Chapter 1804: Strange Boat No. 3
Xiao Peng had made many guesses before coming here, and even guessed that he would ask them to help salvage the 'K-278' that was more valuable than gold, but he really didn't expect to see a photo of a 'La Fayette-class' submarine here.
The Lafayette-class nuclear submarine is the previous generation of strategic nuclear submarines of the United States. During the Cold War when the Soviet Union and the United States were competing for hegemony, it could be seen almost everywhere, whether in the Arctic, the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean.
Back then, the Americans built over thirty of these things in one go. This was the largest batch of ballistic missile nuclear submarines they built after World War II! Throughout the Cold War, it was the main force of the US strategic nuclear submarine force. Now all of them have been retired. How come I see a photo of it here?
Just as he was surprised, a photo popped up. The photo showed another submarine. Although it was not the one in the photo, it was still a Lafayette class.
By the time Xiao Peng sat down, the screen had changed three times in a row, indicating that there were four Lafayette-class submarines on the seabed. What did this mean?
Yevmenov explained, "Xiao, since you recognize this as a Lafayette-class submarine, that's easy to explain. You have to understand that the Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest ocean in the world, with very few suitable submarine lanes. And during the Cold War... let me put it this way, the disputes on the seabed there exceeded those in any other corner of the world. Thirty-one Lafayette-class submarines were built, thirteen of which were mothballed, five were converted for other uses, and four were dismantled. So where did the rest go?"
This question really stumped Xiao Peng. This is a strategic nuclear submarine! Who else in the world, besides the Russians, would dare to rent it out? And it's only for rent, not for sale! The consequences of doing so could be very serious.
For example, if the Americans intend to help Australia develop nuclear submarines, the result will be a violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. If they insist on going their own way, the result may be, in Uncle Li's words, "the morale of the people will be dispersed and the team will be difficult to lead."
Xiao Peng looked at Yevmenov and said, "What the hell do you want me to do? Damn it! When I came here, my wildest guess was that you wanted me to salvage 'K-278'. I didn't expect you to give me such a bigger problem."
K-278 is the Soviet nuclear submarine that broke numerous world records.
Yevmenov's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Can you rescue 'K278'?"
Xiao Peng did not answer the question directly, but asked Yevmenov: "What's the matter with these submarines? Why are you still focusing on the Lafayette class when you have the more advanced Ohio class?"
Yevmenov didn't hide anything and answered directly, "We want to use reverse engineering technology to determine the development ideas of their submarine developers. This is a cooperative project between our two countries. Xiao, believe me, this research and development project is even more important to you, Daxia."
After hearing this, Xiao Peng was silent for a while and then said, "Can we smoke here?"
Yevmenov said: "Of course."
Xiao Peng took out a cigarette, lit it, and said, "Show me the information."
Moiseev on the side handed him a Russian military PAD that was at least five times thicker than an iPad. It was very similar to the PAD used by the "Iron Lady" Melina in the movie "Black Widow" - this is very Russian!
Yevmenov said something very interesting, which is that this project will be of greater benefit to Daxia.
Although Daxia is one of the first five countries in the world to have nuclear submarines, Daxia's nuclear submarines were really hard-earned.
At the time, relations with the Soviet Union were deteriorating, and the technology was lacking. Of all the people involved in designing and building nuclear submarines, only a few had a few years of experience copying Soviet conventional submarines. Their understanding of nuclear submarines was essentially zero. They assumed they could simply add a reactor to a conventional submarine, but later on, it turned out to be completely different!
At that time, 29 young people with an average age of less than 30 years old gathered together. The only information they had was two blurry photos of nuclear submarines and two toy models of nuclear submarines.
They started their research from a toy model that could be disassembled to reveal its internal structure, and discovered that even the most advanced things were developed and innovated based on conventional equipment. The data was really calculated using an abacus, and all equipment was weighed one by one to calculate the weight and center of gravity. Moreover, to maintain confidentiality, this was the first nuclear submarine built in the inland area of Sichuan.
The chief designer at that time, Mr. Huang, lived in hiding for 30 years in order to develop nuclear submarines. His father had no idea what his son was doing until his death.
It is these scientists who work anonymously for the country that have created the current good situation.
When Daxia's nuclear submarine was launched, the whole world was stunned: because the nuclear submarine at that time adopted the American "teardrop-shaped" hull, which had no Soviet style at all.
The Soviet Union was shocked: "What the hell, the Americans bought Daxia?" And the Americans were also shocked: "What the hell, is there a traitor among us?"
After much investigation, it was discovered that Daxia had actually built a nuclear submarine based on a model.
The Americans then arrested the model maker, hoping to investigate how he could have known the internal structure of their submarine and made the toy. They discovered that the model was simply a design made by the toy designer based on his own imagination.
Who can be blamed for this? We can only blame the Daxia people for being too smart!
The prototype of the nuclear submarine model they were imitating was the George Washington-class strategic nuclear submarine, which was not officially retired until 2013. Although Daxia has the latest nuclear submarines, and although they have undergone a "generational leap" development like destroyers, it is true that Daxia's technology in this area is still imperfect and needs more information.
Russia captured a sculpin. Since Chen Zetao and the others in the "observation group" were here, they should have shared technology. Who wouldn't want more technology? And by reverse engineering, understanding the enemy's design process, it's perfectly exemplified by the saying, "Know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never be defeated in a hundred battles."
Xiao Peng was carefully studying the information in his hand. He finally realized it when his cigarette butt burned his finger. He quickly threw the butt away and asked, "What's going on with this boat number three?"
He discovered that one of the submarines, marked 'Number Three', had no apparent damage.
"They probably sank on their own," Moiseyev replied. "When nuclear submarines were first invented, the technology was very unstable. There were at least a hundred nuclear submarine accidents in the first twenty years. Even in Russia, we had nuclear submarines that sank due to accidents during that time, including the K-278."
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