Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 509: The Ambition of Five Pairs of Wheels (Third update, please subscribe)

It doesn't matter whether Ah San is specifically responsible for making jokes. What's important is that Asan's attempt to unify by force was shattered overnight.

At least in the next few years, they will give up the idea of ​​reunification by force. In the long run, they will have to devote more attention to reunification instead of running around and causing trouble.

Although this was only a "civilian" military intervention, the military was still very concerned about the war in the South Asian subcontinent and quickly provided a report.

The report not only summarizes the combat experience in detail, but also evaluates the weapons.

"So, the military considers Thunderstorm rocket launchers and gunships to be very necessary equipment?"

Putting down the report in his hand, Li Yian asked.

"Yes, Your Excellency, judging from field reports, 30% of India's casualties come from thunderstorm rocket launchers. Once its large forces are exposed, it is easy to suffer a near-destructive blow. The staff believes that it can make up for the lack of strength in our army. .”

As Minister of Defense, Sundelin looked at the president and said.

"Therefore, the Ministry of Defense hopes to add a procurement fee in next year's budget to enhance the firepower of the troops to relieve the pressure caused by insufficient troops."

However, most officers from the Ministry of National Defense to the General Staff have traditional mainland thinking, and everyone agrees that "the troops are insufficient."

It seems that the whole world is beginning to phase out weapons from World War II, even France. During his visit to France, Li Yi'an visited the heavy tanks and light tanks they were designing at the Rohan manufacturing plant. He didn't know much about the former, but he didn't know much about the latter. It is the famous AMX-13 light tank.

In fact, the military scale of Nanyang has always been small, with a total strength of only 22, half of which are navy and air force, especially the navy, with a total strength of almost 7. As for the army, it only has only a little over . As an island country, developing maritime forces The Air Force was the inevitable choice.

"Where's the tank?"

"what?"

"And from a defensive perspective, the first battle in Southeast Asia will definitely take place at sea, so strengthening the navy is inevitable."

"Well, there is no problem with increasing the budget, but the procurement volume can be reduced. According to the agreement we reached with the United States, our maritime power needs to be further enhanced. After all, the sea area is now larger, and the maritime power also needs to be enhanced."

When Sun Delin told the Army's grievances, Li Yian almost laughed out loud in his heart. He said it as if the Army's equipment was lagging behind. But in fact, whose equipment is not the weapons of World War II. In terms of weapons and equipment, the Nanyang Army It's definitely not bad. The STG44 assault rifle of the same color used by field troops is definitely the only one in the world.

Uh...it seems that the AK47 is almost in service now.

"This is indeed the truth..."

Thinking of this, Li Yian said.

Even though this guy only has a dozen tons, and the main gun is a short-barreled version of the World War II Panther tank gun, it does not prevent it from selling well around the world - nearly 4000 units have been exported, once again proving the strong sales of the French. cargo capacity.

"However, maintaining an elite and well-equipped army is also an inevitable choice to deter surrounding areas. However, the current army is limited in size, and its equipment is also backward. They are all obsolete equipment from World War II, and even most of the equipment is from that year. The rags that were picked up..."

Although he is short-handed, Li Yi'an has no intention of bleeding blood for the American emperor. At most, he can only send a fleet to participate symbolically. After all, judging from the experience of the Cold War, there has never been a naval battle in those hot spots. Therefore, playing soy sauce at sea is Li Yian's bottom line.

Sundelin thought for a while and still insisted.

Strengthening maritime power is not only to fulfill its commitments in Washington, but also has a deeper reason, which is to avoid more requests for defense assistance from the United States in the future, such as sending troops to hot spots.

"What I mean is, does the military have the will to develop new tanks? If I remember correctly, our main tank now is the M4 tank."

Although Nanyang's early tank forces were equipped with Panzer IV and Panther tanks, they have long been replaced by US-aided M4 tanks in the past few years. Now the Nanyang military is equipped with more than 500 M4 tanks and 300 The remaining M3 light tanks, the German tanks only retain one regiment of Panther tanks. In terms of quantity, it's definitely a lot, but the performance... is absolutely World War II level.

"Yes, we are currently planning to upgrade it with the Panther tank's artillery to improve its strike capability and replace it with a diesel engine." After listening to the military's tank upgrade plan, Li Yian thought for a while and then said.

"It is necessary to upgrade old tanks, but the M4 tank is still an old tank from World War II. Even if it is improved, it will inevitably fall behind the times. I think we should develop a new tank."

Sundelin couldn't help but be stunned.

"Developing a new tank?"

