Xia Yu went to great lengths to minimize the number of casualties.
After all, they were all raised by their parents. Even if they were unlucky and couldn't return home intact, it was still better than being packed into a small box and sent home.
With that thought in mind, he opened the door of the second container.
"squeak"
A strong smell of rust hit the air, and all that could be seen was a rusty metal base. Shining a flashlight over the rusted structural components, one could vaguely discern that this had once been a twin-barreled cannon.
The twin anti-aircraft gun, now missing all its barrels and easily detachable moving parts, was the once-famous twin Flak40 that Xia Yu had always wanted to acquire.
In total, 450 units of both single-tube and twin-tube versions were produced by the end of World War II, with only 34 of the latter produced—a fraction of the total.
Except for a few that were fitted with Panzer IV chassis and converted into self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, the rest were all mounted on anti-aircraft turrets.
If Xia Yu hadn't discovered the twin-barreled Flak 40 gun hull in Austria, he would have wanted to build a twin-barreled version by combining two single-barreled versions. Fortunately, his efforts paid off, and he successfully found it before the third phase of the project was put into operation.
As for what to do next, he opened the third and fourth containers.
However, once the museum business was on track, Xia Yu rarely did this anymore.
Xia Yu put the gun barrel of the twin-mounted Flak 40, the two 128mm gun barrels found from the wreckage of those single-barreled versions, and the chassis of the Panzer IV into the modification workshop.
It means that all the numbered parts need to be modified. For example, the electric motor, power supply module, and easily damaged parts on the anti-aircraft gun also need to be replaced with modern products. The workload is enormous.
When they arrived in Chung Fei, the military recruited crew members directly from university students for their first practical training.
Supporting our poor neighbor in suppressing a rebellion is no problem; borrowing drones and crew is no problem, and we'll even reimburse you for the fuel cost.
The tactic of "artillery bombardment followed by infantry charge, infantry charge followed by artillery bombardment" is outdated, but the first wave of long-range firepower delivery is always the right approach.
"Modify!"
The remaining 88mm and 128mm gun barrels in container number three will not be wasted; they will be used to replace the "original" gun barrels after their rifling life is exhausted.
For this purpose, Xia Yu specially provided technical specifications and process manuals for reference, and commissioned a factory in his hometown to produce a batch of tubes with diameters of 50mm, 75mm, and 88mm.
All types of artillery have a limited lifespan. Using reduced propellant charges and chrome plating the bore can effectively extend their lifespan, but with the enormous consumption of artillery in museums, the rifling of several popular models can be worn down in just three to five months.
Neither missiles nor multi-mode precision-guided bombs are items that Busa has the capability to procure in large quantities.
Compared to Busa's wholesale price, the discount is huge, practically a drastic reduction. It's true that it's good to have a powerful backer!
Fighter jets take off to provide concentrated firepower, while long-endurance drones provide supplementary firepower. This combination of tactics can fill the gaps in the past and maximize the effectiveness of non-contact warfare.
For example, he casually opened an ammunition box, inside which was a separate anti-tank missile that looked a lot like the AGM-114 Hellfire.
He certainly wouldn't have the time to modify each and every one of these vehicles while selling weapons on the side, but tinkering with old antiques is called restoring cultural relics and contributing to the development of human spiritual civilization, which he is willing to sacrifice.
Thinking of this, Xia Yu closed the cabinet door, took out the satellite phone, went outside, and called Kuhn.
Concentrate fire on defenses first until the enemy is completely disoriented, then ground forces can enter the fray later.
The current system is mainly used to solve problems that cannot be solved even with money, or projects that are obviously unprofitable.
During this period, it is unknown how many more AKs will flow into Chung Fei, and how many civilians will be trained to become militants, pointing their guns at the weaker ones and firing without hesitation.
Yes, it's all ammunition for reconnaissance and strike drones, but Jihuo Defense doesn't have this type of drone. Why did Xia Yu buy so much specialized ammunition at cost price?
That's obviously a case of using someone else's resources to achieve one's goals.
"They say they want to talk peace. Of their 14 main opposition armed groups, 13 are prepared to send representatives to Italy to discuss and sign a ceasefire agreement."
