PLA Air Force Base Accelerates Young Talent in Digital Warfare Systems

A remote People's Liberation Army Air Force testing and operational evaluation base in the Gobi Desert is positioning young technical officers at the core of its digital combat systems development, according to Chinese military media. The facility has fostered more than 30 innovation teams focused on digital and intelligent warfare, deploying self-developed computerized wargaming and operational evaluation systems across service branches under institutional mentorship and research fault-tolerance frameworks.

The development demonstrates how the PLA is leveraging specialized testing facilities as software and digital doctrine incubators. By placing junior, highly educated technical cadres in charge of simulation and assessment systems, the PLA seeks to shorten the pipeline between cutting-edge computational research and frontline combat evaluation across multiple service branches.

A People's Liberation Army Air Force testing and training base stationed in the Gobi Desert is accelerating the development of young technical officers to lead digital and intelligent combat support projects, according to reports published by PLA Daily and People's Daily. The installation—which integrates weapon testing and qualification, realistic combat training, scientific innovation, and operational assessment—has incubated more than 30 technology innovation teams and elite talent groups focused on next-generation warfare requirements. State media highlighted the cross-service application of software developed at the base. At a naval training research office, Chen Pengwei, an assistant engineer born after 2000, recently demonstrated an independently developed computerized wargaming platform to naval personnel. According to Chen, his development team maintains an average age of 32, combining senior engineers with recent graduates, with personnel born in the 1990s and 2000s serving as the core drivers of technical problem-solving. The base has actively recruited graduates with advanced degrees from top domestic universities. Among them, doctoral graduate Li Ze bypassed private-sector positions in coastal metropolitan areas to work on frontline equipment testing, while doctoral researcher Ruan Chengwei was assigned to lead the development of a specialized operational evaluation system. Following several years of research, Ruan's evaluation tool was formally deployed across active military units, leading to his selection in 2023 as an All-Military Model Individual for Practicing the Goal of Strengthening the Military. To manage this cadre, base leadership established a specialized development track known as the "one outline, seven categories" pathway. The system pairs junior researchers with senior expert mentors and institutes clear research fault-tolerance mechanisms to encourage calculated experimental risks. The base also collaborates with military academies and research institutes, hosts technical symposiums, and confers internal honors for advanced work in digital and intelligent military development.