"Yes, it is to develop a new tank. The weight of this new tank should be within 36 tons. It should be equipped with... a 90MM tank gun. Its firepower and defense are equal to the American M46 tank..."

As he talked, the famous "Five Pairs of Wheels" appeared in Li Yian's mind. The Russians should have created the "Five Pairs of Wheels" by now. With this thought in mind, Li Yian almost subconsciously moved the indicator towards the "five pairs of wheels".

After all, in terms of the first generation of tanks after the war, the "five pairs of wheels", also known as the T54 tank, is undoubtedly the most successful first generation of tanks after the war. It has definitely achieved an absolute balance of firepower, protection and mobility. It is not only The most produced tank after the war, and for Russia, before the atomic bomb, it was still the core of the confrontation with the United States. There is even a saying that when the T-54 tank drove through Red Square, the loving father smiled.

Of course, Li Yian is very eager for such good goods, but the circle is different, and they will definitely not give it to them. Moreover, although the T46 passed through the Red Square as early as the May Day military parade in 54, it was not until ten years ago that the T54 passed by the Red Square. In the subsequent Hungarian incident, a T-34 tank that was sent to the British Embassy in Hungary completely caused panic in the Western world. In the previous ten years, Western countries were very dismissive, thinking that it was just a T-. It's just an upgraded version of the tank.

Then Li Yian said something.

"The thickness of the armor on the front should be more than 100 mm, with a 60-degree vertical inclination angle, and the vertical equivalent will reach 200 mm. The turret also adopts an inclination design. The thickness of the front and bottom armor is 200 mm, and it gradually becomes thinner by gradually increasing the inclination angle upwards. , but the vertical equivalent can still be maintained above 180 mm..."

Listening to these numbers mentioned by the president, Sundelin looked dumbfounded. Although he was not a tank expert, he could tell just from these numbers that this was... wishful thinking. These data are better than those of the United States. The M46 heavy tank is even more powerful.

"...As for the power unit, you can use Detroit's 8V-71T diesel engine. This engine has been domestically produced by United Power Company. Its maximum power is 600 horsepower, which can definitely meet the requirements for mobility. And the transmission device, well, The CD-850 hydraulic integrated transmission of the American Arison Company is very good and has now been used in the M46 tank. Although the US military will not provide this new type of tank to its allies, we can introduce CD-850 transmission equipment. "

After briefly stating his idea for the new tank, Li Yian looked at the astonished Sun Delin and asked.

"How about this kind of tank? Do you think it meets the needs of the military?"

How could it not be consistent? This is no longer a "five pairs of wheels", but an enhanced version of the "five pairs of wheels". Definitely more powerful than the original.

"It fits, it fits so well..."

Sundelin said directly.

"If it can be built, it will definitely meet the needs of the military. The question is, can such a perfect tank be designed? And even if it is designed, we have no production experience in this area!"

“If you don’t design or manufacture, you will never have experience.”

Li Yian said straightforwardly.

"We are designing and manufacturing tanks now to lay the foundation for future development. Tanks will only become more and more complex. We first lay the mechanical foundation so that we can further upgrade in the future."

What is the future development direction of tanks?
It must be composite armor and smoothbore cannon. In fact, Nanyang's development of composite armor has a technical basis. After all, as early as World War II, Li Yian used alumina ceramics to make bulletproof inserts. After arriving in Nanyang, alumina ceramics were further developed. Research, as long as you are willing, you can develop composite armor based on alumina ceramics. As for the smoothbore cannon, it is a bit difficult, but as long as you invest time and money, it will definitely not be a problem.

Of course, there are also more advanced fire control systems. After all, what impressed Li Yi'an most about later tanks was the fire control system including the tank gun stabilizer. Especially in the videos of later generations, a wine glass was placed on the muzzle of a moving tank. No matter how bumpy the tank body was, the wine glass on the muzzle remained. Being able to remain still steadily, even without spilling a drop of wine, really shocked him deeply.

But for now, those technologies belong to the future. The tanks of various countries are not that complicated at the moment. It is just the time to lay the foundation. Once the foundation is solid, we can advance step by step. After all, things definitely don't happen overnight, and Li Yian never thought about designing a perfect tank all at once.

When he proposed the plan to develop a tank, his idea was very simple, that is, to design a basic model first, and then, with the continuous advancement of technology, slowly add various new technologies to the tank, and finally achieve what he wanted. requirements in.

After continuous upgrading, perhaps the "five pairs of wheels" may really become the eternal five pairs of wheels and become a classic of post-war tanks...

(End of this chapter)