Some of the ammunition were supplies that the company had used before, but which were consumed too quickly during the deployment in Syria, while others were rare items that he was seeing for the first time.
[Vehicle detected x1, Valid modification module x1, Valid modification part x1, Modifiable]
"They seem quite united; it's hard to imagine that they were fighting to the death just over a year ago."
For large-caliber anti-aircraft guns and vehicles that are not frequently used, the barrels available on the market are sufficient, and if necessary, they can be repaired using the system.
In another container were precision-guided munitions painted in black and orange and marked "ft-5".
With unit prices ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of US dollars, it's worthwhile to replace a tank in their own war, and it's not a waste to destroy a military truck, but this isn't their country's war!
"Mole, how's Zhong Fei doing these past few days?"
Estimated remaining modification time: 66.7 hours
Well, agreements are meant to be torn up. These guys are probably willing to sign this agreement because they want to take a break and digest the fruits of their labor.
The first CH-4 drone purchased by Busa has just been delivered, and the manufacturer's training is in full swing.
Of course, firing one set means two shells, resulting in a direct profit of $60,000. Who wouldn't want such a sacrifice?
Inside were seven or eight cannon barrels of different thicknesses, as well as a Panzer IV chassis (cut up) salvaged from Syria.
Kuhn relayed the latest intelligence.
Xia Yu said with a pout.
Xia Yu's plan was simple: gather all the parts for modifying a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, assemble them, disassemble them, and repeat the above steps to get three twin-mounted Flak 40 guns.
He asked directly.
If a problem can be solved with money and is within budget, it's better to just spend the money. Only taking in and not giving out is like a greedy pig, not a weasel.
The key is to have your own ammunition, and what's in front of you is the ammunition that Xia Yu prepared in advance.
Continue opening the remaining four containers, which were filled with ammunition boxes of various sizes.
Once added to the queue, the original progress bar instantly grew longer.
Having practical training opportunities is certainly good, but while drones themselves aren't expensive, the ammunition they come with is not cheap.
Since the transitional government completed its mission and elected a new formal government, both the former armed groups of Seleka and the Christian militias that opposed them have gradually shown a tendency to put aside their grievances and unite to overthrow the new president.
“If this continues, I have no doubt that these people will unite and establish a new ‘Seleka’ until they oust the new president, followed by infighting and division.”
History repeats itself, but it shouldn't repeat itself so quickly.
"Yes, boss, that's why we came to Zhongfei."
Kuhn said with great enthusiasm.
Xia Yu had told him about the new car a couple of days ago. Having dealt with weasels for over a decade, he couldn't resist the allure of the ultimate weasel.
As for the larger KF-41, it seems to have a more cougar lineage, while Kuhn still prefers the KF-31.
His new boss is more benevolent.
After chatting for a few more minutes, the two ended their call, and Xia Yu went to the warehouse next door.
Two Leopard 2A4s with their heads smashed were parked in the center of the warehouse. He waved and put them directly into garages 2 and 3, and added them to the queue.
It needs to be refurbished before it can be modified. The Flak40 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun cannot be refurbished, so it can only be modified first. The two Leopard 2 tanks do not have this problem.
However, this caused the progress bar to stretch to over 200 working hours, and it took everyone else to go to Zhongfei to finish everything.
Take your time, none of these things are in a rush.
As they flew back to Bogo Village towards the sunset, Xia Yu arrived just in time for dinner.
"Honey Badger, let's go to Busa tomorrow."
As soon as he sat down, he spoke to Domi.
The four CH-4 drones in Busa have a decent range, but their territory is too large to handle.
If they are all deployed in the capital in the future, it will be difficult to guarantee the length of time they can stay in the air when they reach the border.
Perhaps the next version, with its iteration of the self-produced heavy fuel oil aviation engine, will be better.
According to Xia Yu, a company in Sichuan Province has developed a long-endurance, high-payload drone with the same configuration as the P-38 Lightning, which is expected to make its maiden flight this year.
Xia said this was too much of a problem. Busa had just bought the CH-4 and hadn't even had a chance to warm up to it before it was already at risk of becoming obsolete, much like the current hot new energy vehicle market.
