Daming 1805

Chapter 461 The Missed Era
The craftsmen headed by Li Rui listened to Zhu Jingyuan's reminders and suggestions, and the regrets that had been held back for more than half a year basically dissipated.

After confirming that Zhu Jingyuan himself does not think the relevant research is a waste, the worries in his heart are basically gone.

Hearing Zhu Jingyuan mention the AWACS, Li Rui instantly realized something:
"Transportation plane and radio station detection? Installing radio detection equipment on the transport plane is the early warning aircraft that His Highness said?

"It's really a good idea.

"The distance of radio detection is theoretically infinite, but the surface of the earth is curved, and the emitted radio waves cannot return to the receiver from below the horizon.

"So the actual maximum detection distance is still the horizon, which is the theoretical boundary line of the furthest visual distance.

"If you want to detect farther, you need to install the detection equipment as high as possible.

"So the shipboard detection equipment must be installed on the top of the highest bridge or even the top of the mast.

"However, no matter how tall the bridge and mast are, it is impossible to fly higher than the plane.

"Put the detection equipment on the plane, and you can detect objects hundreds of kilometers away.

"But isn't it just a reconnaissance plane?

"The Ordnance Department is already trying to design a radio detection and reconnaissance aircraft that uses bombers and fighter jets as carriers...

"The difference from His Highness's idea is that no transport plane is used as the carrier.

"His Royal Highness wants to use a transport plane as a carrier...

"Is it to install larger detection equipment?"

Zhu Jingyuan laughed directly after hearing Li Rui's words.

Just now he roughly mentioned the name and the things used, Li Rui basically understood his idea.

Zhu Jingyuan is not afraid that craftsmen have ideas, but he is afraid that they have no ideas:

"Yes, the early warning aircraft I'm talking about is essentially a larger and more specialized reconnaissance aircraft.

"To use a transport plane as a carrier, it is necessary to install capital ship-level large-scale detection equipment and large-scale communication equipment.

"Put the detection equipment on the plane, as long as the plane is high enough, the theoretical detection distance can be increased to hundreds of kilometers or even thousands of kilometers.

"But everyone must also know that it is only a theoretical effect.

"In fact, how far can be detected depends on the power and accuracy of the detection equipment in addition to being related to the height.

"If you want to increase the transmission power, increase the processing power, and increase the accuracy by more than a dozen, you must make the device itself and the antenna larger and heavier.

"If you want to carry larger and heavier detection equipment and antennas, you can only use a larger aircraft.

"Then, in addition to the reconnaissance function, communication and intelligence capabilities are more important.

"Higher power, higher precision, longer detection distance equipment, higher efficiency and more channel communication equipment, installed on the same transport plane, hovering over the battlefield and positions.

"Continuously flying over battlefields and positions, through the replacement of a few aircraft of the same type, at least one aircraft is always on duty in the air, monitoring the surrounding hundreds of thousands of kilometers around the clock.

"At the same time, maintain direct communication with the combat command center, and maintain communication with all aircraft, ships, and ground combat vehicles.

"After discovering the enemy hundreds of thousands of kilometers away in advance, cooperate with the command center to coordinate and command all combat units on the sea, land, and air to meet the enemy.

"I think that after achieving this effect, this aircraft cannot be regarded as an ordinary reconnaissance aircraft.

"So I'm going to call it an early warning aircraft."

The craftsmen headed by Li Rui showed stunned expressions one after another when they heard this:
"This is the effect of quantitative change to qualitative change based on the reconnaissance aircraft.

"This is indeed not a reconnaissance aircraft, it is indeed very appropriate to be called an early warning aircraft alone.

"With this kind of aircraft that is on duty around the clock and continuously monitors hundreds of kilometers around, there is no chance for enemy ships and aircraft to suddenly rush into our fleet.

"So... if you have this kind of aircraft... then the aircraft carrier..."

