Adhering to its functions and tasks in the new situation, Air Defence Division 377, under the Air Defence - Air Force Service, has adopted synchronised solutions to improve its combat readiness capacity as the basis for firmly protecting the Fatherland’s airspace over South Central Coast, Central Highlands, and Truong Sa special zone.

Stationed across a vast area, with numerous difficulties, especially in coastal and island regions, where the airspace of its responsibility harbours potential complexities, Air Defence Division 377 has always grasped its mission requirements and focused its leadership and direction on surmounting all hardships and fulfilling all tasks. Notably, the quality of situational monitoring and forecast has been raised; 100% of its combat readiness units have successfully accomplished their tasks, closely managing all flight activities in the area, strictly maintaining combat readiness duties. Training has been organised comprehensively, synchronously, with a focus on mastering new, upgraded weaponry and equipment. Annually, over 98% of its affiliates have been recognised as “Excellent Training Units”, while many collectives and individuals have won high prizes in competitions at various levels. As a result, its synergy and combat strength have been continuously enhanced; it has proactively, effectively handled all situations and firmly protected the assigned airspace.

Conference to introduce tasks during BĐ-25 exercise

Currently, the world is undergoing epochal changes, creating opportunities and advantages, posing new challenges. Strategic competition among major powers is increasingly intense. Disputes over territorial sovereignty, seas, and islands, including the East Sea, continue to evolve complexly. Violations of our nation's sovereign airspace from the sea by aerial vehicles tend to increase. Achievements in the 4^th industrial revolution have led to the emergence of many modern types of weapons and aerial vehicles, thus imposing high requirements on air defence - air force units in general, and Division 377 in particular. To firmly defend the assigned airspace, the Division’s Party Committee and Command will continue adopting synchronised solutions for further raising its combat readiness capacity, with a focus on the following.

First, building high combat resolve among cadres and soldiers. All-level Party committees and commands will concentrate on enhancing political and ideological education to equip troops with firm political resolve in performing their tasks, especially for those stationed in Truong Sa and Phu Quy special zones. Educational content will be comprehensive and relevant to each group of troops, with emphasis placed on lines and policies of the Party, State, Central Military Commission, Ministry of National Defence, and Air Defence - Air Force Service regarding the management and protection of the Fatherland’s airspace and maritime sovereignty. Educational content on history and confidence in fighting methods and weaponry will be intensified. The Division will continue grasping and seriously executing Directive 2423-CT/QUTW, dated 9 November 2023, by the Central Military Commission Standing Board on “renewing and improving political education in the new period”. It will combine general and specialised education and align basic education with tasks-based education. It will proactively provide information and ideological orientation for its troops, particularly for units operating independently. Priority will be given to sharing Air Defence - Air Force troops’ combat experiences and art and updating new issues on air defence operations in modern warfare, the development of aerial vehicles, especially unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as the enemy's schemes and tactics. Political education will be integrated with emulation movements and campaigns to promote the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers - Air Defence - Air Force Soldiers” and ensure that troops will always undertake and successfully complete all assigned tasks under any circumstances.

Second, strictly maintaining duty routines and accurately handling situations to prevent passivity, surprise, and missed opportunities as a decisive solution for the Division's combat readiness capacity. Accordingly, in addition to consolidating its organisational structure, the Division will grasp and strictly implement higher echelons’ orders and directives on combat readiness and airspace management. It will seriously maintain combat readiness regulations from its headquarters down to its affiliates and increase the deployment of radar stations to conduct reconnaissance, detect and correctly assess the schemes, tactics, and activities of aerial vehicles in the area of its responsibility.

Training troops to quickly deploy and withdraw a weapon system

In response to the increasingly high requirements of Fatherland protection in the new situation, the Division will further practise combat plans, improve combat coordination among its forces, actively study and supplement new scenarios to perfect its combat projects and methods for all targets, such as cruise missiles, UAVs, and new aerial vehicles, and guarantee rapid, accurate handling of situations, with no missed, delayed, or false alerts. It will follow higher echelons’ directives to finalise its automated headquarters, realise the Project on “Counter-UAV Operations”, and propose the construction of a “Sustainable Air Defence Dome” in the South Central Coast. It will conduct surveys and reconnaissance to build a system of fortifications and battlefields and develop an inter-connected, solid, in-depth air defence posture with rapid manoeuvrability to protect all assigned key targets and national works in all directions and under any circumstances.

Third, making a breakthrough in renewing training work as a focus to enhance the Division’s synergy and combat readiness capacity. Fully aware of higher echelons’ resolutions and directives on combat training tasks, the Division's Party Committee will issue a specialised resolution with specific goals, targets, and solutions towards mastering new weaponry, standardising training processes, further applying science, technology, and digital transformation in training management and command, creating a synchronous, solid change in training quality and the handling of air defence situations. In the training process, the Division will adhere to the guiding principles, mottos, and connections, intensify synchronised, in-depth training, take combat crew training as the centre, regard cadre training as the key, and organise cross-training among positions within each combat crew to improve its troops’ capacity comprehensively and ensure that its forces will always be available for mutual replacement and support during task execution; it will train combat crews to skilfully apply firing rules for all types of aerial targets in complex conditions, strong electronic warfare, and hi-tech warfare.

Implementing the policy of modernising the Air Defence - Air Force Service, the Division will renew its training programs, content, and methods relevant to combat reality, intensify night-time training, improve its manoeuvrability, train its troops to rapidly deploy weapons and equipment, and organise combat readiness field exercises, cyberspace combat exercises, and joint exercises to meet the requirements of air defence operations in the new situation. As a unit provided with modern weaponry, the Division will step up the “Digital Literacy” movement and hold refresher courses to improve its troops’ digital skills from basic to advanced levels and turn “every soldier into a digital citizen” capable of mastering technology platforms. Doing so will enable cadres and soldiers to possess basic knowledge of technology, quickly access and efficiently use hi-tech weaponry, and develop technical initiatives and innovations in training and combat readiness.

Fourth, effectively providing technical support for weapons and equipment. The Division is stationed in an area with harsh climate conditions; most of its weapons and technical equipment are deployed in coastal positions and on remote islands and suffer from the saline marine environment, thus creating difficulties in maintaining technical coefficients. For new, upgraded weaponry, specialised spare parts are scarce. Hence, apart from regularly reviewing and completing the system of logistics and technical documents for combat readiness, the Division will direct its affiliates to maintain logistics and technical reserves for combat readiness under regulations, strengthen inspection of weapons and equipment to opportunely detect and settle issues that affect mission performance. Its offices, units, warehouses, and stations will strictly maintain regulations for preservation, maintenance, and periodic sealing of technical equipment, proactively deal with breakdowns in their own capacity, actively research and apply scientific and technological advances in managing, exploiting, and preserving technical equipment, and opportunely provide specialised technical materials. The Division will promote the role of its Measurement - Quality Station in effectively maintaining the technical and tactical performance of various types of weapons and equipment. Besides, it will ensure coordination with supplying units and superior technical agencies to provide technical support for modern weaponry and organise refresher courses on technology transfer and weapon handover of weaponry for its affiliates.

With high political responsibility, great resolve, and effective participation of its organisations and forces in synchronously implementing the above solutions, Air Defence Division 377’s synergy and combat strength will be continuously improved to further affirm its role as the core force of the Air Defence - Air Force Service and firmly protect the Fatherland’s airspace over the South Central Coast, Central Highlands, and Truong Sa special zone.

Sr. Col. LE TRAN PHUONG

Commander of the Division