Promoting High-Quality Development of the Industrial Chain · Venture Capital Record | Zechang Aviation: From Scientific Research to Product Innovation, an Industrial Enterprise in the Military Simulation Niche.

A strong country must have a strong military; a strong military ensures national security. With the 14th Five-Year Plan and the 2035 Vision Outline proposing several specific measures and development requirements for national defense technology and intelligent weaponry, the field of military simulation, as an important part of national defense informatization and a "preemptive competition" in modern warfare, is becoming increasingly important for self-control. Nanjing Zechang Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zechang Aviation") is a technology research and development company focused on weapon equipment simulation, digital training support for troops, and complex environment simulation and evaluation. The company leverages its core technological advantage in complex environment and equipment coupling simulation technology to provide a more realistic simulation training experience by simulating the real parameters of equipment in complex environments, aiming to enhance the troops' practical capabilities in complex environments, campaign planning capabilities, and improve the rationality of operational task planning.

　　Military academy research teams transition to focus on military simulation to create independent brands.

Zechang Aviation's founder, Ma Weijun, graduated with a Ph.D. in Computer Applications from the PLA University of Science and Technology in 2011, engaging in research in information processing, simulation, and distributed computing, and later worked in education at the Meteorology and Oceanography College of the National University of Defense Technology. In 2017, Ma Weijun transitioned from the National University of Defense Technology and founded Zechang Aviation with four other core team members.

"Today, the global society is facing a 'once-in-a-century great change', and new national defense will undoubtedly be the main battlefield for major power competition. The modernization of the national defense industry and the military, as well as the digital development of equipment, are important supports for enhancing China's national defense strength. Military simulation technology, as an important support means for military equipment and training, is considered one of the key links in the process of national defense informatization." Regarding the original intention of entrepreneurship, Ma Weijun believes that with the modernization reform of the Chinese military and the significant enhancement of the PLA's equipment and strength, military simulation, especially in the field of aviation simulation, is expected to enter a fast track of development, becoming an effective means for researching future warfare, equipment design, and tactical training. The team's research accumulation in physical-level simulation will show significant advantages in future development.

After transitioning, Ma Weijun formed the initial team of Zechang Aviation with experts from fields such as computer simulation, distributed computing, computational fluid dynamics, deep learning, and artificial intelligence, focusing on simulation and research around complex battlefield environments. They aim to leverage their deep experience in meteorology, oceanography, electromagnetism, and other physical environments and scenarios to create products that assess the impact of complex battlefield environments on equipment performance, as well as AI-based rapid calculation software for numerical simulation, ensuring that the application of equipment closely aligns with actual battlefield conditions and providing strong support for training with "high fidelity".

In 2020, Zechang Aviation successfully developed a flight simulation product and gradually promoted its application in the daily training of Air Force pilots.

　　Identifying common pain points and needs, focusing on complex environment and equipment coupling.

A flight simulator is a training system and equipment artificially created to realistically restore the basic flying skills and aerial environment of aircraft. It can simulate the basic flying skills, modifications, retraining, and some special situation handling related to the target aircraft type, as well as complex environments that may affect the aircraft systems, such as air density, thunderclouds, precipitation, and electromagnetic phenomena. It is an efficient, economical, and safe training device for troops.

"As a pilot, undergoing sufficient simulation training before flying is now one of the essential ways to enhance flying skills. Through equipment and technology, simulating various states and conditions of aerial flight requires increasingly realistic fidelity, which raises the demands on simulation technology but also adds practical significance. This is the value we pursue in high-fidelity simulation." The dedication to scientific research and the pursuit of innovative breakthroughs have become the driving force for Ma Weijun and the team.

The modern air combat environment is complex, and the demand for troops to train in real and complex battlefield environments is growing. To enhance the realism of existing flight simulator training, it is necessary to improve the capabilities of the training platform, ensuring that the simulated environmental elements closely approach or even synchronize with the real physical world.

Based on years of accumulation, Zechang Aviation has identified common pain points and needs regarding the troops' requirements for simulation fidelity. By focusing on the coupling simulation of equipment and complex environmental performance, they are taking the lead in targeting the Air Force. By combining battlefield physical environment simulation with flight simulators, they are building and improving a database of aerodynamic coefficients for aircraft under complex environments (or extreme conditions), considering various task elements, and forming a simulation of the interaction between the environment and equipment to ensure the authenticity of the aircraft's flight trajectory and posture in complex environments, thereby enhancing the training realism of existing flight simulators.

