At an airport in early spring, a Y-20 tanker from a certain Air Force unit slowly slid off the runway in the darkness and immediately lifted off with increased force. After arriving at the designated airspace, several fighter jets carrying out training tasks quickly approached the Y-20 according to the recommended plan of the "Intelligent Dispatch" program. At high altitude, as the aircraft's fuel probe docked with the Y-20 refueling cone, the participating aircraft quickly completed refueling and returned to the combat airspace. Thanks to the aerial refueling area management system developed by the unit, the efficiency of aerial refueling has been further improved. ”The cadre of the department, Yu He, introduced to reporters that this system is one of their achievements in optimizing the refueling order of fighter jets through technological means. It can not only display the airspace situation in real time, but also automatically calculate the remaining fuel level of each fighter jet through built-in algorithms. Pilots can make comprehensive judgments based on the fuel level, airspace range, and idle time of the participating fighter jets provided by the system, and use the system's built-in "intelligent dispatch" program to generate the optimal aerial refueling plan in real time. The 'Intelligent Dispatch' program recommends scientifically efficient solutions that can maximize the benefits of aerial refueling. ”Yu He said that in the past, when the department participated in training missions, the Y-20 usually needed to fly to designated airspace to "passively receive orders", and both the refueling and receiving sides were like "blind selection" - the refueling crew did not grasp the refueling needs of the receiving aircraft and only passively waited in the air; Due to the habit of choosing a nearby refueling machine for refueling, some refueling machines are overloaded. During a training exercise, multiple fighter jets chose to refuel due to their close proximity to a refueling aircraft. A scene of queuing for fuel supply appeared near the refueling aircraft, while other refueling aircraft in the adjacent airspace were deserted. The fighter jets are fleeting, and every second on the battlefield is a matter of time. Only by quickly refueling the fighter jet can we avoid delaying it. ”The leaders of the department stated that they felt during the review that the random refueling mode has become a weakness that restricts the improvement of combat effectiveness and is difficult to adapt to the needs of future battlefields. To this end, they have held multiple discussions and training sessions to study and discuss improvement plans, and selected technical experts to carry out research and development, gathering intelligence to develop this aerial refueling area management system. After the training ended, the reporter followed the participating pilots to the office of the department. One pilot showed the reporter a thick stack of research and development materials filled with various annotations. From initial conception to framework establishment, from data collection to electronic communication, we have gone through multiple explorations, attempts, verifications, supplements, and optimizations to improve. "The pilot said that in a training mission organized at the end of last year, the system was first put into practical application, effectively reversing the passive support state of refueling aircraft in previous joint exercises and training, and significantly improving the efficiency of aerial refueling. With a faint dawn, another batch of fighter jets slid off the runway and roared into the sky, flying towards the depths of the sea of clouds. The leaders of the department said that they will continue to explore the "optimal solution" for air refueling area management, continuously improve intelligent and standardized construction, promote the transformation of refueling tasks from "passive order taking" to "intelligent dispatching", and maximize the effectiveness of air power. (New Society)