Elite PLA pilot wins "Golden Helmet" award twice (2)

Trying to respond quickly enough

Jiang said that pilots mainly rely on weapons to win beyond visual range (BVR) combat, but on their techniques to win close combat. "When two fighter planes are only over 10 kilometers away from each other, and the relative speed is 1,800 kilometers per hour or 1,900 kilometers per hour, the pilots only have slightly more than 10 seconds to respond," he said. Whether they can make right responses in 10 seconds determines the outcome of the combat.

"In order to respond quickly enough, pilots need to practice hard every day. It is not enough to just know about or be familiar with weapons. Let it be your conditioned reflex. Only when you respond quickly enough can you compete against ace pilots," Jiang said.

Paying tribute to ‘backstage workers'

"I want to say thanks to my team because I could not have achieved this without my team," Jiang said at the "golden helmet" awards ceremony on Nov. 29.

The "team" he mentioned includes fellow pilots with whom he practice air-to-ground and air-to-air combat as well as his navigators.

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