Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Meeting Room, Institute 201.

There's no day like today! A meeting of utmost importance concerning the development of tanks was actually called on the spur of the moment, incredibly rushed!

However, that was the reality. When Qin Yang sat in the meeting room, he still felt it was somewhat unbelievable.

Everyone's energy was too high! Even those with white hair were as excited as children who had received their favorite toys.

"Our Factory 617 has already recognized the problems with the 1224 prototype," Old Fang said, opening the discussion. He enthusiastically introduced to everyone, "Therefore, we plan to develop a more advanced 1226 prototype. This prototype will use our specialty, a hemispherical cast turret, striving for the best bulletproof shape. For the cannon, we plan to use the previous 120mm smoothbore gun."

On the 1224 prototype, Factory 617 boldly adopted a welded turret, which was aesthetically pleasing and even had a feel of a smaller Leopard 2. However, the 1226 prototype was a step backward, reverting to a cast turret.

This was also the inertia of the domestic industry. After all, they were used to cast turrets, and the old Soviet Union's T-72 tank also used a cast turret!

As for the tank gun, they were also using the 120 smoothbore, which was a tank gun that China had started developing in the 1970s. It had a caliber of 120mm and a length of 48 calibers. Listening to these specifications, it seemed even stronger than the Leopard 2 tank's 44-caliber main gun. In reality, the two were not products of the same era at all.

Due to China's technological backwardness, the chamber pressure of this 120 smoothbore was only 318 megapascals, which was not even considered a high-chamber pressure smoothbore gun. In contrast, the RH120/L44 cannon of the Leopard 2 tank had a design chamber pressure of 710 megapascals, with an actual chamber pressure reaching 500 megapascals.

Now that China had the manufacturing technology of 105mm tank guns, the new 120mm smoothbore gun manufactured using this technology would have a significant improvement in performance. However, the plan proposed by Old Fang of Factory 617 was still following the Western route.

"In terms of tank engines, we currently have two options. One is the 8V165 engine produced by Factory 636, and the other is the SD150 engine from Factory 616. Both engines are matched with our Factory 617's independently developed 5-speed hydraulic automatic transmission."

Starting from the 69 tank, Factory 617 had been continuously improving and upgrading. By now, their factory had also found its own path. Now, their idea was to use the R\u0026D experience from the 1224 on the 1226 tank, and eventually develop it into a mature product that would become the main force of the domestic army.

Because the meeting was called on short notice, there were no prepared slides or models. They were just relying on verbal descriptions. Fortunately, everyone was an expert in the industry, and they could visualize it in their minds just by listening to the introductions.

"Let's all speak freely about this project. Engineer Qin, why don't you start?" Old Huang, who was chairing the meeting, said.

Qin Yang smiled. This was to let him, this young hothead, be the first to find fault. Anyway, he wasn't afraid of offending people!

"Okay, then I'll offer my opinions." Qin Yang didn't mince words, "I think Old Fang still hasn't understood what I meant. Manufacturing such a prototype would be a complete waste!"

"First of all, in terms of tank guns, there's no need to continue using our old 120mm smoothbore gun. Replacing it with the NATO-introduced 105mm tank gun is the most appropriate. Don't be fooled by the smaller caliber; the power will not decrease but increase, and because the caliber is smaller, the number of rounds that can be carried will also increase."

"That's right, Engineer Qin is right!" Someone immediately echoed, "The old 120 smoothbore should be retired from the stage of history. Let's use the NATO standard L7 tank gun as an emergency measure first, and when our own large-caliber tank gun is developed, we can replace it then!"

Qin Yang felt complacent. As he continued to release 'satellites' (make impressive claims), his fans were increasing!

"Next, there's the issue of the engine and transmission system. I believe that blindly pursuing power while neglecting reliability is a mistake. If I'm not mistaken, even if we can produce these two engines and matching transmissions ourselves, they will be extremely unreliable, with short lifespans and high failure rates. Making prototypes is fine, but equipping the troops with them would be a crime."

"Engineer Qin's eyes are really sharp; you're absolutely right!" Liu Jingye sighed, "The German MTU MB-8V331 TC41 engine that we introduced has relatively stable performance, but the 8V165 engine that we copied based on it has really poor performance! Currently, it can't even run stably for a hundred hours. Factory 636 is still working hard to solve the quality problems of this engine, but the basic industry is too far behind. There's still a long way to go to reach the level of the original German engine."

"Yes, Factory 616 is using our original 12150 engine for improvement and upgrades, trying to achieve a power of one thousand horsepower, but the development of this machine is also full of difficulties. It's possible to install it on a tank for testing, but it's too difficult to equip the troops on a large scale. After so many years of improvement, only the 730-horsepower diesel engine can be considered stable."

"And our own manufactured transmissions leak oil after a dozen hours."

Everyone started talking about their difficulties.

"Engineer Qin, do you have any good suggestions?" Old Huang asked.

"Why do we have to stick to the rigid target of one thousand horsepower? Didn't we just say that our 730-horsepower diesel engine is already stable? The old Soviet Union's T-72 also only has 780 horsepower, so our engine is barely enough!"

Qin Yang felt very satisfied. He was now using his knowledge reserves as a time-traveler to give guidance!

The 1226 tank prototype was eventually abandoned, but these technologies were used to improve old tanks, and the result was the Type 80 tank.

A 730-horsepower engine, six pairs of road wheels, a 105mm tank gun, and a spherical turret made up this strange-looking tank. Although it looked odd, this tank became the first second-generation tank to enter service in the army and was of great significance!

Before the Type 96 and Type 99 tanks entered service, the Type 80 was definitely the strongest weapon in the army's hands.

Why pursue something high-end now! Use mature technology to first develop a second-generation tank.

"As for the transmission, we can also use the fixed-shaft transmission inherited from the Type 79 tank, combined with a two-stage planetary steering gear," Qin Yang continued, "In two years, this tank can officially enter the army's equipment sequence and solve our urgent needs."

Everyone was thinking about Qin Yang's suggestions.

"Yes, for a long time, we have been overly ambitious." Old Huang said, "We see the Western tanks and are dazzled, and we also try to have that kind of king of land warfare. However, our country doesn't have the money to buy them, and our industrial base is limited, so we can't copy them. Therefore, the best way now is to first use the mature technology at hand to improve the existing tanks and improve them by one level before talking about anything else! Old Fang, what do you think?"

Old Fang nodded, "Since the armored forces agree, what else can we say! We will follow Engineer Qin's proposal and develop a second-generation tank that can be equipped by the troops as soon as possible!"

Six pairs of road wheels, a round head, a 105 gun…