Visitors walk past a Mig-15bis once in service with the Chinese Air Force at the Chinese People's Liberation Ar-my (PLA) Air Force open-day event and the Changchun Aviation Exhibition on July 27, 2023 . The event is being held in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province, from July 26 to 30, 2023. Photo: Li Hao/GT

On Thursday, the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53), a current member of a heroic Chinese Air Force unit that emerged victorious in the war vowed to be ready for combat.

Before the start of the second day's flight performances at the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force open-day event and the Changchun Aviation Exhibition, which is being held in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province, from Wednesday to Sunday, the military team of the PLA Air Force delivered a special performance paying tribute to the great victory in the war by taking the formation of a giant "70."

During the flight performance of the PLA Air Force's Bayi Aerobatic Team, the aircraft released red, yellow and blue smoke trails. Red and yellow are the colors of the Chinese national flag and represent the sacrifices of the heroes who took part in the war and their fight for peace and stability, while blue is the color of the Air Force flag and represents the spirit of the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) Air Force which fought against powerful enemies in the sky as the wings of China.

At the static display area of the ongoing open-day event, a MiG-15bis fighter jet attracted attention from the crowd. This type of aircraft was imported from the Soviet Union in the early 1950s and won major honors and glory in homeland air defense during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea thanks to its outstanding performance.

In the war, combat hero Wang Hai piloted a Mig-15 and faced hostile aircraft including F-80s and F-84s in the Korean sky, shooting down four and damaging five, causing his air combat story to become a legend.

Senior Colonel Zhang Hong, a member of the Wang Hai Air Group, which is named after Wang and gained fame in the war, told the Global Times on Thursday at the event that he was deeply moved to see the aircraft at the event.

"From today's perspective, this aircraft is outdated and cannot compare with aircraft in active service now. But I can imagine how the older generation fought against the world's top air force with them. Winning such glorious results must have been hard-fought," Zhang said.

The Wang Hai Air Group is the PLA Air Force's first combat unit to field the J-20 stealth fighter jet.

Zhang said that his unit now wields powerful weapons and should carry forward the spirit of the older generation by being a vanguard in major missions and refuse to give in.

Weapons and equipment keep on developing, but the decisive factor in a war is people. Zhang said that all troops in his unit dare to fight and dared to die, and will never cower before any difficulty.

The Wang Hai Air Group emerged from blood and fire, and its new troops will continue to carry on this spirit, Zhang said, noting that all their training is combat-oriented.

"Although we have yet to see actual combat, we are ready to fight anytime. We have practiced tactics and ap-proaches countless times in our hearts," Zhang said.

Commemorating the victory in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Xie Peng, spokesperson of the PLA Air Force, said at a press conference during the open-day event on Thursday that the Chinese Air Force emerged from war and will fly higher, further and stronger.