Technological power starts with upgrading lenses

Although China's aerospace budget has hit new highs every year in the past ten years, it exceeded 10 billion US dollars for the first time in 2022, reaching 11.94 billion, ranking second in the world.

But compared with NASA’s $24.8 billion, the difference is actually a bit big.

Although U.S. dollars can't be spent in country M, the things that 24.8 billion U.S. dollars can accomplish are not much more than those of the Chinese Space Administration. But the problem is that the private aerospace technology groups in country M are much stronger than those in China. Scientific research expenses are not included in NASA's calculations.

In addition, in order to support the large-scale science and technology infrastructure of semiconductors, intelligent robots and other industries, China has also made cuts to a certain extent in its aerospace budget starting this year, including Long March, Beidou, Chang'e, Shenzhou, Tianzhou, Tiangong and other projects to a greater or lesser extent. All were slightly affected.

In fact, it is normal for funds to be tilted. Compared with the distant future, using the technology that Kangchi has developed to develop rapidly and strengthen itself is the main goal at the moment.

But understanding is understanding. When the machete of the budget was really chopped off, Director Ge still felt a little uncomfortable.

Now Kangchi is preparing to officially enter the aerospace field. In addition to bringing a strong scientific research team, it also means the entry of the largest "capital" in the country. Director Ge was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night last night...

Therefore, at the end of the meeting, Director Ge asked Kang Chi another question that concerned him most:

"How much money are you going to invest in the aerospace industry?"

"I never thought about this." Kang Chi smiled and said.

"The main reason is that the plan is relatively long and there is no way to make a budget. But if necessary, all the money of our group can be used for space development..."

"No one should care about this, right?"

"No, how can that be possible!" Director Ge's mouth immediately turned up when he heard that Kang Chi wanted to mobilize the entire group's efforts to develop aerospace.

With Kangchi’s financial resources and technology, isn’t the position of the number one aerospace power just around the corner?

"Of course you can spend your own money however you want! If anyone dares to point fingers, I will be the first to stand up and scold him for you!"

"..."

After the meeting, Director Ge privately stated that he would discuss some support policies to protect Kangchi as soon as possible. If Kangchi needs technology, technology authorization can also be considered. However, because Kangchi is obviously for commercial use, Technical cost assessment must be carried out according to the process.

"But don't worry, this is a process, and I will try my best to help you get a bargain price."

"That's not necessary." Kang Chi shook his head, "This is equivalent to a normal technology transaction between enterprises. After all, it is the hard work of so many scientific researchers in the country. I can't always take advantage of the country, and these things are all Normal people can’t buy it with money, so it’s very rare for you to give it to me, so you just quote a normal price, and I will have people come over to negotiate the price normally.”

Director Ge couldn't help but glance at Kang Chi in surprise, and then said with a smile: "I didn't expect that Academician Kang didn't take advantage of him..."

"I won't let you take advantage," Kang Chi explained with a smile, "And the purpose of making money is to spend it. If you just make money without spending money, how can the economy be active, right?"

Director Ge also smiled and did not continue the discussion on this topic.

After all, the courage to spend money is based on the ability to make money. Although their space agency can also make money by launching commercial satellites, it basically relies on state subsidies. Otherwise, it would be fanciful to develop aerospace based on commercial activities alone.

Because Kangchi upgrades items, he needs to build a prototype himself, and Kangchi generally uses two methods to build prototypes. One is to quickly make a low-level product by himself. The main task of this low-level product is to give the system a 'prompt word'. To ensure that the system does not go astray during the upgrade process.

It feels like AI painting draws the wife card,

Another method is to obtain relatively mature technology, and then copy and upgrade it after thoroughly understanding the technology. The advantage of this method is that others have already written the 'prompt word' very clearly and specifically. Kangchi can save a lot of time and general experience by copying it. , the possibility of upgrading is also relatively small,

At the same time, the high-tech and industrial chains created in this way are basically upgraded on the original basis, without the need to open up a new industrial chain separately, and mass production is relatively easy.

So in Director Ge's office, Kang Chi briefly learned about the leading aerospace technology projects in the country, and finally chose the 'Tengyun Project' part of the technology that he believed would be helpful in building a space shuttle.

Tengyun Engineering is developing a space-to-space shuttle vehicle that can take off and land horizontally and can be reused multiple times.

