Chapter 7: Fear of Insufficient Firepower!
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
“Boom, boom, boom!”
The deafening roar of cannons echoed across a vast desert testing field in a certain military district of the Lan Province.
Under the inky black night, flashes of light illuminated the sky, bright enough to rival the stars.
After a volley had finished, a moment passed.
A dusty figure emerged from beneath a dark camouflage net, pulling out the earplugs in his ears. He looked at the data quickly gathering in front of him, a frown instantly creasing his face.
He picked up a cigarette, a Lanzhou, and dialed a number on his phone, his voice filled with agitation.
“Brother, I’m stressed out!”
“Go to hell!”
Wang Da Lei, woken up in the middle of the night, didn’t hesitate to curse.
He recognized that familiar confidential call number, knowing instantly that it belonged to that bird-brain who used to be his bunkmate in college.
This guy was incredibly talented, brilliant, gifted… but he had one damn annoying habit – he never stopped talking!
Every time he finished an experiment, he’d want to share his joy of victory with everyone.
Experiment failed?
Then he would pester his closest friends all night long.
Logically speaking, this behavior was a major violation of the confidentiality regulations in a research institution.
It was only because his accomplishments were impressive, and he had some sense, choosing to only bother his former roommate, Wang Da Lei, that his superiors turned a blind eye.
Maybe geniuses all have a little bit of a quirk?
But his superiors might tolerate it, Wang Da Lei wouldn’t.
That’s why he yelled “Go to hell!” and was about to hang up.
“Hey, Lei Zi, I failed again…”
“Zhong Xian Chao, I’m telling you, if you call me at midnight again, I’ll take those precious cannons of yours, load them onto a Coast Guard enforcement vessel, and I’ll go out and play with artillery on a warship!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, I really need your advice. I'm seriously at a loss this time. I’ve added to the barrel, modified the tail fin of the shells, and even further developed the auto-loading system, but the effects don’t seem that significant. Why is it still just 'world-leading'? ”
“........”
Zhong Xian Chao finished speaking, silencing Wang Da Lei on the other end of the phone.
Besides the reason that he was being woken up in the middle of the night, Wang Da Lei was also unwilling to take Zhong Xian Chao's calls because he couldn’t stand his boasting.
After graduating from the National University of Defense Technology, Wang Da Lei was assigned to the impoverished Naval Equipment Department, and later transferred to the neglected Coast Guard Equipment Division.
Zhong Xian Chao, on the other hand, went to Jiangshan Heavy Industry Group.
This was a unit under the country’s major arms industry group that specialized in artillery research and development. Currently, among China’s numerous military research and development units, artillery development was actually one of the few that were doing well.
Zhong Xian Chao’s constant talk about “world-leading” really was talking big without thinking.
This brings us to the history of China’s rocket artillery.
As everyone knows, China suffers from a serious fear of insufficient firepower.
This was a deeply rooted issue, stemming from the time when, during tactical maneuvers, they had to desperately push forward, enviously watching as the enemy rained down fire in round after round.
Back then, China was obsessed with artillery research.
Even Li Yunlong knew the joy of using Italian artillery to bombard his mother, how could China not know?
Thus, the classic Type 63 107mm rocket launcher was successfully developed after the Korean War.
The Type 63 107mm rocket launcher could be used simply by placing it on a two-wheeled carriage, with low cost, powerful firepower, easy portability, reliable performance, and strong mobility…
In extreme cases, it didn’t even need a carriage, you could fire it by kicking it!
This weapon, upon its appearance, was hailed as the "Guerrilla Warfare 神器 (shénqì – artifact)" and was widely exported, becoming one of the three most widely used and well-known weapons in the world alongside AKs and RPGs.
When the Jews reignited conflict in the Middle East later, Western media accused China of secretly providing assistance, but it turned out that this ancient Type 63 107mm rocket launcher was actually a hot commodity in the war!
The second time China’s artillery became famous was in the 1980s with the newly developed Type 83 273mm rocket launcher.
In that era, the so-called long-range large-caliber rocket launchers were just beginning to emerge, and the world’s leading artillery representatives were the Tornado from Germany and the M270 from the US, with ranges exceeding 30 kilometers.
It was at this time that the Army required the Type 83 273mm rocket launcher to have a range exceeding 40 kilometers.
However, during the experiment, it was discovered that the shooting accuracy was severely off.
Therefore, the research team improved the rockets, adding a spin motor to the front of the projectile and stabilizing fins to the rear.
Who in their right mind would put fins on a rocket?
The 19 tubes were replaced with 30 tubes, a tracked chassis, spin motors, stabilizing fins… this not only made the Type 83 273mm rocket launcher roar with a sound that equaled all creatures, but also allowed China’s artillery to jump to the world's top level.
In the 1980s, due to the country’s focus shifting to economic development, the pace of military construction slowed down, and during this period, rocket launchers turned towards foreign trade, using exports to drive equipment development.
This rocket launcher also sold well in foreign trade.
Even in the 20-year Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, this rocket launcher was still the main equipment of some countries.
And after the 1990s, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, China obtained launch and control systems, rockets and other data for the Tornado 300mm rocket launcher from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, and then added auto-aiming and auto-loading systems to the rocket launcher.
Since then, China’s rocket artillery has reached world-leading standards.
It has also incorporated automation into the rocket launcher standard, with everything like automatic bullet feeders and computer systems for automatically calculating firing parameters becoming increasingly sophisticated.
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Therefore, it’s understandable that every time Wang Da Lei hears Zhong Xian Chao mention “world-leading,” his heart is filled with frustration.
Other people are starting to respond to the call for modern warfare and require equipment to be automated.
On his side, it's still just a few broken Coast Guard vessels...
After a moment of silence, Wang Da Lei, although furious, still listened to Zhong Xian Chao’s happy worries on the other end of the phone, while brainstorming and thinking of possible solutions to improve things.
However, to further upgrade the current world-leading rocket launcher, it was incredibly difficult, not something that could be sparked by a few words.
If Wang Da Lei had that level of expertise, how could he have been transferred to the Coast Guard Equipment Division?
“Lei Zi, I’m so stressed out, I’m going crazy firing these cannons all day…”
“You’re saying, what else can you do to modify a world-leading rocket launcher?”
Wang Da Lei rolled his eyes as he heard this, but a figure silently appeared in his mind.
To break through the already mature and advanced rocket launcher technology, what might be needed now is not cutting-edge technology, but out-of-the-box thinking.
That guy, maybe he could do it!
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ps: Day 1, Chapter 7, a 2000-word chapter, please vote with monthly tickets, flowers, and comments.
Without data, I’m also anxious…