To deserve to be one of the regular units of the Air Defence-Air Force Service, the key force in managing and protecting the Northern airspace of the Fatherland, Air Force Division 371 has been promoting the implementation of “4 focuses” to continuously improve its combat strength.

Division 371, which is a combined air force unit equipped with various types of aircraft including Su-30MK2, Su-22, helicopters and other modern weapons, is tasked with training and combat readiness to protect the Northern airspace, conducting charter flights, search and rescue, and other sudden tasks.

Over the past few years, implementing the policy on building towards modernity, the Division has received much concern and gained comprehensive development, gradually improved its combat readiness capability, creating new combat strength. However, given the task of safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation; the fast development of air operation methods, means and schemes of the enemies have set high requirements for the Division. Meanwhile, many issues, both objective and subjective, have had direct effects on the tasks of training, combat readiness, airspace management, flight operations and safety assurance of the Division. To meet the task requirements, the Division’s Party Committee and Command have been intensely leading and directing the synchronous implementation of solutions, especially the “4 focuses”, creating drives to improve its combat strength.

Joy after sucessful a flight

1. Improving the leadership and combat strength of all-people party organisations and building the political, spiritual factors, creating a solid foundation to improve the combat strength.

This is an essential solution deciding the combat strength of the Division. Accordingly, the Division has attached much importance to the Party building work, considering it as a key in building the political strength. Besides, the Division has intensely enhanced the grassroots democracy regulations, brought into play the roles and effectiveness of the mass organisations, creating a highly united political-spiritual environment. Annually, hence, over 90% of party committees, organisations and members well complete their missions, all units are absolutely safe of politics, personnel, weapons and technical equipment.

Facing the changes of task requirements, the Division has directed all units to promote the political and ideological education, closely combine the “building” and “combating”; focus on the grasp and dissemination for soldiers to firmly hold the viewpoints and policies of the Party on the military, defence and Fatherland protection tasks in the new situation, the task requirements of the Service, also the information for them to have a correct view of the partners, opponents, schemes and air attacks by the enemies, through which, to timely orient their thought, train them to have stable political spirit, high unity of will and actions, not to confuse or lose vigilance, be ready to receive and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks, even in complicated and dangerous conditions. Presently, the Division directs all departments and units to continuously enhance the Party building and adjusting work, implement the resolution of the all-level Party congress combined with implementing Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW, dated 28 December 2021 by the Central Military Commission on bringing into play the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, firmly combating individualism in the new situation; bring into play the proactive and political acumen of Force 47 to refute distorted and hostile arguments on the internet, contributing to firmly reinforcing the “ideological front” in the entire Division; proactively prevent and stop any expressions of inconsistency, equivocality and negligence, without being political-spiritual passive or unprepared in all situations.

Ensuring safety for flight

2. Strictly maintaining the regulation of combat readiness and managing the airspace, without being passive or unprepared in all situations

To react quickly and flexibly without being passive or unprepared, even missing chances in all situations, the Division closely follows the seniors’ directives and orders on combat readiness, management of airspace and flight operations; proactively reviews, adjusts and completes the system of combat documents at all levels closely to the tasks, local features and operational plans, focusing on building the plans on flying at night, at sea, in complicated weather or in large formation, at the same time, enhances the education to improve the awareness of combat readiness for cadres and soldiers; strictly maintains the regulations and combat readiness at all levels, assuring the synchronicity in personnel, weapons, equipment, vehicles and other factors. Especially, the Division improves the quality of combat crews in the Headquarters and all airports; enhances the IT application in reporting air situations and giving commands, assuring the readiness for combat in any situations.

To timely and effectively deal with the modern air combat methods conducted by the opponents, the Division enhances the control, collection and analysis of surveillance information, uses the radar system and the synchronous flight data according to the “4 knows” motto; standardises the coordination of navigation – surveillance – flight operation; closely cooperates with forces of radars, missiles, technical support and other subordinate units of the Service to operate all flights within the region harmoniously and efficiently, at the same time, improves the quality of weather forecast to effectively support the combat command and all other flying activities of the Division without any “mistakes, missing, slowness, inattentiveness, missed opportunities”.

