Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

The construction of the tank factory was a process of one tank at a time: one being welded, one being assembled, and naturally, one being delivered. Although they could gather a batch, that would waste too much time. As soon as one came out, the troops wanted to receive it.

Having one tank allowed them to practice driving, two allowed them to practice formation, and four allowed them to practice line formations. Now that they had six, both sides of the second row could use these tanks for training. As for the two inner tanks, they would temporarily use the Type 59 tanks to fill in, as the technical requirements for the inner positions weren't as high as those on the outer positions.

"Tank Crew Six, come and receive your tank!"

With Zhang Yong's words, Tank Six immediately left the queue and stopped to the side. The four members of the crew jumped out of the tank, happily running towards the trailer where the brand-new Type 99 tank was waiting for them!

"Our Type 99 tank has a three-man crew. Why is everyone on Tank Six so happy, even though there are four of them?" Qin Yang was a little curious.

The automatic loader replaced the loader. This person was destined not to be on the tank. Wasn't he disappointed?

Who said the loader had no chance?

Even if it was a Type 59 tank undergoing inspection, and the loader didn't do anything, he would still honestly stay inside the tank. Although he wouldn't have a chance to show his face from beginning to end, he was still a member of the tank crew.

Going from the Type 59 to the Type 99, the loader was gone, but there were still two people outside posing. These two people were selected from the three through competition.

During the inspection, two people would show half their bodies from the tank turret to accept the inspection with magnificent military appearance. However, these two people were not necessarily the commander and gunner. If the loader could pose well, he might be the one to participate!

Competition was everywhere.

Even if they had already been selected to participate in the parade, they would continue to compete. If they didn't perform well in training, they could be eliminated at any time, and other crews would come up to replace them.

Of course, as long as the entire crew was selected, even if one person didn't participate, they would still receive honor because the honor was awarded to the crew.

"Well, that's a good method," Qin Yang nodded. "However, this also illustrates a problem: in the future, the organization of our tank units will have to change."

"Yes, everyone's burden is getting heavier," Zhang Yong said.

During World War II, tank crews were five-man crews. The two in front were the driver and radio operator, and the three in the turret were the commander, gunner, and loader. During the Cold War, the radio operator disappeared, and the tank became a four-man crew.

Now, with the rise of automatic loaders, the number of tank crew members has been reduced to three again.

With fewer people, the work hasn't decreased.

Tanks not only have to be driven, but also maintained. Usually, when there's nothing to do, they have to adjust the tracks and wipe the vehicle body. If they fire the cannon, they have to clean the gun barrel. These are all strenuous tasks.

Due to the limited size of the tanks, they recruit smaller people, who aren't very strong to begin with. It's already not easy for four people to maintain it, and now that there are three people, there will be even more work.

Changes in organization can be done slowly. After all, old soldiers retire every year, and new recruits are enlisted every year. While eliminating the old loaders, not adding new loaders will gradually change the organization, but the work won't disappear.

"Three people are still too few? When it becomes a two-man tank in the future, you'll be complaining even more," Qin Yang said.

Two-man crew? Zhang Yong widened his eyes: "President Qin, you're joking, right? How can two people drive a tank? Will the commander and gunner work part-time, or will the commander and driver work part-time?"

Tank technology is constantly developing. In later generations, the Russians created the advanced T-14 tank, which was an innovation in tank technology. Its biggest feature was that all three crew members were concentrated in the front. There was no one in the turret, so the turret's size could be greatly reduced, and the tank's protection could also be mainly concentrated in the front. It was considered an innovation, but even this innovation didn't reduce the crew to two people.

A three-man crew is already the minimum.

The driver has to drive the tank wholeheartedly and can't be distracted. The gunner has to operate the tank gun to fire and has to set various firing elements. This is also a combination of skill and experience. As for the commander, he needs to command the entire vehicle. On the one hand, he has to direct the driver to drive the tank forward, and on the other hand, he has to give the gunner target instructions and observe the surrounding situation.

When the gunner is aiming at the target, his field of vision is very narrow. What unexpected situations are around, whether there are other tanks aiming at them, these are all things the commander has to do. Therefore, the three-man driving system is already the ultimate.

What to do with two people?

Driving and firing both require someone, and these two people cannot be combined. Driving and firing are not synonymous. Therefore, the only option is for the commander to work part-time. Should he work part-time as the driver or the gunner?

Zhu Lao also widened his eyes: "President Qin, you're talking about a two-man driving system. In this situation, how would the members divide the work?"

"There's no need for the commander to work part-time. When the technology continues to develop, let the computer take over one person's job," Qin Yang said: "We can discuss whether it's easier for the computer to replace the driver or the gunner."

Telling people now that a computer could replace one of them is still a bit ahead of its time. However, Zhu Lao simply thought about it and made a choice: "I think, if a computer were to be used for replacement, it should be easier to replace the gunner."

Replacing the driver would be autonomous driving. Qin Yang knew that, based on the experience of later generations, it's not difficult to get autonomous driving to park, but it's too difficult to get it to drive on the road automatically.

Normally, overtaking, changing lanes, and planning routes can be done, but it's not enough to deal with emergencies. If an obstacle suddenly appears in front, it might not know what to do. There have also been cases where road signs were mistaken for pedestrians, which shows that autonomous driving is not simple. This is only on the road. What if the tank is operating in the wild? The situation would only be more complicated.

Therefore, without even thinking about it, autonomous driving is not reliable.

Zhu Lao doesn't have the experience of later generations, but he can still tell that autonomous driving is not reliable. That's amazing.

"Zhu Lao, how did you know?" Qin Yang was very curious.

"Me? In the beginning, all the data for the tank gun was manually set. Now, there are advanced computers to do various preparatory work. If these technologies continue to develop, perhaps one day, it will really be possible to achieve automatic firing."