Ben De, a researcher at the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation and also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who laid the foundation for China's airborne pulse-Doppler radar technology, is awarded the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award in Beijing on July 8, 2026. Photo: VCG

Ben De, a pioneering radar scientist who laid the foundation for China's airborne pulse-Doppler radar technology and helped pioneer phased-array radar technology with spearheaded research into space-based surveillance radar, has been awarded the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, China's highest scientific honor.

China on Wednesday announced the recipients of the awards, honoring 258 projects and 11 scientists. Ben shared the country's highest science award with Chen Liquan, a pioneer in China's lithium battery industry, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Known as the founding figure of China's airborne pulse Doppler radar technology, Ben has been widely credited with giving Chinese military aircraft the "eyes" needed for beyond-visual-range combat. Over a career spanning decades, he participated in the development of a series of major national defense projects and established the technological foundation for the independent development of China's airborne pulse Doppler radar systems.

In the 1960s and 1970s, amid a tense international environment, China urgently needed to develop its own long-range phased-array early warning radar to defend against ballistic missile threats. In 1965, Ben joined the country's phased-array radar research program. Starting from scratch, with no reference materials or prior experience to rely on, he taught himself English from the ground up so he could read technical literature. After just two months of intensive self-study, he was able to read English-language research papers, gmw.cn reported.

The Global Times has learned that the phased-array radar, code-named 7010, was a massive system comprising thousands of transmit-receive modules, more than 1,000 kilometers of control cables and thousands of equipment cabinets. To complete the project, Ben and fellow Chinese Academy of Engineering academician Zhang Guangyi made seven extended trips deep into the mountains, with each mission lasting more than half a year.

After more than a decade of work, China's first large-scale long-range phased-array early warning radar the 7010 was successfully developed, making China the third country in the world to master advanced phased-array radar technology.

The 1970s saw a fundamental shift in aerial warfare. A key requirement for next-generation fighter jets was the ability to detect and engage targets both above and below the aircraft at beyond-visual-range distances. The critical technology enabling this capability was the airborne pulse Doppler radar.

Although weighing only a few hundred kilograms, the airborne pulse Doppler fire-control radar became a decisive factor in air combat and air superiority, carrying major strategic significance. In the 1980s, only a handful of developed countries possessed the capability to produce advanced airborne fire-control radar systems. Developing such technology was essential for safeguarding China's airspace.

In 1979, Ben began tackling the challenge of enabling Chinese-made fighter jets to detect targets below the aircraft. Leading a team that launched more than 100 research projects, he proposed a development path tailored to China's national conditions and overcame nearly 100 key technological bottlenecks. To ensure the accuracy of flight-test data, he insisted on boarding every test flight himself. During the trials, he twice narrowly escaped disaster after an engine failure and a landing gear malfunction. "I never thought about being afraid. Once I was on board, all I cared about were the test parameters," Ben recalled to the reporter, according to Science and Technology Daily.

In 1989, China's first domestically developed airborne pulse Doppler radar with independent intellectual property rights passed official evaluation, filling a major technological gap and making China one of the few countries to master the technology. The achievement equipped Chinese fighter jets with sharp "eagle eyes" and marking a historic leap from zero to indigenous airborne pulse-Doppler fire-control radar capability.

Entering the 21st century, Ben continued to push the boundaries of innovation. He was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2001. In recent years, he has turned his attention to the broader field of space-based surveillance, publishing a book which laid the theoretical foundation for China's research in the field. He has also continued to track advances in global early-warning and detection technologies while guiding research in frontier fields such as microwave photonics, helping sustain China's leadership in radar technology.