The conferment of the 2025 State Preeminent Science and Technology Award upon Ben De, a lead scientist at the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), marks more than just a personal achievement. It signals Beijing's continued elevation of military-industrial self-reliance to the highest level of national honor. As the 'founding father' of China's airborne Pulse Doppler (PD) fire-control radar, Ben’s career tracks the evolution of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) from a technologically lagging fleet to a world-class aerial power.
In the late 1960s, China found itself vulnerable to ballistic missile threats and modern aerial incursions. Ben’s early work on the 7010 phased-array radar—a massive ground-based installation—placed China among a select few nations capable of long-range early warning. This endeavor required not just scientific acumen but immense personal sacrifice, with Ben and his team spending years in remote mountainous regions, often working with zero external documentation and teaching themselves English to decode foreign technical journals.
The strategic pivot came in the late 1970s when air combat moved toward 'beyond-visual-range' engagements. Modern fighters required 'look-down, shoot-down' capabilities to distinguish low-flying targets from ground clutter. This necessitated the development of airborne PD radar, a technology then monopolized by a handful of Western nations. Ben led the charge at CETC’s 14th Institute, eventually breaking through nearly 100 'chokepoint' technical barriers to develop China’s first indigenous PD radar by 1989.
This breakthrough was the catalyst for the modernization of China’s 'war hawks,' transforming the PLAAF’s combat doctrine from defensive posturing to active air superiority. Ben’s insistence on personally joining test flights—surviving two engine failures in the process—underscores the high-stakes nature of China’s drive for domestic military technology. The successful deployment of these systems closed a decades-long gap with the West and laid the foundation for the sophisticated AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radars found on China's J-20 stealth fighters today.
Now an Academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Ben has shifted his focus toward space-based surveillance and microwave photonics. His recent work on space-based radar theory aims to extend China’s 'eyes' beyond the atmosphere, reflecting a shift toward multi-domain awareness. As a mentor to over 50,000 students and young researchers, Ben is ensuring that the institutional knowledge of the 14th Institute—often called the 'cradle of Chinese radar'—continues to evolve for the next generation of electronic warfare.