Shen Zhongfang
Recently,the top ten figures of the “Touching China” event of the year 2022 were announced, which included an elderly man whose name wasn’t known to the public until he was 88 years old.
In 1934, Shen Zhongfang was born in Shanghai. Ever since he could remember,life had been overshadowed by the bombing and strafing of Japanese aircraft. “If we can have our own aircraft, we must beat them into a panicked retreat.” In 1953, when Shen Zhongfang graduated from high school, he unhesitatingly filled in the aircraft design major of Beijing Institute of Aeronautics (now Beihang University), hoping that one day the aircraft he designed could defend the airspace of the motherland.
After graduating from university, Shen Zhongfang entered the second branch of the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense, which was also the research and production base of missile weapons and equipments in China. On September 9, 1962, our army successfully shot down the US-made U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance plane with the "Sam-2" missile, which was indelibly etched in Shen Zhongfang's memory,
This made Shen Zhongfang realize that to counter enemy planes, building our own planes was not enough; without advanced missiles, there would be no strong national defense. From then on, Shen Zhongfang dedicated himself to his own “battlefield”.
Shen Zhongfang participated in the research and development of the “Red Flag No.1” and “Red Flag No.2” surface-to-air missiles. The success of the “Red Flag No.2” marked a key step in China’s independent development of air defense missiles.
Confronted with a challenging global landscape and in response to the nation’s call, Shen Zhongfang was designated as the chief commander for the development of the third-generation medium-to-high altitude, long-range air defense missile system in 1992. Within a remarkable span of only three years, he steered his team to accomplish the formidable research and development objectives, successfully establishing the third-generation air defense missile system. This achievement catapulted China’s capabilities in air defense missile technology to the forefront of the world.
Until last year, Shen Zhongfang's name was first known to the general public when he was 88 years old. Living incognito for more than 60 years, he lived up to his life motto: devoting himself to his career, being indifferent to fame and wealth, smiling at life, and feeling no qualms upon self-examination.At the “Touching China” awards ceremony, nearly 90-year-old Shen Zhongfang was asked what his dream was now. He said, “I think we need to have successors.”
Source:PEOPLE’S DAILY
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