Air Force transport squadron soars to elite status (2)

The remains of soldiers from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army who died in the Korean War are carried to the group's plane at Incheon Airport in Korea in 2015. CHINA DAILY

Adaptation, upgrading

"We will adapt to the trend of a new global military revolution and to national security needs; we will upgrade our military capabilities and see that by the year 2020 mechanization has basically been achieved, IT application has come a long way and strategic capabilities have seen a big improvement," said Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October last year.

Xi's words galvanized members of the PLA Air Force transport squadron, which was founded in 1952. In 1953 and the decade that followed, the squadron trained on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau many times, but the harsh conditions - including complex terrain, climatic changes, poor equipment, incomplete data and altitude sickness - didn't intimidate the flight crews.

They conquered the challenge of flying over the Kunlun Mountains, classified as an extremely dangerous flying zone at the time, opened up 25 plateau routes and made thousands of flights. In 1964, the PLA Air Force awarded the squadron the title "Kunlun Eagle Group" because of the fearlessness and toughness of its members.

During the search for MH370, Li and 37 other pilots and aircrew embraced the spirit passed down by previous generations of the squadron - "Be afraid of nothing and fly to places where people need our help most" - and overcame almost every difficulty they encountered.

By the time the search ended about six weeks later, the squadron had spent about 260 flying hours covering about 210,000 square kilometers of the southern Indian Ocean, and had provided the Malaysian authorities with 65 sightings of possible debris for further investigation.

"The speed with which we fitted into the ongoing arrangements, the technical ability and responsiveness of our team, and the collaborative spirit of the whole exercise were a fine example of international cooperation," Li said.

As their participation grew and they began to play a more important role in global activities, the squadron's members developed the habit of keeping an eye on news from around the world. Whenever a disaster is reported on the television, they immediately prepare to be sent to the spot.