Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Chennai, Defense Research and Development Organization Conference Room.

"This accident resulted in the sacrifice of Mr. Dara and other military officers, as well as the deaths of Divali, the head of the Defense Research and Development Organization, and many technicians. It has had a significant impact on our army and tank development. The higher authorities have ordered a thorough investigation of this matter." On the podium, Rawat, the representative sent by the military, said with a serious face: "Saksh, as the surviving technician at the scene of the accident, what are your thoughts?"

"The reason for the explosion was the problem with the tank gun," Saksh stood up and said, "Because too much debris accumulated inside the barrel, causing the shell to get stuck during firing, which ultimately led to the explosion. In the future, we must clean the barrel before each test firing to prevent similar incidents from happening again."

"Are you saying that it has nothing to do with the shells?"

"Of course, it has nothing to do with the shells. We can be sure that as long as we replace the tank for testing, this tragedy will definitely not happen again," Saksh said.

"Okay, in that case, let's go out and experiment now. We'll clean the barrel according to your requirements, and then you can stand next to the tank gun and observe this firing, how about that?"

Saksh frowned: "This... The last accident severely damaged my hearing. My ears are buzzing now, and I can't hear anything clearly. I can't go to the scene either."

Rawat rolled his eyes at him: "You can choose to wear a tank helmet and earmuffs to ensure that your hearing is not affected."

"The last accident traumatized me greatly. The doctor said that I'd better not get close to tanks..."

"You're just afraid, aren't you?" Rawat glared at him: "Because you know that the explosion was due to a problem with the shells, so if you test fire again, there's a high chance of another explosion."

"No, no, there's nothing wrong with our shells, they're perfect," Saksh quickly shook his head.

"Is that so? According to the military's investigation, the explosion was most likely due to the sabot. Can you guarantee that there's nothing wrong with the sabot?"

"The sabot?"

"That's right. Using a saddle-shaped sabot provides better airtightness, and the penetrator will be more stable after flying out. However, this is based on precise machining. If our machining accuracy is not enough, accidents will occur. If the sabot size is too small, it will vibrate, causing the penetrator to fly unstably. If the sabot is too large and gets stuck in the barrel, it will lead to the gun barrel exploding."

Saksh's eyes lit up. It's really possible!

The first shot missed not because of the tank gunner's aiming problem, but because the sabot was too small, causing the penetrator to vibrate and deviate from the direction when flying out. The second explosion was because the sabot was too large and got stuck in the barrel, and the barrel endured high-temperature and high-pressure gas for a long time...

"How did the military analyze this?" Saksh, the ammunition expert, looked at Rawat on the podium.

"We have our own intelligence system. The Easterners said that the machining of the sabot is very critical. Moreover, we have also asked Western experts, and they said the same thing."

"So that's how it is. We only need to improve the machining of the sabot..."

"So, you finally admit that the accident was caused by a problem with the manufacturing of the shells? You are the person in charge of the development of this shell, so shouldn't you bear the main responsibility?"

Saksh's face changed: "No, no, this is just speculation, just speculation. Moreover, I was almost killed in the explosion at the time, how can I be responsible? Don't wrong me!"

"Now, I'll give you two choices. One is to find a way to improve the machining accuracy and give us qualified shells. The other is to bear all the responsibility for this accident and spend the rest of your life in prison."

"I will machine the shells well, please give me time," Saksh said with a troubled expression, muttering, "This time it will definitely succeed! By the way, in your intelligence, did you say how the Easterners machine it?"

"The Easterners? They found the most skilled workers. Do we have them here?"

"Yes, of course we do!" Saksh nodded repeatedly: "We will definitely be able to solve the machining problem."

"One week to solve all these damn problems! The Easterners' Type 85 tank is testing very smoothly. We will absolutely not tolerate the enemy having more advanced weapons than us!"

"Yes."

"When the time comes, you must test it yourself. If you refuse to go, we will tie you to the tank," Rawat said with a gloomy look.

On the test site of the tank repair factory, the roar of the Type 85 tank continued to sound.

Nie Xiaoqian stood beside Qin Yang, looking at the monotonous scene, feeling a little bored, so after hesitating several times, she finally looked at Qin Yang.

"Brother Yang, what exactly is the explosion all about?"

"Their eyes have been focused on the penetrator, and now they have turned their attention to the sabot, but they have ignored the propellant we added." Qin Yang's face wore a smile: "With my design, the filled propellant is already excessive, and the probability of an explosion is 100%."

The penetrator has been increased by more than 150 centimeters, and the propellant has also been increased by more than 100 centimeters in length, which fills the tank gun with more propellant. The chamber pressure has reached a full 500 megapascals. The old Maozi's tank gun simply can't withstand such a drug boost!

As for the early 2A46, especially the export models, a limit chamber pressure of 450 megapascals would be good, and the chamber pressure of normally used armor-piercing shells was within 400 megapascals.

Anyway, the armor-piercing performance of the old Maozi's exported shells is not very good, and there is no problem with using the shortened barrels produced by the Ural factory. But who would have thought that the Indians would actually modify it themselves?

Modifying the penetrator and sabot is no problem, but you can't load more propellant! Doping will cause the barrel to explode!

Although the Eastern tank gun also uses a 125mm caliber and 48 calibers, it is completely different from the old Maozi's gun. It uses electroslag remelted steel and barrel self-tightening and other processes, and can withstand a very large chamber pressure: normal use can reach more than 500 megapascals, and the limit can even reach 700 megapascals, so the power will of course be greatly improved.

In the later period, the performance of the Eastern tank gun was more advanced and the chamber pressure was higher. At this time, it could not be mixed either. Loading the third-stage shell into the earliest tank gun would definitely cause an explosion.

Now, the Indians want to use their monkey version of the tank gun to achieve satisfactory penetration depth, which is simply impossible. No matter how they modify it, it won't work. However, the Indians will definitely not be convinced. Knowing that the penetration depth of the 85 tank is 400mm, they will of course have to upgrade their tank gun to this performance!

Therefore, the Indians will be fooled again.