Li Rui chanted up to this point, and suddenly realized something:
"We already have radio detection equipment that can guide aircraft, artillery, and missiles at night, and then design this special early warning aircraft. Does the aircraft carrier still need battleship escort?"

The several craftsmen on the scene led by Li Rui are all the top core craftsmen of Daming, and they are all from the Ordnance Department.

The latest state of technological development of Ming Dynasty, and the latest military innovation and exploration plan of Ming Dynasty are directly handled by them.

The point is, most of them have communicated directly with Zhu Jingyuan many times with Li Rui and Wang Lai.

So they all knew that according to Zhu Jingyuan's vision, battleships would be eliminated sooner or later.

The future naval fleet is purely centered on aircraft carriers.

In addition to Zhu Jingyuan's direct explanation, these craftsmen themselves will also think about how the battleship was eliminated.

When discussing the early warning aircraft today, they immediately realized that this might be an important node.

If the battleship can be found hundreds of kilometers in advance, the battleship will have no chance to approach the aircraft carrier.

Hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan once again showed an uncontrollable smile on his face.

But Zhu Jingyuan did not directly respond to Li Rui's inquiry, but instead asked another question:
"How is the progress of missile research?"

Li Rui immediately put aside the unanswered questions:

"The missile test on the ground has been able to reach 150 kilometers in distance.

"The main problem is accuracy. Smaller missiles have limited accuracy, and larger ones are difficult to install on destroyers.

"At present, it can barely be used to attack ground cities, and it is difficult to achieve combat against ships for the time being."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded again after listening:
"The research on missiles still has several directions in the future.

"The first is strategic missiles. The farther the strike distance, the better, and the heavier the throwing weight, the better.

"The pursuit of one-hit kills is used to destroy enemy cities, fortresses, bases, and kill populations on a mass scale.

"Then there are tactical missiles, there are many types, including ground-to-ground, ground-to-ship, ship-to-ship, and ship-to-ground.

"Equivalent to a substitute for various types of artillery, but with a longer range and higher accuracy.

"The last is anti-aircraft missiles, including surface-to-air, ship-to-air, and air-to-air.

"Specially designed to deal with enemy aircraft, and possibly enemy strategic missiles.

"In either case, the higher the accuracy, the better.

"So the focus is on precision.

"However, relatively speaking, the accuracy requirements for air-to-air missiles are the highest, while those for strategic missiles are lower.

"As far as ship-borne and ground-to-ground and ship-to-ship missiles are concerned, they can be ready for deployment if they can control the weight within three tons, have a range of about [-] kilometers, and hit more than [-]% of battleship-scale targets. up.

"How long is it estimated to take to achieve this level?"

Li Rui made a little evaluation in his heart:
"The key still depends on the research progress of radio detection and guidance equipment.

"The subordinate's personal judgment...may take three to five years..."

Zhu Jingyuan exhaled softly:
"Three to five years, it may take three years to build a new warship modified according to this weapon.

"Even if we modify the drawings now, reserve space, and install the equipment directly after the research and development of the equipment is completed.

"After the installation and testing, it will still take time to deploy the navy on a large scale and finally form combat effectiveness.

"It may take seven to eight years, or even ten years, to complete the missileization of the fleet ...

"By that time, the radio detection equipment can be upgraded again, the early warning aircraft, guided bombs and proximity fuzes should be basically mature and practical, and the jet carrier and early warning aircraft should also be on board and practical.

"Combined with these devices, it will be a new round of naval revolution and a comprehensive military revolution.

"I think you can call it a hit rate revolution, a hit distance revolution, and a speed revolution.

"Guided weapons will directly increase the hit rate from less than [-]% to more than [-]%.

"Increase the combat distance from tens of kilometers to hundreds of kilometers, extending from the field of vision to beyond sea level.

"The flight speed of the aircraft will also increase from the current several hundred kilometers to one thousand kilometers, or even above the speed of sound.