"Yes, sir!"
Domi, who was putting rice into a bowl of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, immediately responded.
The main force of the concentrated fire defense can stay in Konglujia for at most another week. Xia Yu needs to take advantage of this time to arrange the deployment of drones, as well as the preparation and transportation of personnel, equipment, and supplies.
At the museum, he also needs to meet and get acquainted with the newly joined pilots and the newly formed maintenance team.
The number of antique aircraft operated in the second phase of the project has exceeded the number of first-hand aircraft, and relying on Douglas alone is not enough, as is the maintenance and upkeep.
It's fine to entrust the driving and maintenance of tanks and armored vehicles to Black people; if there's a problem, it's just a matter of the engine stalling, and towing it back in an armored repair vehicle can even add to the fun.
But airplanes are different; if there's an accident, the plane can be destroyed and people can die. These two tasks must be entrusted to people who are already highly professional.
The pilots were mainly white people with experience flying various propeller aircraft, while the maintenance crew was mostly Chinese, including several recently retired special equipment engineers.
They were responsible for supporting transport planes, fighter jets, and helicopters respectively, but apart from the helicopters which had the most work, the rest of them used their experience from the primary trainer aircraft days to support these old machines.
Unfortunately, the company currently only has one F-4K and one C-160, not to mention two Red Falcons, and of the six MiG-29UBs, only four have been completed so far.
Pilots scheduled to be hired by Jihuo Defense are undergoing conversion training, while four Phantoms are already ready, and two Super Etendards intended only for demonstrations have been printed.
Their pilots, Xia Yu, planned to find people from England, Germany, and Germany.
The Spey Phantom is best suited to be flown by the British. The old naval F-4Ss were all retired in the 1990s, and retraining them would be less effective than having someone who has flown the regular Phantoms give them a refresher course.
The Germans retired all their F-4Fs a few years ago, and all the young pilots were converted to Typhoons.
According to their publicly available data, only an average of 39 out of 128 Typhoon aircraft are available for training and combat. This serviceability rate is so low that calling them "airborne cougars" is not an exaggeration.
No flight hours, no control stick fee; no control stick fee, and pilots' income will be very poor.
They would definitely be willing to change jobs so they could fly for several hours every day.
As for the French, needless to say, they only retired the last Super Etendard from the Charles de Gaulle last year, and the flight school still has a few planes left to train pilots, so recruiting French people doesn't even require conversion training and they can go directly to the ship.
Unfortunately, it's a single-seat aircraft with limited payload, so only two can be operated at a time for air shows.
Of course, fighting pirates is also an option.
After dinner, the next day arrived quickly. Xia Yu and Domi rode the little antelope to Busa and met Meng Qiao, whom they hadn't seen for a long time.
"Only one drone was delivered, but all the ground equipment was delivered."
Meng Qiao introduced it to Xia Yu.
He was referring to a truck-mounted howitzer battalion, a self-propelled howitzer battalion, and a rocket artillery battalion.
It sounds like a lot, but the main force of each battalion consists of four newly purchased vehicles, plus some of the old ones.
"Oh, how's the training going?"
Xia Yu asked.
"Don't even mention it. All those qualified for training only have high school or college degrees, which has drained the core personnel of several brigades."
"I complained."
In Afika, there aren't many highly educated people who are willing to join the army. Ibrahim, who graduated from university and joined the army, was promoted to officer in just a few years. The same goes for Fang Guo.
Those with higher education who want to join the military prefer to go to Kongluga rather than Busa, since soldiers who have retired from the Anka mechanized infantry battalion can get priority for concentrated fire defense work.
Their salary level is comparable to that of a field-grade officer. And how many field-grade officers and generals are there in the entire army?
“Buying equipment is only the first phase of investment. The requirements for supporting personnel are also very high. We still have too few talents.”
Meng Qiao's words hit the nail on the head.
Educational development is linked to the development of the military. With a population of over 100 million, there are only about 50 universities, and the data for high schools is also quite poor.
This not only restricts the military, but also hinders economic development.
"Ultimately, it still comes down to national peace and stability. Even if Chung Fei had defeated these opposition armed groups, it would still be quite difficult for the country to develop."
