African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1555 Helicopters in the Rainforest

About 130 kilometers west of Samarinda, there is a dense rainforest through which a tributary of the Mahakan River flows, with speedboats occasionally traversing its surface.

These speedboats belong to the East African military and are primarily used to transport experimental equipment for testing in the tropical rainforest. Their final destination is the Gers Test Site deep in the rainforest.

The test site belongs to the East African Military Equipment Research Institute, codenamed Institute 3207. Institute 3207 has a branch in the city of Sanmalinda, while its headquarters are in Beira, East Africa.

At the Gers test site.

"It's only been six months, and the Gers Test Site has really changed a lot!" Lieutenant Helmut, who was in charge of the escort mission, looked at the changes at the Gers Test Site in surprise.

At this moment, Lieutenant Helmut stood on the deck of the speedboat. In front of him was the dock of the Gels Test Site. After all, it was just a test site, so the dock of the Gels Test Site was not large in scale. However, it was completely different from the dock that Lieutenant Helmut had seen half a year ago.

At the time, the so-called dock at the Gels test site was a very crude temporary structure made of planks and mud. Helmut even suspected that a heavy rain could wash it away. Now it has been replaced with a concrete structure and small hoisting equipment has been added.

Of course, the changes at the dock alone wouldn't have surprised him. Now, the Gels Test Site has also undergone earth-shattering changes.

The core area was completely isolated by walls, and barbed wire was also built around it. The area of ​​the test site was expanded five or six times, and three rows of houses were built.

Of course, what interested Lieutenant Helmut the most was an area built on an open field to the west of the test range, where an aircraft was parked, but Helmut knew almost nothing about it.

He asked Paul, the test range personnel who came to receive the supplies, "What model is this aircraft at your test range? It looks like a helicopter, but I've never seen one before."

Paul turned and glanced in the direction Helmut was pointing, then turned back and said, "Lieutenant Helmut, this helicopter hasn't been at our test range for long, about a month ago. It's not finalized yet, but it should be the latest helicopter developed domestically. We suspect that this helicopter is specifically designed for tropical regions."

Helicopters have a relatively recent history. It wasn't until the early 20th century that various countries began developing them. The East African helicopter project was initiated in the 19s, and it wasn't until 1923 that the first controllable helicopter in East Africa, and also the world's first, "Falcon," was officially developed.

Meanwhile, in 1907, the Frenchman Corny built Europe's first manned helicopter, but it was completely impractical. Then the Spaniard de la Sherva perfected the rotor technology, laying the foundation for the subsequent development of helicopters in Europe.

It is clear that East Africa is progressing faster than Europe in helicopter development. This is understandable, as East Africa has been a national team from the beginning, investing a lot of resources.

In the 1990s, there were no private individuals or non-governmental organizations in East Africa with sufficient funds to invest in helicopter research and development, as East Africa was still in the era of planned economy at that time.

Therefore, under Ernst's leadership, East Africa's first helicopter design bureau was officially established in Mbeya in 1893. After nearly thirty years of effort, the Falcon was finally launched.

This process was undeniably lengthy, and a crucial point was that helicopters were completely foreign to East Africa at the time. Back then, the world was still developing various "aircraft," such as hot air balloons, airships, and even flying saucers, along with all sorts of imaginative flight schemes. Helicopters were just a "trivial" technological route among them, yet East Africa had already made "helicopters" one of the key development directions for national military technology.

It's important to know that in the 19s, East Africa was a world-renowned "copycat" power. Although East Africa's military industry was not weak, it basically relied on copying and imitation. For example, rifles were directly derived from German technology, and warships were modeled after those of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

As for independent research and development, it was very difficult for East Africa at that time. Since they had never seen a real helicopter before, East Africa could only explore it step by step.

Although higher education in East Africa had reached a considerable scale by the 1990s, it was only on a large scale. The truly top-notch talents cultivated domestically did not begin to emerge fully until after the 1920s.

This led to an explosive development in East Africa's technology sector in the 1920s, maintaining East Africa's advantages in fields such as electricity, machinery manufacturing, automobiles, aerospace, and communications.

Previously, although East Africa had a certain say in these emerging industries, it had basically obtained it through "tricks".

The most typical examples are East Africa's automotive and power industries. The reason why East Africa has been able to squeeze into the world's top tier in these two industries is not because East Africa's education and scientific research were particularly outstanding in the early days.

