Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

In Qin Yang's world, tank cannon calibers had long remained stagnant at 120mm and 125mm, without any changes. This was naturally due to a lack of demand. After all, the Cold War had ended, and large-scale ground wars were unlikely to erupt, so there was no need to upgrade. Otherwise, so many stockpiled shells would have gone to waste.

However, in the 1980s, during the height of the Cold War, the development of weapons and equipment in various countries was quite advanced.

Just as the M1 was being finalized and put into service, the Americans began improving the weapon. For example, they converted it into the M1A1 by installing a 120mm tank cannon, and they created the M1A2 by adding depleted uranium armor. These were all products that could be seen in later generations. At the same time, many designs were never implemented and only existed as prototypes.

The most powerful of these was the M1 BLOCK3. Aside from other modifications, its biggest change was the tank cannon, which was an XM-291 140mm tank cannon, using a specially developed XM962 armor-piercing round with an armor penetration depth of a full meter! And that was a meter of penetration at over two thousand meters!

The M1 carrying a 140mm cannon…

Unfortunately, these improvement projects began in the mid-to-late 1980s, and by the time they were completed in the 1990s, the Red Empire had collapsed. America had become the world police of the Blue Planet, able to strike whoever it wanted without any real opponent. Naturally, there was no need to increase the caliber, and simply replacing the old 105mm gun barrels with 120mm gun barrels was sufficient.

Thus, this advanced tank was buried in the dustbin of history. At the same time, various countries began to stagnate. Whether it was the Leopard 2 or the Challenger, they remained almost unchanged. Only the Leclerc tank proudly proclaimed: "I am the world's first fourth-generation tank!"

Many people say that Dr. Leight's greatest contribution in developing the M1 tank was making ample provisions, making it easier to improve the tank. The large turret not only allowed tall, strong Black soldiers to easily move shells inside, but also provided ample space for future upgrades and modifications.

Now, although the M1A1 is still under development and the 120mm gun barrel is only just beginning to be retrofitted, Dr. Leight is certainly planning to arm his tanks with thicker and larger gun barrels.

The 105mm cannon is British, and the 120mm cannon is German. Does America have no technological reserves? Of course not. They are simply too lazy to independently develop weapons that NATO already has. They want to create even bigger killers!

"That's for sure. Exports are definitely a grade lower than what we use ourselves," Qin Yang said. "We export 125mm tank cannons because we are already preparing to use 140mm cannons as our main force. This kind of cannon can be used for twenty years without changing the caliber. When we change, we'll go all the way!"

Dr. Leight's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly. "Have you already developed this kind of tank cannon?"

"Well, that's still a secret for now," Qin Yang naturally wouldn't reveal it immediately.

"A 140mm tank cannon is a good thing, but it also faces many problems. Just its loading is a major issue." Dr. Leight continued, "It is said that Director Qin is very capable and can come up with unique solutions for many research and development projects. Taking this opportunity, I can try to get some information out of Director Qin."

"According to our calculations, a 120mm armor-piercing projectile weighs about 20 kilograms, which is already the limit for a loader. A 140mm tank cannon shell will weigh more than 40 kilograms, which is simply impossible for a human to handle. An autoloader is necessary, but the length of this kind of shell will exceed 1.5 meters, making manual loading very difficult. I wonder how you have solved this?"

"Of course, it's an autoloader. We can't even move 125mm armor-piercing projectiles, let alone 140mm armor-piercing projectiles," Qin Yang said. "What else is there to say?"

"Autoloader? What kind of autoloader do you have? Is it mature?" Dr. Leight continued.

"Secret, can't tell you."

"Director Qin, this is very important to us."

"This bidding is also very important to us," Qin Yang said. "You really know how to pick a time to come over."

"Are you saying that if we withdraw from the bidding, you will tell us these secrets?"

"Even if you don't withdraw from the bidding, we are destined to win," Qin Yang said. "In our East, there is a popular saying now: knowledge is wealth."

"You want money? That's certainly no problem. How much do you want?" Dr. Leight said, reaching for his checkbook. As the head of the M1 tank project, he could privately mobilize a considerable amount of funds.

Qin Yang held up one finger.

"One million? Okay, I'll give it to you right away."

Qin Yang shook his head.

"Ten million? That's a bit much, but if you can provide detailed design drawings or even samples, we can pay. This price is not low. I would only give it to you, Director Qin, because many of our domestic units that cooperate with you have praised your technology." Dr. Leight said, as he began to write.

"No, you're missing a zero."

"One hundred million?" Dr. Leight stood up in surprise. "Are you kidding me? One hundred million US dollars? Do you know how much the research and development funding for our M1 tank was? When the project first started, we only received over seventy million! One hundred million US dollars would require us to sell hundreds of M1 tanks to earn back. You actually want that much? You are…"

When this foreigner first arrived, he was aggressive, and just now he looked like he was humbly asking for advice. Lin Heping relaxed, thinking that Xiao Qin was amazing! But now, looking at the other party's exasperated appearance, Lin Heping was prepared again.

Just then, a voice came from outside: "Dr. Leight, Dr. Leight, don't get excited."

Mirza, along with Fahata and others, finally arrived. They were afraid of arriving late and finding a fight already broken out. They had driven at breakneck speed all the way, and seeing Dr. Leight's current state, Mirza secretly rejoiced. It looked like a fight was about to break out, but luckily it hadn't.

"It's nothing, Your Excellency Mirza. Why have you come? Have a cup of tea." Qin Yang took out another teacup. At this time, Nie Xiaoqian had already obediently picked up the teapot and was acting as a waitress. She had been very happy listening to Qin Yang's boasting, but she couldn't get a word in. Now she could help by serving tea and water.

Mirza nodded and sat down, while sizing up both sides.

The Americans were excited, and the Easterners were calm. What exactly was going on?

Meeting Mirza's questioning gaze, Qin Yang said, "It's nothing big. They wanted to buy some tank technology from us, and I quoted them 100 million US dollars. They thought it was expensive and are haggling with us."

Americans buying tank technology from the East?