The rise of great powers: starting from military industry

Everyone boarded the Type 022 missile boat.

"Comrade Liu Tao, what is the design of this? Why can't we see the antenna and railing?" The leader of the Navy Command was a little puzzled.

Others also looked at Liu Tao.

"For example, the superstructure complex of the boat has multiple large inclination angles, which can disperse the radar reflection waves and severely weaken the echo of the search radar at all angles. In addition, the mast is made into a windward polyhedron shape, the hull opening is covered with rolling doors and blinds, and the edge of the observation window in the bridge adopts a stealth serrated design. These are all for stealth performance and reduce the probability of being detected by radar." Liu Tao explained, "Including these photoelectric trackers, radars, etc., all have been treated with stealth."

Then, a technician asked: "How to ensure its safety?"

The damage control system of small ships such as the Type 022 missile boat is very special. First, its catamaran structure has the inherent defect of difficult damage control. The hull with water on one side will tilt rapidly, and it will be more difficult to maintain balance; second, the activity space in this small ship is relatively small, and the equipment and weapons are installed at a high density, so the space for people to operate in it is limited.

"The Type 022 missile boat is an advanced missile boat with a highly automated monitoring system. For example, the fire fighting system of the missile boat can be centrally controlled. It can be used not only in a specific cabin, but also remotely controlled through the central cabin." Liu Tao smiled and said, "In this way, the degree of automation is greatly increased, which can protect our missile boats and the lives of the crew to the greatest extent."

The damage control system of the ship is very important. There have been many incidents of warships sinking due to poor damage control in history.

The most famous one is the Royal Ark aircraft carrier of the British Empire. At that time, it was only hit by a torpedo. Under normal circumstances, as long as the damage control is effective, the hull can be kept balanced by pumping water and plugging leaks, and it can return safely. However, there are some problems in the design of this aircraft carrier, which caused the entire ship to lose power after being hit by a torpedo, and it could not be repaired in a short time. In the end, the part that was hit kept taking in water, which led to the sinking of a giant ship.

Similarly, in this year's Falklands War, the Sheffield destroyer had the same problem. After being hit by the Exocet missile, the Sheffield did not sink directly, but because the entire ship lost power, the damage control capability was lost, and finally it took on water for several days, and then capsized and sank.

The 021 missile boat has a staff of 30 people, and the 024 missile boat has a staff of 17 people.

The 022 missile boat has a larger tonnage and more equipment, but only needs 12 people, because it has a high degree of modern automation.

Liu Tao took everyone to visit, and then this 022 missile boat will be delivered to the South China Sea Fleet for a series of tests.

"Comrade Liu Tao, what is the price of this 022 missile boat?" asked the leader of the Navy Command.

"Equipped with a base number of 'Eagle Strike-5' anti-ship missiles and 30mm shells, the self-use version is 20 million yuan." Liu Tao pondered for a while and gave a quote.

Basically, it supports naval construction.

The commander of the South China Sea Fleet was stunned, "So expensive?"

"Expensive!?" Liu Tao widened his eyes and couldn't help looking at the shocked people.

He almost spit out blood.

"Everyone, this is not expensive at all. The price of the Eagle Strike-1~Eagle Strike-3 anti-ship missiles is now 1 million US dollars. If we sell our own version of the Eagle Strike-5 anti-ship missile, it will only be higher, not lower. 12 Eagle Strike-5 anti-ship missiles will cost at least 12 million US dollars." Liu Tao looked incredible, "20 million RMB, which is about 10 million US dollars. You actually think it's expensive?"

"20 million RMB, this is the cost, and we even lost some!" Liu Tao couldn't help complaining, "Believe it or not, this Type 022 missile boat can be sold for at least 100 million US dollars."

Warships have always been famous for their high prices.

When China bought Type 07 frigates from the Soviet Union, the price of one ship was equivalent to 17 tons of gold.

Moreover, it is not easy to buy warships, because there is a high probability that they will not sell them.

Liu Tao spread his hands, "There is really no way, warships are never cheap!"

Others could not help but smack their lips when they heard it.

Because it is really expensive, even ridiculously expensive.

But as Liu Tao said, warships are never cheap.

Even warships from the World War II period are still very expensive to sell now, and you can't buy them just because you want to.

"We will talk about it after the test." The leader of the Navy Command felt that his heart was about to break, and he originally thought that if possible, he would purchase thirty or fifty ships.

Now it seems that he can't make a decision directly.

"No problem, then it will be handed over to your military for testing." Liu Tao smiled, "You are more professional in this regard."

Liu Tao had no opinion on this, he thought it was a sincere price, but the military thought it was expensive, so there was nothing he could do.

He has arranged to build twenty Type 022 missile boats, five of which are for the navy, and as for the remaining 15, Liu Tao intends to use them for export.

Of course, the export version will always have some reduction.

For example, the radar range, speed, etc.

Moreover, he will not sell it to anyone, at least to some neighboring countries, no matter how much money he offers.

The performance is lower, the price is higher, and Liu Tao will leave a backdoor in case it is needed one day.

Afterwards, the Type 022 missile boat was officially handed over to the South China Sea Fleet for a series of tests.

He did not return to the Panshan Machinery Factory, but returned to Beijing with others.

He had not taken a vacation for two months, so he had to take a vacation this time and visit his old friends.

On the plane, people from the State Shipbuilding Corporation and the Navy Command asked if Liu Tao was developing larger ships, such as frigates, destroyers or cruisers.

These three types of warships are also what China lacks at present. After all, even the most advanced Type 07 frigates are old warships that have been used for many years.

In the 1950s, the Type 07 frigate was still a relatively good warship. But after so many years, the Type 07 frigate has fallen far behind the times.

Although the country is also modernizing the Type 07 frigate, this kind of modification is often not ideal, after all, the foundation of the warship is there.

China is also exploring on frigates, destroyers, and cruisers, but in the past decade or so, scientific research institutions have either been standing still or even taking a step backward, and the progress in this regard is not ideal.

Also because of the shortage of talents, scientific research institutions have not come up with a modification plan for the Type 021 missile boat and the Type 024 missile boat to adapt to the "Eagle Strike" anti-ship missile for several months.

Other small countries can directly install the ship-launched version of the "Eagle Strike" anti-ship missile, including the launcher, directly on the ship.

But China can't do that, because doing so will actually affect the performance of the "Eagle Strike" anti-ship missile, and may even cause the entire ship to capsize due to the reaction force of the launch.