At 10:25am yesterday, the command post of a PLA Air Force division received the order to refuel for an jet fighters group carrying out the assault mission. Upon receiving the order, Division Commander Yu Jijun acted quickly, and in a few minutes his tanker was already soaring in the sky.

　　The tanker flew through the clouds and fogs, and reached the designated safe refueling space on time. Meanwhile, the new type jet fighters group, headed by Xie Fengliang, commander of an aviation division of the PLA Air Force, also came to the same airspace after a long flight. Looking from the cabin window, we could see that the two jet fighters on two sides of the tanker were already very close to the tanker, and even the faces of the two jet fighter pilots could be seen clearly. Gradually the distance between the tanker and receiver jet fighters were becoming smaller and smaller, and eventually only about a dozen meters away from each other. At that very moment, the trailing vortex created by the tanker had a great impact upon the receiver jet fighters. "Release the hose!" With the order of the refueling operator, the refueling hose stretched out from the tanker. Closer! Closer! The left and right red lights on the instrument panel in the cockpit lit up almost simultaneously! The hose and drogues had been successfully connected! " Start refueling", the refueling operator ordered. The green refueling light in the forward cabin started to flash simultaneously. Dozens of seconds later, refueling was completed.

　　After watching the exercise, an expert said excitedly that the successful airborne refueling for the new jet fighter group under complicated background indicated that the PLA Air Force had made new breakthrough in its long-range mobile operation capability.

　　By Tan Jie

　　(Aug. 26, PLA Daily)