During the peak summer season, deep within the mountains, several drones silently took off and skillfully navigated through the dense forest. A practical training session for drone operators by a detachment of the Henan Provincial Armed Police Force was underway, taking place under challenging terrain conditions.

“For low-altitude forest reconnaissance, one must constantly be mindful of tree obstructions. If any suspicious situations are detected, immediately slow down and hover at a specific location to conduct a thorough inspection.” At the training site, the unit’s drone instructor watched the real-time footage transmitted by the drone while explaining the key techniques and precautions. Several drone operators continuously fine-tuned the drone’s flight posture and controlled it to perform reconnaissance tasks.

“Whether dealing with emergency situations or conducting rescue operations, aerial reconnaissance serves as the ‘pioneer’,” explained the leader of the detachment. During a previous comprehensive training exercise, due to gaps in reconnaissance of key areas, critical intelligence could not be promptly obtained and transmitted. To address this, they included the building of a team of drone professionals as a key project for enhancing combat capabilities, conducted intensive training for drone operators, and followed a training process that included “theoretical instruction, simulated training, actual flight operations, and scenario handling.” By combining these elements with the needs of different mission scenarios, they rigorously honed the drone operation skills of their personnel and improved their ability to conduct operations under complex conditions.

According to Jiang, the Head of the Training and Operations Section of this detachment, they selected skilled personnel to form a specialized team for teaching and research, incorporated various special situation handling into their training programs to ensure that the curriculum closely aligns with mission requirements. They organized officers and soldiers to systematically study the basics of drones, including equipment principles, communication support, and airspace control, and to master the key techniques of operation. They conducted practical flight training and assessment exercises in complex terrain such as valleys and mountainous areas to thoroughly hone the practical skills of drone operators.

“The drones are like pairs of sharp ‘airborne eagle eyes’, allowing us to see areas that are out of human reach.” Captain Yuan of the reconnaissance squadron of the brigade expressed his deep feelings about the changes brought about by the centralized training. Once, the area was hit by continuous heavy rainfall, causing the river to overflow, villages to flood, and all land-based transportation routes to be completely disrupted. Traditional ground-based search and rescue efforts found themselves in a difficult situation.

Upon receiving the distress call, the brigade immediately mobilized its personnel to head to the disaster site. The drone operators controlled the drones to conduct aerial reconnaissance, swiftly and accurately pinpointing the location of the trapped individuals. Real-time footage of the scene was transmitted, providing crucial support for precise search and rescue efforts, thereby significantly enhancing the efficiency of the rescue operations.

In order to fully tap the potential of its equipment, the detachment established a “Drone Innovation Studio” to bring together drone operators and technical experts to collaboratively tackle challenges and deepen their understanding of tactics such as coordinated reconnaissance and low-altitude covert flight. By integrating these tactics with the unit’s operational and rescue needs, they autonomously upgraded their equipment and continuously expanded the boundaries of drone application, thereby laying a solid foundation for the unit’s successful completion of diverse missions. (Looking into the New Era)