Li Hao, the first batch of drone pilots in the Air Force: Starting from “Zero”

When the first ray of sunshine in the morning illuminates the vast Gobi, the airport in early spring still exudes a chill. Li Hao, dressed in a flight suit, is methodically preparing for the flight. This is his seventh year of modifying a reconnaissance and combat integrated drone into a drone, and he has long been accustomed to watching data-driven fighter jets in the cockpit.

I have been in the military for 37 years and have flown over 6 types of unmanned aerial vehicle models. At the age of 48, I actively modified and became one of the first drone pilots in the Air Force.
In the past 5 years, he has undergone four transitions from a bustling city to the southeast coast, and now he has taken root in the desert and Gobi.
He is not tall and has a straight and upright posture. Years of exercise have kept him in the standard figure of a pilot, and his persistent gaze seems to never age. A few wrinkles cannot conceal his handsome appearance back then, and his face is calm and gentle, as if he has always been here.
Moving westward, pursuing the call of dreams and following the pace of reform, Li Hao firmly believes that this path leads to the future of drone warfare.
Wherever the aviation industry is, I will go, and wherever the organization needs to be, I will fight——
Don’t forget your original intention, go west to Yangguan to test your sword
In February 2011, the spring in Northeast China was still snowing. In order to promote the construction of new combat effectiveness, the Air Force has comprehensively carried out the selection of drone pilots from the military.
As a top-notch fighter pilot in the Air Force’s “ace division”, Li Hao at that time flew safely for over 3000 hours and was about to reach the maximum flying age of a fighter pilot.
There seem to be many paths ahead of him: retirement and retirement, job transfer and resettlement, local high salary recruitment, and drone modification.
Li Hao firmly chose to modify the drone – not only to fly, but also to go to the southeast coast and start flying from scratch! He is not clear about what kind of future this decision is about, let alone anticipating the opening of a new dream.
Flying for nearly 30 years, Li Hao has gone through the hardships of flying from a beginner’s plane to a higher education plane, and then to a fighter jet; From an ordinary unit to an ace army, he also has the honor he deserves.
Li Hao has many paths to choose from, but he chose the most difficult one to take. “Zhang Sujuan, who finally hoped for Li Hao to stop flying and live a down-to-earth life, did not understand.
In order for him to say, ‘I want to continue flying, the newly formed drone force definitely needs people, and the years of accumulated flight experience is just in use.’ Zhang Sujuan had to re plan her ‘retirement life’ – the elderly care in Jiangnan water town is also quite good. This became a hint of comfort for her support for Li Hao to continue his flying career. Unexpectedly, over the years, with each passing change, this “Jiangnan Dream” has been transformed into a “Gobi Desert”.