"Subversive changes at the level of weapons and equipment will lead to subversive changes in combat methods.

"Like the way traditional armies fought, the shift from line infantry with muskets to rifled skirmishers was as significant.

"By that time, the combat capability of one aircraft carrier may exceed the current ten aircraft carriers.

"When the aircraft carrier formation goes to sea, it is really possible to not bring a battleship escort.

"It's just that since we have battleships, we can insert missiles into the battleships and continue to use them.

"Wang Lai is not here... I told him later that we can start planning and designing guided missile cruisers.

"On the battleships and cruisers that will be built later, relevant installation and modification space can be reserved..."

The craftsmen headed by Li Rui know what Zhu Jingyuan said about a single piece of equipment.

The Ministry of Ordnance, the Royal Consortium, and Daming Aviation are all conducting related research.

Some of them were proposed by Zhu Jingyuan directly, and many of them were conceived by craftsmen themselves, who submitted applications and were directly approved and appreciated by Zhu Jingyuan.

What Zhu Jingyuan is describing now is the combined effect of these things.

When the craftsmen were imagining this picture in their minds, Li Rui seemed to realize something suddenly:
"Your Highness... if there are no accidents, the future situation should be as you expected.

"In another ten years or so, these devices will gradually mature, and the military's combat methods will develop subversively again.

"At the same time, compared with the World War era, our Ming Dynasty's current weapons and equipment have undergone a subversion.

"It's like the world war is an era, it's an era now, and it'll be another era ten years later.

"If there is no large-scale war between Ming Dynasty and the world in the next ten years, the main equipment installed in our current era will be... skipped without practical application?"

Zhu Jingyuan was also slightly taken aback when he heard this statement.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems to be the case.

Comparing it to the previous life, it is equivalent to the fact that the First World War was brought forward to the nineteenth century, and the Second World War did not break out, directly entering the Cold War era.

Specifically, equipment such as propeller fighter jets were eliminated directly without large-scale use in war.

Of course, the premise is that there will be no large-scale wars in the next ten years or so.

It will take time for jet fighters to be fully popularized and installed, and for propeller fighters to completely withdraw from the fighter ranks.

Thinking of this, Zhu Jingyuan smiled and looked at Li Rui:

"Does Li Gong feel regretful?"

Li Rui shook his head subconsciously:

“It’s not a pity, it’s just a very strange feeling.

"How should I put it... I tensed my nerves and worked hard to tackle the problem for ten or even 20 years, but in the end it was completely useless.

"So I feel empty in my heart, so that I am a little tired..."

Zhu Jingyuan felt that these words were a little familiar.

Li Rui thought that with the jet engine, the research on the previous propeller plane would be useless.

But the feeling of saying it this time is obviously different from before.

Zhu Jingyuan vaguely felt that he might have misunderstood something:
"Tired? Rest when you're tired...

"After the end of the world war, I didn't ask the craftsmen to work overtime...

“As for saying it’s useless, it’s not accurate.

"It is not directly used in large-scale wars, but it is used in daily training and duty.

"Counting from the armistice of the world war, 20 years to complete an era change is actually not too short."

Li Rui quickly shook his head and explained:
"Your Highness forgive me, I don't mean to complain, it should be said that I am feeling...

"The previous craftsmen, ordinary craftsmen, would never have these experiences like mine."

Zhu Jingyuan shook his head with a smile and patted Li Rui's shoulder lightly:

"I know you have been tired all these years, and I probably understand why you feel tired.

"Before I directly intervene in scientific research-related affairs, the situation of craftsmen developing a certain new equipment should be like this:

"The craftsman who researches the principle discovers some new theory, or realizes some new technical effect, or the user sums up experience in use and forms some new idea.

"Engineering craftsmen design practical equipment around this new theory or technology or idea.

"For example, the main guns of the original battleships did not have turrets. After realizing the function of the turrets, the Navy asked the craftsmen of the Ordnance Department to design the turrets.