Xia Yu talked about the client in this case.
War, geographical location, education, and a virtually non-existent industrial base are all debuffs.
Fortunately, with a population of only a few million, and with a relatively honest and not corrupt patron, the per capita GDP can still reach $1,000.
If the grades are low enough, there is a lot of room for improvement.
"Are you sure you can use drones this time?"
Since the topic of Zhongfei came up, Meng Qiao took the opportunity to ask about the needs of concentrated fire defense.
"That's enough. The government forces can't come up with cash, so they can only use minerals to offset the company's appearance fee. We still need to invest money in developing these projects later, so every little bit saved now is precious."
Xia Yu doesn't act without seeing results, and he only does the work he's paid for. It's good enough that they used drones for this deployment.
The howitzer is towed, and the BM-21 rocket launcher is also usable.
"Time flies. Back then, Jihuo Defense refused to accept our mineral settlement plan."
"I said in a slightly resentful tone."
"Back then it was a small business, and we couldn't develop the mineral resources we got. Things are much better now."
Xia Yu quickly explained.
He was telling the truth. What would less than ten people need a mine for?
Unlike now, we have several hundred full-time employees and second-tier staff, plus the museum's staff, the total easily exceeds a thousand.
The same applies to truly modern military forces: combat personnel who directly face the flames of war only constitute a portion of the total personnel, while the remaining personnel are responsible for command and support.
"Enough talk, let's go to the Air Force and check out their drone training!"
Meng Qiao knew Xia Yu's purpose, and without much small talk, he led the way, and the group arrived at the air force base.
Several Su-25s from Busa were deployed here, and now new personnel are temporarily stationed here.
"You mean the eagle? It took off yesterday morning and hasn't come back yet!"
"This is what the Air Force Brigadier General who was in charge of receiving Xia Yu and his group said."
After all, only four were purchased, so it's not unreasonable to give each one a code name. The bald eagle, also known as the Philippine eagle, is different from the bald eagle that the old man named Mei has, in that it also has a white chest and often hunts fish on the Guo River.
"I'll take you to the control station for details!"
The control station was crowded with people. Two young men wearing glasses sat in front of the screen, one staring at the various data transmitted back by the drone, and the other watching the real-time images captured by the drone's optoelectronic module.
It flies quite well, or rather, its design specifications are comparable to the AK-47 among reconnaissance and strike drones. The CH-4 is not difficult to learn.
These two only received two months of training, but they were the most skilled among all the trainees, thus having more time to get started than others.
"Okay, we've entered the 250-kilometer range. Switch to line-of-sight data link operation."
The manufacturer representative in charge of the training said to Xiao Hei, who was monitoring the data.
There are significant differences between reconnaissance and strike drones; some can only fly a little over 200 kilometers, while others can patrol globally. This is also why Xia Yu looks down on the Hermes-450 and the TB-2.
They can only be operated within "line of sight". The CH-4, which adopts a dual control mode of C/UHF dual-band line-of-sight data link and satellite relay data link, is limited by its range only by its endurance.
In other words, the Roaring Eagle only needs to deploy its aircraft to the front line, with logistics support personnel and ammunition supplies following along, while the ground control station can remain in Busa.
That's more like it. If the enemy can get to the ground control station, the reconnaissance and strike drone loses all its prestige.
Very quickly, less than an hour later, a howling eagle with a maximum flight speed of 230 km/h appeared over the airfield runway.
Once the landing procedure is selected, the flight controller disengages from the drone. After touching down, the drone decelerates and lands automatically on the runway.
"Slap slap slap"
Everyone began to applaud, celebrating the success of this 30-hour extended flight training.
This is what drones are like; even with relay refueling, a fighter jet's range is only about 10 hours.
Because fighter jets can handle it, but pilots can't.
The drones controlled by the ground station can be flown in shifts, and the only limitation on the duration of combat operations is fuel. Once the aerial refueling solution is solved, they can fly for as long as they want.
After leaving the control station and returning to the hangar with the howling eagle, Xia Yu closely examined the drone maintenance process.
There was also training provided by factory representatives, and the young men were learning very diligently.
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