Heroine tells the story of creating Vietnam's first rocket 'eyes'

Lieutenant Colonel Le Thi Hang (40 years old), Director of Center C4, Viettel Aerospace Institute, has just entered military history when she became the first female soldier in the renovation period to be awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces.

However, behind that glory is not only the intelligence and bravery of a soldier but also the extraordinary determination of a woman, a mother of two, who dared to venture into a field that was thought to be "not for the weaker sex", which is "researching, conquering, mastering core technology, contributing to the development of Vietnam's missile industry".

- Ảnh 1. — Lieutenant Colonel Le Thi Hang

"To master missile technology, one cannot give up"

“To master rocket technology, you cannot give up, you can only do it again and again until you succeed,” that saying summarizes the journey of nearly a decade that she and her teammates have gone through - a glorious journey but full of difficulties, challenges and paid for with blood and tears.

According to the female lieutenant colonel, missile technology is a highly specialized field, and any country that can master it will contribute to enhancing the strength and combat readiness and victory of the army. Therefore, it is always kept the highest secret in each country.

Recalling the time when her leaders assigned her the task of researching the "homing head" of a medium-range anti-ship missile, Ms. Hang still feels heavy.

The "seeker head" - considered the "eyes" of a rocket - is one of the most difficult and complex components, determining the effectiveness and value of the rocket. But at that time, her research team had only 7 engineers, none of whom had ever stepped into the rocket field, no complete documentation, no research infrastructure, and no international support. Many members of the team could not even imagine the concept of "seeker head".

Difficulties piled up, the pressure was enormous. Facing both the harsh scientific problems and the responsibility of being a mother of two young children, Ms. Hang sometimes felt uncertain. “There were times when I asked myself: Do I have enough strength to continue? But then I thought, if I step back, who will step forward?”, she confided. It was the sense of responsibility to the army and the Fatherland that urged her and her teammates to persevere to the end.

To overcome this challenge, Ms. Hang shared, the group had to solve two big problems, first is to clarify the operating principle and structure of the "self-seeking head"; next, it had to build a testing process that accurately reflected the missile's operating environment to verify the operation of the "self-seeking head".

"For the first problem, we applied the "reverse engineering" method, simulating combat situations, building hundreds of scenarios and many prototype versions to gradually perfect the lead. For the second problem, we came up with a creative and innovative way. That is, we researched and built a test firing room, the first missile test firing room in Southeast Asia; using canoes and self-guided aircraft to approach the target instead of firing missiles for testing. With this creativity, we shortened the research time and saved hundreds of billions of dong for the State," Ms. Hang recalled.

In 2020, the product was accepted by the Ministry of National Defense , marking the first success in the research and development of medium-range subsonic anti-ship missiles of our army. This success affirmed the high-tech mastery capacity of Vietnamese engineers, marking a historical milestone when for the first time, Vietnamese people were autonomous in researching, designing and successfully manufacturing "self-seeking heads", a complex component that many developed countries have not yet been able to do.

Use a mini gas stove and aluminum pot to research rockets

To achieve that success, Ms. Hang and her teammates had to go through a challenging journey. Those were sleepless nights working until exhaustion, some people had nosebleeds, only had time to get tissue to stop the bleeding and continue working. Or on test ships at sea, struggling with seasickness, waking up and trying to complete the task before collapsing on the deck.

- Ảnh 3. — Seeker mounted on Red River anti-ship missile

"In the flight tests, the technicians were initially concerned about flight safety and were not ready to cooperate, but with perseverance, knowledge and determination, we convinced them to join us. Many flights required low altitudes, which were potentially dangerous, but for the sake of the mission, everyone was ready to face it," said Ms. Hang.

The shortage also forced Ms. Hang and her teammates to invent seemingly unbelievable ways of doing things. When researching and developing immersion welding technology - an important technique in the aerospace industry because of the lack of specialized equipment, they took advantage of mini gas stoves and household aluminum pots to manufacture. Tools that seemed to be associated with the kitchen became "tools" in the defense laboratory, a testament to the unyielding spirit of the small but ambitious group.

From the first milestone, Ms. Hang did not stop. She and her teammates continued to develop more "homing head" product lines for new types of missiles, with longer range and higher accuracy. While many countries take at least 10 years to develop a missile line, within 8 years, Ms. Hang's research team has created 3 "homing head" product lines, altitude measuring radar for 3 anti-ship missile lines that help missiles fly at very low altitudes, and resist electronic warfare. Those steps laid a solid foundation for the future of Vietnam's missile industry.

For her, the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces is not only a noble reward for an individual but also a worthy recognition for the collective of teammates who have gone through challenging years together.

“We are very proud that in just a short time we have contributed to developing new, modern product lines for the army. Today’s achievement is both a tribute to the previous generation and a sacred responsibility to firmly protect the Fatherland,” Ms. Hang was moved.

Lieutenant Colonel Le Thi Hang (40 years old, from Bac Ninh). She graduated from Hanoi University of Science and Technology in 2008 and joined Viettel, becoming the only female engineer at Viettel Network Technology Research Center.

With nearly 20 years of dedication to the army, Lieutenant Colonel Le Thi Hang has made outstanding achievements in researching and developing weapons and equipment, contributing to the modernization of the army.

In 5 years (from 2020 - 2025), she received the Fatherland Protection Medal, certificates of merit from the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Defense, the title of emulation soldier of the whole army and many other awards.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nu-anh-hung-ke-chuyen-che-tao-doi-mat-ten-lua-dau-tien-cua-viet-nam-185250925073844986.htm