Twenty-two years ago, they decided to charge toward a newly emerging radar technology on the international stage; 22 years later, a new type of battlefield reconnaissance radar was born in their hands. Three generations of a research group at the National University of Defense Technology's School of Electronic Science and Engineering have worked together on this project—

　　22 years of dedication, achieving a great feat

　　Foreword

　　To seize innovation is to seize development, and to plan for innovation is to plan for the future. At this year's Two Sessions, President Xi Jinping pointed out at the plenary meeting of the People's Liberation Army delegation: "Relying on reform and innovation to propel the national defense and military construction to achieve a new leap forward is a key factor that determines the future and destiny of our army."

　　Innovation-driven development, a popular term of this era, once again highlights the importance of innovation to combat effectiveness: Innovation capability is the core competitiveness of an army, and also an accelerator for improving combat effectiveness.

　　Those who do not innovate daily will inevitably regress. World military history tells us that not innovating is not an option, and innovating too slowly is also not an option. Whether we can select the right breakthroughs and strengthen forward-looking, pioneering, and exploratory major technological research and new concept research is directly related to whether our army can seize the strategic commanding heights of future military competition.

　　Innovation is a "conceptual problem." How should it be solved? Innovation is a "practical lesson." What are its joys and sorrows? Innovation is a "speed race." What kind of competition is behind it? Starting today, this section will launch the "Innovation-Driven News Observation" column, exploring innovation stories and analyzing typical cases from different levels such as scientific research institutions and grassroots troops, to encourage and support the innovation-driven development of our army's modernization construction.

　　A beam of radar electromagnetic waves sweeps into the distance, passing through grass, walls, and the ground. Clusters of moving light spots appear synchronously on the display, immediately forming clearly discernible graphics.

　　After 22 years of relay efforts by three generations, China has finally successfully developed a new type of battlefield reconnaissance radar!

　　Today, this new type of battlefield reconnaissance radar has completed its design and is starting to be produced and equipped. Two other battlefield reconnaissance equipment developed based on this key technology have already been mass-produced and put into use by the troops, transforming into real combat effectiveness.

　　"We have dedicated 22 years to finally accomplish this great feat." Said Professor Zhou Zhimin, the head of the research group and professor at the School of Electronic Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology.

　　"Since we've set off, let's just keep running to the end."

　　Zhou Zhimin still clearly remembers the gaze Professor Liang Dian Nong cast upon him 22 years ago.

　　It was April 6, 1994, in a simple laboratory, that Professor Liang Dian Nong, a renowned radar technology expert, gathered Zhou Zhimin and several other young people together. He told them that a new radar technology had emerged internationally and would become a new reconnaissance tool on future battlefields.

　　"We should aim at this strategic cutting-edge technology and start working on it now." Professor Liang looked at Zhou Zhimin, who was just in his early thirties. In that gaze, there was determination and trust. Zhou Zhimin decided to join without hesitation.

　　This new type of radar technology has extremely complex signal and information processing. At that time, no one in China had explored it, and there was a technological blockade from abroad. How should the system be designed? How could algorithms be broken through? Many domestic units researching radar believed that the technical difficulty was too great and gave up.

　　Falling, getting up, failing, and starting over... Almost no one believed they could succeed, and even some team members began to doubt their initial choice. In the first few years, the research work encountered many difficulties. Some people became discouraged: "With only a goal but no path, it's useless to continue." Some kindly advised: "If it really doesn't work, just change direction..."

　　Whenever they were in a dilemma, Liang Dian Nong, Zhou Zhimin, and other key members of the research group chose to persevere. They understood one thing: "New radar is an advanced reconnaissance tool for winning battles on future battlefields. If we don't do it, we will leave a gap for the country and the army, and we will be at the mercy of others on future battlefields."

　　This was a lonely long race without flowers and applause, and they encouraged themselves: "Since we've set off, let's just keep running to the end."

　　"It's so hard to paint a picture on a blank piece of paper."

　　"At the beginning, we couldn't even achieve the most basic signal generation." Zhou Zhimin said that at the beginning, they decided to paint the latest and most beautiful picture on a blank sheet of paper, "but we didn't expect that it would be so difficult to paint a picture on a blank piece of paper! "

　　How difficult? Although Professor Zhou Zhimin said it lightly, we can still get a glimpse of it from these details—

　　In the early stages of the experiment, there was a lack of conditions, so they set up simple track and other experimental devices on the roof of the office building; there was no standard equipment to set detection targets, so they made simple makeshift cannons as targets; during airborne tests, due to limited funds, they could not afford to rent professional test aircraft, so they rented general-purpose aircraft; there was no toilet on the plane, so they brought two large iron buckets to serve as a restroom...

　　Starting from scratch, independently innovating. The research group started from basic theoretical research, like "swallows building nests," gradually establishing a new system radar theoretical system, and with the tenacity of "dripping water wearing away a stone," overcoming one technical difficulty after another in system design and development, signal processing algorithms, etc., and then using the spirit of "Yugong moving mountains" to complete countless experiments.

　　"Swallows building nests," "dripping water wearing away a stone," "Yugong moving mountains"...These words are a true portrayal of the team's struggle against difficulties. To test the radar's performance, ground tests, airborne tests, high and low temperature tests, and various environmental and climatic tests are required. Professor Li Xiangyang from the research group said that over the years, they have traveled all over most of China, leaving their footprints in the vast deserts of Northwest China, the snowy plains of Northeast China, the northern grasslands, the southwestern mountains, and the coastal islands along the border.

　　"Sweating is happiness, because the flowers watered by sweat are the most brilliant."

　　Hardships and difficulties forge success.

　　In the tenth year of the project, the research group finally achieved a major breakthrough—successfully mastering the core key technologies of the new radar and developing the first advanced new battlefield stealth target reconnaissance radar!

　　With the successful development of the new battlefield reconnaissance radar, relevant departments quickly included it in the demonstration and verification and equipment model development. To transform innovative and breakthrough achievements into real combat effectiveness, the research group immediately launched a new battle for technological breakthroughs. This took another 10 years.

　　Under the leadership of Professor Zhou Zhimin, the research team has undertaken a number of key model tasks, from the development of engineering prototypes and demonstration and verification research to the final formation of equipment. At every stage, the team has had to overcome countless difficulties. However, no difficulty has stopped them from transforming their achievements into combat effectiveness.

　　"Sweating is happiness, because the flowers watered by sweat are the most brilliant!" said Zhou Zhimin. Up to last year, three new types of battlefield reconnaissance and surveillance radars they developed have been formally adopted and equipped, achieving a leap-forward development of my army's battlefield reconnaissance equipment and providing new "weapons" for the troops to win battles.

　　22 years, accomplishing one thing; 22 years, a relay of three generations. Professor Liang Diannong, who first proposed the research on new battlefield reconnaissance radar, is now in his old age; Zhou Zhimin, who was once full of vigor, is now nearing sixty; and a group of young students who were then graduate students, such as Li Xiangyang, Song Qian, and Huang Xiaotao, have now become experts in this field.

　　Innovation has no end. Now, the research team has added a number of young people and embarked on a new journey. They have opened up three new research directions in the field of new radar technology and undertaken a number of weapon equipment research projects.

　　In a few years, the brilliant flowers blooming here will once again propel the leap-forward development of my army's battlefield reconnaissance equipment! Today, Zhou Zhimin's gaze towards the young people is as firm as Professor Liang Diannong's gaze 22 years ago.