That’s right, it’s the ‘space plane’ that has always been very popular among public opinion.

When most people first saw the word, they probably immediately thought of the space shuttle, and then after a brief understanding, they immediately thought that this would be a high technology that would replace and succeed the space shuttle.

But in fact the difference between the two is quite big.

The term aerospace plane sounds very high-end, but its principle is actually ‘air-launched rocket’.

Air-launched rockets are not a new term. Basically all missiles launched by fighter jets can be called air-launched rockets.

An air-launched rocket refers to a rocket launched from a carrier aircraft that can leave the atmosphere and enter Earth orbit.

As for why you don’t just launch the rocket directly from the ground, why do you have to use an airplane to carry the rocket to a high altitude for launch?

Mainly to save launch costs,

In the past, the technology of reusable rockets was immature and not as popular as it is now. Scientists have thought of many ways to reduce the launch cost of rockets. Among them, air-launched rockets are a launch solution that uses large carrier aircraft to replace or partially replace the first-stage rocket.

This solution allows the rocket to be at a high altitude with thin air and less resistance when it is launched, and at the same time obtain a certain initial speed, so it can carry less fuel and increase the payload ratio.

However, this solution has high requirements for the carrier aircraft.

First of all, it must have a relatively high load, otherwise the weight and load of the rocket cannot be raised, so generally transport aircraft or large passenger aircraft are used as carrier aircraft.

Secondly, the engine performance of the carrier aircraft must be good, and the higher it can fly, the better.

In fact, China’s technology in these two fields was quite weak before, so this solution has basically not been actually used and studied in China.

At the same time, air-launched rockets are also considered by the industry as a "castrated replacement" for reusable rockets, and can only be used as a transitional solution. Therefore, foreign R\u0026D investment is not high. Only Virgin Orbit and Mojave Aerospace Adventures are engaged in it, and they are not very professional.

Later, as the technology of recyclable rockets gradually matured and became popular, the two companies had fallen into an embarrassing situation of reduced orders, financing difficulties, and project bankruptcy at any time.

Speaking of this, the advantages and disadvantages of the aerospace plane scheme, which is based on the same principle as the space launch rocket, are actually very obvious.

It has many advantages, such as not being restricted by the rocket launch window and site, and having an airport to take off and land at any time, and it can also be fully reused, with low single launch costs.

But its disadvantages are as obvious as its advantages, that is, its low carrying efficiency, which is only suitable for transporting personnel and small equipment.

This leads to the value of the aerospace plane in the military field being much higher than that in the aerospace field.

This is also the main reason why Kang Chi chose the "antique" technology route of the space shuttle.

In fact, there is a saying that the various solutions for aerospace launch technology are more or less similar. For example, the two solid rockets and the external large orange tank tank carried by the space shuttle are equivalent to the carrier, and the orbiter of the space shuttle is equivalent to the aerospace plane.

Therefore, the relevant technologies of the Tengyun Project are of great help to Kang Chi in developing a new type of space shuttle.

Of course, it would be even better if we could get the ready-made blueprints of the space shuttle...

Kang Chi couldn't help but ask Director Ge: "Do you think it's possible to buy the technical blueprints of the Blizzard from Russia?"

"Blizzard?"

Director Ge showed a somewhat embarrassed expression, but finally nodded: "I'll try my best to help you think of a solution."

--

Coincidentally, just when Kang Chi and Director Ge finished their conversation and took a plane back to Dongyang, General Belfshka also arrived in Yanjing. He immediately contacted his old friend Cai Yaobin and asked for additional war robots and the purchase of new fighters.

Cai Yaobin had previously "sold" ten war robots from two combat teams at a bargain price to them, and required them to only put them into combat at the agreed time and not to disassemble the robots, otherwise they would bear the consequences.

China also sent a maintenance team, which was specifically responsible for replacing and repairing the robot's quantum communication chips and other consumable parts, and there was also a bit of "supervision" involved.

This is also a routine operation for high-end equipment transactions, and Da Mao has no objection.

However, they were still a little skeptical about the actual performance of this war robot at the beginning, but they didn't know until they used it.

War devil!

General Belfshka could only use this word to describe that thing.

They had doubts about China's actual combat capabilities before, and they had some objections to who was the big brother and who was the second brother on both sides, but after seeing this equipment show its power in actual combat, they no longer had the courage to compete for the big brother...

