"When I look back at my whole life, it's nothing more than understanding some truths. For example, people understand what sweetness is after experiencing real hardship; another example, when encountering setbacks, we have to hold on, and persevere; for a third example, it is a great happiness to be able to do what we like for the rest of our life and to connect it with our contribution to the party and the country."

——Wang Xiaomo's speech on winning the 2012 National Highest Science and Technology Award

Academician Wang Xiaomo is a 1961 graduate of the Radio Engineering Department of Beijing Institute of Technology. When returning to his alma mater as a representative of outstanding alumni to give a report, he said: "Under the nurturing and cultivation of the spirit of the alma mater's' Yan'an roots, military industry soul', the 'Red National Defense Engineer' has become a portrayal of my life."

Wang Xiaomo, born in Shanghai in November 1938, is indeed an excellent national defense engineer. He has dedicated his life to his beloved radar and AWACS, and has made great contributions to the party and the country.

"I have done one thing in my life: I develop radar, and then I am responsible for applying the world's most advanced technologies to AWACS together to turn the design into reality." Wang Xiaomo said that in the process of developing radar and AWACS, many scientific research personnel are self-reliant, innovative and strong, and they make coordinated operations, and tenacious hard work.

Wang Xiaomo recalled, "at that time, the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission decided: 'We must fight for our breath and develop our own AWACS.' At that time, I was very moved. I put the words ‘we must fight for our breath’ very large and hung them on the test site. People can see them every day when they look up. "

Wang Xiaomo said that after years of unremitting efforts of all scientific researchers, we finally mastered the core technology. The people-oriented design concept has also been implemented in the design of AWACS in my country, such as installing toilets on the AWACS and reducing noise.

"The successful development of the world's leading AWACS is because with the strong leadership of the party, China can concentrate on major tasks. This is why it takes other countries more than ten years, but we can develop AWACS in only five years." Wang Xiaomo said that the development of AWACS requires modification of the aircraft, which is a complex system engineering. It is necessary to measure the appearance point by point. After the test, a wind tunnel test will be required, which involves a series of aviation safety issues. Therefore, the two major departments of aviation and electronics need to work together. In addition, the whole country must be mobilized, and all scientific research institutes will participate in such a project.

Wang Xiaomo also pays special attention to cultivating talents for the party and the country. He teaches by precept and deeds and is willing to be a ladder. He has successively trained 18 chief designers of AWACS systems or radar systems for our country. He said: "Scientific research mainly depends on people. The real wealth of a country is talents. Therefore, we must also pay attention to the construction of scientific research talents and train talents through some projects."

For the majority of young students, Wang Xiaomo also has high hopes: "Young students in the new era must inherit the'Yan'an Spirit', seize the opportunity, take on the task of rejuvenation, and become a climber of my country's scientific and technological cause."