Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

"Pan Xibao, sit down!" A gray-haired old engineer, watching Pan Xibao's behavior, finally couldn't help but shout angrily, "What do you want to do?"

"I just can't stand President Qin's behavior!" Pan Xibao remained standing.

"Isn't it just jealousy? What, you're not convinced that the weapons others research are better than ours? If you have that kind of drive, then develop even more advanced weapons and surpass them technically! If you're not as good as President Qin technically, and you resort to backstabbing, what kind of skill is that? Our Institute 52 is upright and honorable! How can we do such a thing as backstabbing?"

"I…" Pan Xibao's face turned red, and he still wanted to argue.

"Sit down!" Zhang Quan finally spoke, "Engineer Wang is right. President Qin can sell technical blueprints to the Americans; that's President Qin's ability. We don't need to be jealous. If we're really not convinced, then let's develop our own advanced weapons and surpass their Factory 960. Right now, Factory 960 is a legend in the military industry. If we break their legend, then our Institute 52 will also become famous because of it. That's real good fame."

Pan Xibao sat down, his face red and his neck thick, still muttering there, "How is that possible? If we rely on conventional methods, we simply can't win against Factory 960. They've already used liquid phase sintering technology, and we only have tungsten carbide technology now, lagging behind them by a generation. Engineer Wang is so capable, why don't you tell us how to technically defeat them."

Although his voice wasn't loud, everyone present heard him. Zhang Quan's gaze turned towards Wang Shan: "Engineer Wang, do you have any good ideas?"

Everyone's hearts suddenly became fiery. They all looked at Wang Shan. At this time, Wang Shan was still saying his final conclusion: "Our Metal Materials Research Institute originally had a technical foundation for researching depleted uranium. Now, if we change direction and focus on developing this armor-piercing round, we can make our 125mm tank gun achieve a penetration depth of over 500mm, or even 600mm, so that we can win against Factory 960!"

Everyone became excited.

"That's right, we also have a large amount of uranium-238 waste. We can completely use this material to improve armor penetration ability!"

"Defeat Factory 960 and let them know that we are the best in the development of armor-piercing rounds."

Everyone became excited again, only Pan Xibao was still there clenching his fists, his face red, his eyes rolling around, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Little Pan, do you have any ideas?" Zhang Quan asked. Although this young man hadn't been in the institute for long, he was quite quick-witted and could always come up with some crooked ideas. Now, looking at him like this, Zhang Quan always felt that he was thinking about something.

"I'm thinking, since we know that depleted uranium rounds can significantly improve armor penetration ability, how could that omnipotent President Qin not think of it? He should be more familiar with American weapons than we are."

If President Qin wasn't familiar, how could he sell those technical materials to the Americans? Want to technically defeat President Qin? It's too difficult. If it could be done fairly, why would he, Pan Xibao, come up with that idea of reporting? He was doing it for his own research institute!

Everyone also calmed down. That's right, why didn't President Qin think of it?

"Although Factory 960 is a military factory, they haven't been in contact with the nuclear industry. Therefore, even if President Qin has this idea, he doesn't have the ability, or rather, he can't spare the time. Taking advantage of this opportunity, we should develop depleted uranium rounds as soon as possible and strive to surpass their Factory 960!" Wang Shan said affirmatively.

Zhang Quan nodded: "That's right. If we still plan to continue playing a role in the military industry, then we must show our ability. We must complete the development of this advanced armor-piercing round! We must simultaneously develop two armor-piercing rounds. The armor-piercing round equipped on our Type 81 tank gun must reach the level of the M774, with a penetration depth of over 370mm. The armor-piercing round provided for the third-generation 125mm gun must have a penetration depth of over 500mm!"

We can't wait any longer. We must seize this opportunity and develop an armor-piercing round that is even more advanced than Factory 960, and make a name for ourselves!

"Director Zhang, if we want to develop it, then we have to apply for funding from higher authorities! Will the higher authorities still allocate funds to us now?" Pan Xibao suddenly brightened up.

Now, the country is transforming to focus on the economy. The military must endure, and the allocation of funds for national defense projects is also decreasing, especially since many military products developed by Factory 960 don't require the troops to pay for research and development, which is well-received by the troops.

With the troops already having enough armor-piercing rounds, will they still allocate funds for the development of depleted uranium rounds?

Everyone frowned again.

Zhang Quan looked at Pan Xibao: "Little Pan, do you have a solution?"

"We still have to report President Qin's actions this time. President Qin has relied on his own strength to push up the arms race in the tank field. The penetration depth of tank guns has expanded to one meter, and the protection has also expanded to one meter. The existing shells are no longer sufficient. We must develop brand new ammunition. In this case, the higher authorities will allocate funds to us."

We still have to report President Qin's actions! Pan Xibao once again put forward this suggestion, but this time, it wasn't because of any jealousy, but for the research and development project of Institute 52!

Wang Shan frowned, wanting to open his mouth to criticize, but his lips moved, and in the end, he still didn't say anything.

Zhang Quan also frowned and thought for a while, then nodded: "Okay, then we will first write a project plan and report to the higher authorities. If the higher authorities don't approve of our project, then we will introduce the development trend of world tanks and let them know how severe the future threats are. We will not actively mention the technology that President Qin sold to the United States, we will only discuss the matter on its merits."

When needed, you can always find a reason to convince yourself.