To be honest, Belfshka thought that S3, which started with a nuclear war, was almost inevitable.

It's not that he is pessimistic, but history has given the facts.

The statement that nuclear weapons are too powerful and no one dares to use them is actually completely untenable.

When machine guns first appeared on the battlefield and quickly ended the Civil War, everyone believed that with this kind of "weapon of mass destruction", wars would definitely not be fought in the future. Soldiers would be like cutting leeks in front of such weapons. How could wars be fought?

So the world will be peaceful in the future!

However, what is embarrassing is that when S1 just started, machine gun fire became the norm on the battlefield.

And the new "weapons of mass destruction" that ended S1 appeared again.

When tanks rushed on the battlefield, ran over trenches and broke through barbed wire, ending the war in an invincible manner, many people began to say that wars would definitely not be fought in the future. With steel monsters like tanks, how can wars be fought?

So the world will be peaceful in the future!

As a result, these people were slapped in the face again. Hans country started with a blitzkrieg of armored forces and set off S2.

Then what was the "weapon of mass destruction" that ended S2?

It was the atomic bomb.

Then, what did these people say?

With nuclear weapons, wars would definitely not be fought!

This is actually deceiving oneself.

Once S3 really starts, the probability of a direct nuclear war may be higher than anyone imagines!

From a historical perspective, this may even be inevitable.

This can be understood by looking at everyone's attitude towards nuclear weapons.

Among all nuclear-armed countries, except Panda, the attitude towards nuclear weapons is actually the same: ensuring preemptive nuclear power.

That is to say, they have never actually said that they will not use nuclear weapons. Not only will they use them, but they will also ensure preemptive strikes.

This means, you provoke me, right?

Then guess whether I will use them before you!

This is the truth and meaning of deterrence.

Human civilization has always been full of blood and killing, but the short-lived peace has given many people many illusions.

Belfshka has been thinking about what the "weapons of mass destruction" that can end S3 will be, until he saw these war robots, he suddenly realized that maybe this is it.

If you want to end S3, you must make an assumption: assuming that most important places have experienced nuclear explosions, how should you still maintain combat effectiveness in this environment?

These robots seem to have given this answer.

The communication in the nuclear explosion area is basically equivalent to the area of ​​full-band blocking interference, but this kind of robot can ignore electromagnetic interference and communicate without dead angles, so the combat effectiveness in the nuclear explosion area is still unrestricted.

In a sense, it is a new nuclear bomb.

So Belfshka quickly concluded that S3 might have been strangled in the cradle by this robot, or the "circular communication device" installed by Chinese engineers in the robot.

That "circular communication device" is a new "weapon of mass destruction"!

He believes that what needs to be considered now is how to use fists to put more pressure on the West at the "end" of S3, and to use the record to gain more voice in the upcoming big negotiations.

Therefore, Belfshka has applied many times, hoping to purchase more robots.

However, Cai Yaobin can naturally see the little thoughts of the Mao family at a glance, so all their proposals have been rejected.

The reason is that the production capacity is insufficient, so only so many have been made.

Although everyone is in the same boat, who doesn't have a little thought?

From our perspective, the number of such high-end equipment flowing out must be as small as possible, reducing the possibility of dismantling technology.

Although Kang Chi has repeatedly emphasized that this technology cannot be studied or manufactured by others, it is always good to keep an eye on it.

The main purpose of selling is to deter, to gain enough bargaining chips at the negotiation table,

Therefore, unless there are difficulties at the negotiation table, it is possible to sell more.

As for the new mysterious fighter jet that is called the sixth-generation fighter, Belfshka had never heard of it before.

It is also funny that this news was given to him by the United States.

They took the initiative to contact Russia, provided some military exercise data, and frantically emphasized the power of this fighter jet.

It is obvious that they are hinting at them:

Aren't you afraid of having such a powerful neighbor?

The meaning of sowing discord is quite obvious.

Admittedly, Russia was a little scared after seeing it,

but they felt that as long as they put themselves in the right position and honestly acted as the second in command, this big brother should still be very reliable.

So this trick of old M is not very effective.

However, since the big brother's family has a new good thing, it is normal for the younger brother to come and play with it, right?

Even if they only sell them one, it is a super national weapon.

Therefore, General Belfshka personally flew to Yanjing to ask Cai Yaobin for the big treasure.