Chinese navy’s combat software guru Zhao Xiaozhe disappears from academy website

Zhao Xiaozhe, a 63-year-old vice-admiral in the PLA Navy, has mysteriously disappeared from the Chinese Academy of Engineering's online membership list. The expert, who played a crucial role in developing combat software for warships and supporting battlefield decision-making, once held a prominent position in the Central Military Commission's top science and technology body.

Zhao was absent from a high-level Communist Party study session on artificial intelligence chaired by President Xi Jinping in April of the previous year, with his deputy attending in his place. His profile has also been removed from the academy's online museum of academicians. Zhao was initially elected to the academy in 2011 while working as a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Dalian Naval Academy.

He served as the director of its Combat Software and Simulation Research Institute, leading major research programs on battlefield management, warship command-and-control systems, and military software development. His work contributed to China's establishment of a domestic system for developing combat software, the introduction of a new command structure for surface warships, and the creation of a three-tier decision-support system for naval operations.

In a 2016 event at his alma mater, Dalian University of Technology, Zhao shared his personal journey of persistence in programming during the early days of computing, when code and data had to be entered using punched paper tape. Despite the challenges, including limited computer resources and harsh conditions, Zhao remained determined to succeed.

He concluded his message to the young audience with the words, "The flowers of success are gathered from the thorns along the path of exploration. If we keep moving forward, flowers will eventually be everywhere."