"Then the craftsmen of the Naval Ship Division changed the exposed main guns into turret-style ones based on the original battleship blueprints.

"Even if designing a new warship, most of the components on the warship are ready-made.

"Usually only a small number of parts with new technologies and new requirements are modified.

"After my direct participation, the main research and development tasks have gradually changed.

"For example, the cutting-edge high-speed battleship project I requested at the beginning.

"I asked for a complete redesign of the shape of the hull, and I asked for a new line shape for the underwater part of the hull, a square stern and a bulbous bow, all of which had to be calculated and verified by simulation.

"I request the design of a new type of battleship, with steam turbines of sufficient power, and you go to tackle large-scale steam turbines.

"I request that coal-fired boilers can no longer be used, and boilers with sufficient power should be used. You should tackle large-scale small water-tube oil-fired boilers.

"We proposed a new armor formula, and relevant craftsmen did experiments to verify it.

"I proposed a new armor arrangement, a new mine protection scheme, and a new hard-coated hooded armor-piercing shell.

"I demand higher standards of naval guns, and craftsmen to specialize in naval guns.

"Later, I found that the naval gun indicators I proposed could not be realized, and I asked the craftsmen to tackle key problems in the production of steel for naval guns, which led to the research of electroslag remelting technology.

"In other words, most of the entire battleship is brand new.

"Inside and outside, up and down, I don't know how many parts need special research and special experimental verification.

"The difficulty of these two scientific research methods is not at the same level at all.

"The work intensity of the relevant craftsmen is of course not at the same level.

"Getting used to the way I worked before, I'm definitely tired now.

"Even if you don't work overtime at all, you will feel tired.

"Like a skilled craftsman in a small workshop, even if he is used to working twelve or more hours a day, he may feel very tired after ten hours on the production line.

"Because the work intensity is too far apart...

"Everyone should feel tired.

"But there is no way to do it. If you want to realize various new technologies, you need to tackle key problems and research.

"This kind of tiredness, this kind of continuous tiredness, can produce enough revolutionary new technologies.

"What I can do is to provide everyone with as stable and favorable living and working conditions as possible.

"As I have always demanded, the production line workers should be paid more than ordinary workers.

"Make the workers feel that the hard work is worth it.

"But the problem is that you big workers are still different from ordinary production line workers.

"As a highly educated intellectual, I think your pursuit in life should not only lead a better life, earn more money, and enjoy better food and clothing.

"A large part of the pursuit should be the value of life.

"Up to now, everyone has discovered that things that have been studied for a long time may not produce direct effects and will be eliminated.

"So I suddenly felt extremely tired and decadent in my heart.

"Even if you know, these studies are necessary and will be useful in the future.

"As long as it doesn't have the expected effect, there may still be a sense of loss...

"I think that you can have such feelings of loss and frustration, which shows that you are truly responsible and ideal, not ordinary people who only know how to make money and enjoy themselves.

"So I also think that while everyone feels lost, they should also feel satisfied, right?
"Before many people didn't realize it at all, and hadn't actually experienced it at all, an era has already left.

"Come in a hurry, go in a hurry...

"Only you and I, only all of us who have actually participated in this era, experienced this era completely, and left memories that belong only to us.

"So, we don't need to regret, what we need to regret is those who don't know..."

The craftsmen headed by Li Rui were slowly stunned when they heard Zhu Jingyuan say so much.

Most craftsmen themselves don't know why they feel uncomfortable.

Some craftsmen feel that the meaning of the previous work has been dispelled because of the subsequent research and development of new technologies.

Now listening to Zhu Jingyuan's interpretation, everyone realized that the real reason was that they were too high-spirited.

It is the high-level needs of self-actualization that have not been fully realized.

Hearing Zhu Jingyuan's final explanation, the mood of the craftsmen changed again.

The detached feeling similar to "everyone is drunk and I am sober" seems to be very good...

(End of this chapter)