A brigade of the 75th Group Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a live-fire drill in desert recently to sharpen the real combat capability of soldiers.
During the drill, air-defense units quickly maneuvered to the designated battle area, while a dense swarm of simulated enemy drones were flying at ultra-low altitudes to attack the position.
Assessing the situation, the commander decisively ordered anti-drone units to launch electro-optical and communications jamming and concentrate fire on the enemy aircraft, successfully destroying the targets.
As soon as the first round of counterattacks ended, the commander ordered a relocation as the position had been exposed. Officers and soldiers quickly packed up their equipment, maneuvered to a new site, and rapidly completed deployment, firepower reorganization, and camouflage to restore air defense capabilities.
At the same time, the radar network was activated and put into operation, establishing a reconnaissance and early-warning network with full-area coverage and real-time tracking.
The live-fire drill continued from daytime well into the night. The soldiers dealt with a lot of emergencies while enduring great physical and mental pressure to improve their skills and emergency handling capacities. "This exercise was conducted under different battlefield conditions day and night. We carried out a continuous series of combat-oriented drills, including responses to multiple types of air threats, tactical maneuvers, and the handling of special situations. The troops were honed in unfamiliar and complex desert conditions to steadily enhance their capabilities for quick response, maneuverable combat, and continuous combat readiness," said He Qing, a service member of the brigade.
Chinese army conducts live-fire drill to enhance combat capabilities
A major logistics company in Hungary is struggling in the face of sharp fluctuations in international oil prices caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East, with its general manager warning logistics networks in Europe are under threat.
Supernova Intertrans Kft., located on the outskirts of Budapest, Hungary, operates a fleet of approximately 200 trucks and ranks as the country's third-largest international freight company. The company's general manager Balazs Veres said that the business and the wider haulage sector are under stress from the impact of the fuel crisis, rising prices and driver shortages.
"Fuel prices are constantly fluctuating. While prices are currently rising, supply shortages are also beginning to emerge. Diesel shortages have appeared in Hungary and across Europe, an issue that must be squarely addressed. We are also facing a labor shortage, a problem affecting not only Hungary but all of Europe. The industry is short of thousands of drivers, and this is a difficult issue to resolve," Veres said.
Veres said that small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly vulnerable to the impact of the fuel crisis, with many struggling to stay in business.
"We continuously calculate costs and look for ways to cope with this severe fuel crisis. I believe small businesses have been hit much harder. Data shows that over the past five years, approximately 2,300 Hungarian companies have gone bankrupt or surrendered their transport licenses, exiting the domestic and international freight markets entirely," he said.
"Our industry is among the first to sense the direction of the European economy -- when it is growing and when it is contracting. While freight activity has picked up slightly since early September, it's clear that the fuel crisis and the repercussions of the protracted war are dealing a significant blow to the European economy," Veres said.
Hungarian logistic company struggles amid global oil crisis