3. Making breakthroughs in specialised training, mastery of new equipment and flight safety

This is a vital phase, a central and regular task deciding the knowledge improvement and combat readiness capability of the Division. As the organisation of the Division consists of different components and specialised forces, the leadership, direction, operation, management and organisation of training are various and complicated. In this reality, based on the thorough grasp of the seniors’ resolutions and directives on training, directly Resolution No. 877-NQ/ĐU, dated 09 March 2023 by the Service’s Party Committee on “Improving the training quality in the 2023-2030 period and the following years”, the Division has been enhancing the renovation of management, completion of training contents, programmes and methods towards standardisation, modernity and suitability with the organisation, equipment and real conditions, focusing on improving the quality of training on technical equipment conversion and mastery of new aircrafts, sessions in low altitude, advanced pilots and other complicated technical sessions including night flights, 3-aircraft or 4-aircraft formation flights, search and rescue flights, flood-prevention flights, and flight training for great national holidays, etc. To gain high effectiveness, together with flight training, the Division directs all departments and units to improve the quality of ground training, and training in training cabinets of BT-22, BT-30, and BT-Mi-9 and in flight command training rooms, gradually improving the technical and tactical skills for pilots and flight crews. The flight training should strictly follow the “basic - practical - solid - safe - economical” motto, focusing on further training on lessons of long-haul flights and multi-environment flights, preparing for the requirements of modern warfare where the enemies tend to use high-tech weapons. Together, the Division enhances the application of information technology and digital technology into the ground training; focuses on specialised training, making breakthroughs in proficiently using all types of technical equipment in service, the modern and advanced equipment in particular; trains the fighting skills for all individuals and sections, and the ability of combined operations; promotes the training and drills in simulation, automatises the real-time command, practises all plans on readily responding to the non-traditional security threats, assuring the absolute safety of personal, weapons and equipment; strives to have 100% of training contents being passed, 80% of which are good and excellent, and over 50% of units gaining the title of “Excellent training units”.

A formation flight

4. Well providing the training support for all tasks, logistic-technical support in particular

Thoroughly understanding that “All victories in the air begin from the ground”, in recent years, the Division has paid close attention to well implementing the communication, navigation, logistic and technical support, etc. and gained precious experience. Bringing into play the results, the Division continues to grasp and implement the seniors’ resolutions and directives on the logistic and technical work; proactively adjusts and distributes the logistic materials and technical equipment in echelon, meeting the demands of regular and sudden tasks, and storage for combat readiness, focusing on providing enough technical equipment; receiving, managing and effectively exploiting new equipment; intensely cooperates with technical companies and institutions in repairing, synchronising and extending the expiry dates of aircrafts and technical equipment, at the same time, promotes the movement of technical innovation, encourages technical cadres, engineers, technicians to search and apply the scientific-technological advances, make and improve tools for training, maintaining and repairing weapons and equipment, maintaining their technical coefficients at high level and in stability.

Together, the Division strictly maintains the logistic support for daily life, strives to have 100% of units reaching the standards of “excellent mess, good supply management”; takes care of and keeps a high level of fitness for soldiers, the pilots in particular, assuring their completion of tasks. In the implementation, the Division continues to promote the large emulation movements and campaigns, especially the movement of “The Military Logistics following Uncle Ho’s teachings” and the Campaign of “Managing, exploiting and using weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically, and traffic safety”, creating the active, comprehensive and stable changes in the logistic and technical support for both regular and sudden tasks.

Bringing into play the tradition of “The heroic Thang Long Division”, Air Force Division 371 continuously manages to effectively implement the “4 focuses” to build the “revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled, modernised units”, firmly safeguarding the sky of the Fatherland.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VAN THIEN, Division Commander