In addition to the flight training simulation platform based on complex environments, Zechang Aviation leverages its leading technological advantages in complex environment and equipment coupling simulation technology, numerical simulation automation and intelligence technology, and rapid calculation technology for complex simulation models based on deep learning. Combined with long-term service to frontline troops and high sensitivity to the development of related equipment and data, they have developed flight training simulation products for new aircraft types, aircraft maintenance simulation products, three-dimensional visual system simulation products, engineering equipment system simulation products, and AI-based rapid calculation software for numerical simulation. Today, Zechang Aviation's clients include troops, military factories, universities, and large state-owned enterprises, maintaining a 50% annual growth rate since its establishment.

Currently, Zechang Aviation has obtained third-level confidentiality qualifications for weapon equipment research and production units, weapon equipment quality management system certification, dozens of patents, software copyrights, and other qualifications, as well as honors such as high-tech enterprise certification.

　Based on the high ground of military-civilian integration, attracting equity investment with growth value.

The military simulation field, as an important support for military equipment and military training informatization, has a relatively high entry threshold. On one hand, it requires military-related qualifications, and on the other hand, it needs talents with interdisciplinary and practical experience. With the promotion of the policy issued by the State Council of China in 2015 on deepening military-civilian integration and accelerating equipment development, military-civilian integration in China is developing towards a deeper level, providing market opportunities for third-party simulation research enterprises with military product research and production qualifications.

The Zechang Aviation team has an educational background and work experience from the PLA University of Science and Technology and is located in the Nanjing Qinhuai District, a demonstration area for military-civilian integration innovation, giving it a natural advantage in talent, technology, and resources. "Nanjing, as the location of the Eastern Theater Command and a concentration of universities, has a profound national defense industrial foundation and strong economic and research capabilities, making it a high ground for military-civilian integration entrepreneurship. We hope to take the '14th Five-Year Plan' as an opportunity to focus on 'training support for equipment digitization' and develop innovations based on 'virtual simulation for safe production and monitoring' and 'digital factory and digital production line services for national defense and military industry' in the process of the military's transition from mechanization to informatization." Regarding the company's ability to steadily navigate through its initial years, Ma Weijun believes it is closely related to the military-civilian integration policy and the favorable conditions of Nanjing as an entrepreneurial high ground.

Currently, in the field of military aircraft simulation, Zechang Aviation has achieved certain research results and practical foundations. With the development of services for multiple military units, based on first-hand military needs, Zechang Aviation has gradually established a service mechanism covering multiple units, based on precise needs and rapid response, having served dozens of aviation units and expanded to the army, navy, and rocket forces.

In 2023, Nanjing Innovation Investment Group (referred to as "Nanjing Venture Capital Group") made an equity investment in Zechang Aviation, supporting its core technology research and product development during the initial project startup period against the backdrop of military simulation industry development.

The project investment manager of Nanjing Venture Capital Group stated: "With the continuous development and growth of China's defense industry, the deep integration of military and civilian sectors has become a new model. As a government investment fund, we also pay attention to the growth and value of defense and military enterprises. The Zechang Aviation team has both military experience and civilian technology and industrial chain advantages, and its niche track is complex environment and equipment coupling simulation, possessing rare physical-level simulation technology advantages, which is a blue ocean in the military industry. Continuous innovative breakthroughs in this field will promote the localization of high-level flight simulator equipment in our country, with very broad development prospects. As an investor, we will continue to pay attention to national policies and provide services including strategic consulting, market promotion, talent introduction, and cooperation resource integration to promote the company's development."

　　Seize the demand for unity of knowledge and action to support the rapid development of weaponry.

As military competition among major powers revolves around the high-end combat capabilities of the new generation of weapon systems, it means that combat and equipment systems are becoming increasingly complex. Military simulation, which can conduct realistic training under non-war conditions, is becoming increasingly important as a "comprehensive efficiency and effectiveness enhancer," and the market scale continues to grow. According to Jane's Defence Weekly's "Global Modeling and Simulation Market Forecast Report," the global market for simulation military training systems is expected to reach $121.6 billion by 2027, with China accounting for hundreds of billions.

"With faith in our hearts, we can go far. We hope to seize the military's demand for realistic training and military industrial informationization, continuously explore and develop new technologies and products in the fields of equipment simulation and digitalization, and become a company with core technological productivity in the professional field in the future, providing strong support for the modernization, digitalization, and intelligent development of weaponry," said Ma Weijun.

This is not only a vision but also a sense of responsibility. Ma Weijun and the team have a clear aspiration and goal to succeed in industry, thus taking "stronger, steadier, and truer" as their mission. They aim to establish cooperative alliances and ecosystems with leading aircraft manufacturers, weapon groups, research institutes, major military factories, and well-known universities, promoting products from multiple aspects such as the manufacturing, maintenance, and upgrading of simulation equipment, software service support, and technical consulting, hoping to practice the unity of knowledge and action, and have the opportunity to become a well-known brand or even a leading enterprise in this field.

Source: Venture Capital Group

Reviewed by: Xue Yao

Published by: You Yi