Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Dr. Wright had just gotten off the plane and talked the whole way, so he was tired after arriving at the hotel. After he went in to rest, Qin Yang rushed back to Factory 960. After some arrangements, he received news in the afternoon that Dr. Wright wanted to visit Factory 960.

Factory 960 had many secrets, and they couldn't let Dr. Wright see things he shouldn't. However, since Dr. Wright wanted to come, they couldn't stop him. The superiors were in a dilemma. Speaking into the phone, Qin Yang said proudly, "We are ready. Now that they are here, they will have to leave tens of millions of dollars before they can go back!"

In the 1980s, the East lagged behind in every aspect. Even if they took out everything they had, it wouldn't matter. Even with Factory 960, many technologies could only catch up with the West, and it was difficult to surpass them.

However, there were also some areas where the East was indeed very strong. For example, bulletproof plates were already being exported to the Western world, earning a large amount of foreign exchange. Another example was the power of tank main guns, where the East was already the world's number one.

All of this was inseparable from Factory 960.

Dr. Wright had long heard about the advanced nature of Factory 960. This time, he came to the East partly to discuss solutions to problems with Qin Yang, and partly to investigate, especially Factory 960.

After sleeping in the morning, Dr. Wright was radiant and energetic. When the car stopped, he got out briskly and saw Qin Yang standing aside waiting.

"Can I see your tanks?"

Dr. Wright was in the tank business, so of course, he wanted to see tanks first.

Factory 960 didn't produce tanks, but they modified them. One of the two countries currently at war was purchasing modified tanks. After the modification, the performance was greatly improved, and the price also soared.

Of course, no matter how much it increased, it couldn't compare to other countries. Eastern tanks were still good value for money.

Dr. Wright walked into the tank modification workshop, looking at everything inside.

"This should be your Type 69 tank, right?"

"That's right. The export model is 69. Here, we have made a lot of upgrades. For example, to adapt to the battlefield in tropical areas, our tanks have added extra air conditioning kits."

A tank is a hunk of iron. In the tropics, the internal temperature will soar when exposed to the sun. Without a suitable way to dissipate heat, the tankers inside will be sweating profusely and unable to guarantee combat effectiveness. They might even get heatstroke very quickly.

How to solve this problem?

The Americans encountered this tricky problem in the wars of the 1990s. Their solution was simply to give the soldiers water, two gallons per person per day, which is equivalent to a pack of bottled water. Drink water when it's hot, and sweating can dissipate heat.

However, drinking a lot of water and sweating a lot can lead to electrolyte imbalance. The Americans came up with a new method: intravenous injection of saline, and saline taken out of the refrigerator. Injecting this stuff into the body is indeed cool enough.

That's how they fought the war back then.

However, this is definitely not a good method.

"By the way, do your tanks have air conditioning?" Qin Yang asked.

Dr. Wright shook his head: "No, our tanks don't need air conditioning. After all, our assumed battlefield is in Europe."

During the Cold War, the most likely place for war to break out was Europe, and it was mainly led by the Soviets. The Soviet Union's steel torrent could guarantee to flatten the entire Western Europe within a week. Then, the Americans would start the war machine, mobilize troops over, and still use Britain as a springboard. The American advanced tanks could all be transported over, just like in World War II.

The temperature in Europe is suitable, not hot in summer and not cold in winter, so there is no need to consider installing air conditioning at all. This thing is useless and takes up space.

"I suggest you consider air conditioning, after all, oil security is very important to the world. You may have to station troops in tropical areas at the right time. It will definitely be very uncomfortable without air conditioning in the tanks."

Dr. Wright pondered for a moment: "Qin, are you suggesting that we make strategic adjustments?"

"No, it's just a precaution. At this time, your tanks should urgently need air conditioning. If you are interested, you can purchase a batch of air conditioners from us now and install them on the M1 tanks to try them out."

Dr. Wright was really tempted: "Qin, can your air conditioners fit our M1 tanks and work with the NBC protection system?"

There are also many problems with installing air conditioning in tanks, one of which is compatibility with the NBC protection system.

On the battlefield, you may face despicable attacks from opponents at any time, and you need to be able to fight under nuclear, biological, and chemical conditions. If you wear a gas mask, it is too cumbersome. Therefore, tanks, armored vehicles, and various equipment all have professional NBC protection systems.

This thing is actually simple to say, it is a supercharging principle. It filters the dirty air outside and sends it into the tank. Using a supercharger, the air pressure inside is higher than the outside, so even if the tank leaks everywhere, the dirty air outside will not directly run in.

"Yes. Our air conditioners have a variety of styles, there is always one that suits you," Qin Yang said: "However, this is after all a product developed by us. If you want to purchase it, you need at least 500 sets, at $2,000 per set."

The unit price of $2,000 is not expensive. After all, the shells fired by the tank are also worth this money. However, the number of 500 sets is a bit too much. Do they need so many?

"President Qin, can we reduce the number, for example, can we order two or three sets for trial first?"

"That's not possible," Qin Yang said: "After all, your industrial production capacity is too strong. If we give you this kind of air conditioner prototype, you may soon have similar products. As for the trial, you can send the M1 tank to us and let us help you improve it."

What does he mean? Is he afraid of us copying it? Are we, the mighty Americans, going to copy your Eastern products?

If someone else said this, Dr. Wright would definitely refute it on the spot, but it was President Qin who said it, and President Qin's words made some sense. So, Dr. Wright thought for a while and said, "We will not send our prototype vehicle over, but we can look at your prototype here to determine whether it can be installed on our tanks."

"Okay, of course, no problem. Our prototype is simple, it's just a variable displacement type."