weak sense of teamwork in peacetime training.
In the face of the medium- and long-range attacks of the "Gripen," our pilots appeared to be in a hurry when evading the missiles, and they did not have a good grasp of the ways to deal with missiles of different ranges, and they repeatedly "hit the tricks."
In stark contrast to our army, the Thai army demonstrated a solid NATO-style training foundation during the exercise. They are well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the fighters, and are good at making use of the "Gripen's" medium- and long-range multi-target attack capabilities when attacking, and giving full play to the stealth characteristics and flexible maneuverability of the fighters when defending.
From the formation of fighters to the rhythm of attack and defense, the Thai army has always maintained a high degree of tacit understanding and close cooperation, which makes our army invincible.
In view of the problems exposed during the exercise, Li Zhonghua put forward detailed suggestions for improvement in the report.
He stressed that our military must speed up the research and development and installation of new fighters and narrow the gap in equipment with foreign armies as soon as possible. At the same time, it is necessary to greatly strengthen the actual combat training of pilots, and pay more attention to aerial combat, electronic countermeasures, and supervision during the exercise
Actual combat content such as distance attack to improve the pilot's adaptability and on-the-spot response.
Li Zhonghua's report is like a sobering agent, which has enabled the whole army to have a clearer understanding of its own problems.
Ouch
In 2017, the second "Eagle Strike" joint training between the Chinese and Thai air forces was launched again.
In terms of equipment, our military specially selected J-10B fighters with more advanced performance to participate in the exercise. Compared with the J-11, the J-10B has a more advanced radar system and electronic equipment, and has made a qualitative leap in medium and long-range combat capabilities.
At the same time, the advanced missiles carried on board have also greatly enhanced its air supremacy combat capability.
In view of the problems exposed in the last exercise, our military has increased the proportion of actual combat drills in its daily training, with special emphasis on key links such as aerial combat, electronic countermeasures, and over-the-horizon attacks.
These efforts were soon confirmed in the Eagle Strike-2017. In the face of the Thai army's "Gripen" fighters, our pilots responded calmly, gave full play to the performance advantages of the J-10B, and took the initiative in medium and long-range engagements.
With advanced radar and missiles, our army has taken the lead in discovering and locking on targets on many occasions and has achieved remarkable results. In the close-quarters combat, our pilots showed superb control skills and tacit cooperation, repeatedly defused the offensive of the Thai army, and completed a beautiful counterattack.
Since then, in 2018 and 2019, the joint training of the Chinese and Thai air forces has become a regular cooperation project. Our army has successively sent J-10C, J-11B and other types of fighters to participate in the exercise, showing the latest achievements in the field of mainland army industry.
Among them, the J-10C has won in many subjects by virtue of its advanced active phased array radar and powerful information processing capabilities, and has won high praise from foreign armies.
Through joint training for many years, the continental air force has achieved leapfrog development in terms of actual combat capability and combat level.
Today's continental air force has initially possessed the ability to cope with a complex battlefield environment, providing a solid guarantee for safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The road to transformation
Entering the 2020s, the continental air force has embarked on a new journey of transformation.
In 2021, the Continental Air Force ushered in the 70th anniversary of the founding of the army. In order to test the combat effectiveness of the troops, the Air Force organized a series of large-scale actual combat exercises.
Advanced fighters such as J-20 and Y-20 have been unveiled, showing the latest achievements in the field of continental army industry. During these exercises, the pilots faced with a complex electromagnetic environment and actual combat background, constantly sharpened their combat skills, and tempered their ability to coordinate operations.
Whether it is the coordinated penetration of large aircraft groups or the confrontation under complex meteorological conditions, our army has demonstrated a high degree of organizational discipline and on-the-spot adaptability.
In the same year, the first batch of domestically produced stealth fighters J-20 was officially installed in combat units, marking that the mainland has entered the world's fourth-generation fighter club.
At the same time, various types of advanced early warning aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles have also been equipped with troops, greatly enhancing our military's ability to obtain information and electronic countermeasures.
Especially in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, the mainland has formed a complete industrial chain, and various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are emerging, providing strong support for future intelligent operations.
In 2022, the Air Force launched a series of joint exercises with the Army, Navy and other fraternal services, focusing on information sharing and command coordination.
In the "Joint-2022" series of exercises, the Air Force and Navy Aviation units coordinated and carried out exercises such as sea assault and aircraft carrier formation air defense, and explored a new mode of integrated naval and air operations under the condition of informatization.
Resources:
[1]潘金宽.中泰“鹰击-2019”联合训练述评[J].坦克装甲车辆,2019(22):42-46+73.DOI:10.19486/j.cnki.11-1936/tj.2019.22.008.
[2] Chen Hong. Stealth "Raptor"——J-20 fighter[J].Children's Story Illustrated,2024(23):32-35.)