Instead, it relied on the Rhine royal family, that is, the Heisingen royal family at the time, to invest in Europe, especially in the German region, and developed with the help of talent, technology and education from Germany and Austria-Hungary.

In layman's terms, it's like "borrowing a hen to lay eggs." The hen is the German region, and then the East African, or rather the Heisingen royal family, takes the "egg" to East Africa, thus giving East Africa the ability to independently produce automobiles and electrical equipment.

However, the technicians and personnel were not native to East Africa, but rather people originally from the German region, who were educated and trained there.

If East Africa wants to truly master these technologies and continue to develop them, it must establish its own talent development system.

In fact, this problem was exposed at the very beginning of the 20th century. At that time, the high-end talents cultivated in East Africa did not yet have the ability to stand on their own, and the talents recruited by Europe would naturally die out, which led to a brief "generation gap" in East Africa in terms of talent.

Fortunately, the problem was averted as East Africa experienced a surge in high-end talent and the industrial leap forward at the beginning of this century led to the rapid growth of the younger generation.

The first generation of highly educated talents trained in East Africa encountered the country's major industrial development trend as soon as they entered society. In this process of rapid industrialization, their theoretical knowledge found its application and was constantly refined and corrected in practice.

After entering the 1920s, a large number of knowledgeable, experienced, and capable East African researchers became the foundation for the industrial and technological boom in East Africa during that period.

The Falcon helicopter development team, which returned to East Africa, had already undergone trials and tribulations earlier than this process, growing up first and becoming an epitome of the East African spirit of hard work and perseverance.

The helicopter currently at the Kars Proving Ground proves this point. At the same time, when no other country had yet developed a practical helicopter model, East Africa was already considering the issue of "upgrading and iteration."

Paul speculated with Lieutenant Helmut, "While we can't be entirely certain about the helicopter's exact purpose, I think its presence at our test range suggests only one possibility: the country is developing a helicopter model for use in tropical rainforest areas." Lieutenant Helmut asked curiously, "How can you be so sure?"

Paul smiled mysteriously and asked in return, "Lieutenant Helmut, you should have some understanding of the purpose of this testing ground. What do you think is the purpose of establishing the Karls Testing Ground?"

Helmut actually had some knowledge of this issue, and he said, "Naturally, it's about testing some weapons and equipment."

Paul nodded and said, "A more specific description is testing the combat performance of some weapons and equipment in tropical rainforests and island areas, not limited to firearms, artillery, special operations equipment, vehicles, etc."

“East Kalimantan’s unique climate makes it one of the Empire’s best testing grounds. Similarly, this helicopter, which was transported from the mainland, was placed at our testing ground to test it in order to cope with the local climate, terrain, vegetation and other issues.”

East Kalimantan has a typical tropical rainforest climate. Although most of East Africa is also in the tropics, it is very different from East Kalimantan. For example, the jungles of East Kalimantan are hot and humid, and the terrain is very complex.

Many forested areas in East Africa do not have this characteristic. Although there is a lot of rainfall in many East African jungles, it is distinctly seasonal, much like the tropical monsoon climate of India.

However, East Kalimantan has a typical tropical rainforest climate with abundant rainfall throughout the year. Due to its island topography, the rainfall is even more plentiful. Only the heart of the East African Congo rainforest can achieve the same effect as East Kalimantan.

Although the Congo rainforest also has a tropical rainforest climate, its periphery exhibits seasonal characteristics, with rainfall fluctuating as the rain belt shifts.

Moreover, due to topography and the influence of ocean currents, the Congo rainforest actually receives relatively little rainfall, which is especially evident compared to the Amazon rainforest.

The Amazon rainforest is pocket-shaped and completely open to the east, which is very conducive to the penetration of moisture from the Atlantic Ocean. The Congo rainforest does not have this condition, which can be seen from the topography of the "Congo Basin".

In other words, the Congo rainforest is basically surrounded by mountains and plateaus, which is similar to the Sichuan Basin in the Far East.

Then, the combined effect of the Amazon rainforest's monsoon and the equator makes it more conducive to the collection of water vapor, while the Congo rainforest mainly relies on the rising air currents in the equatorial region. The problem is that the Congo rainforest is surrounded by land, which is mostly arid, so the water vapor brought by the rising air currents is also very limited.

Although East Kalimantan is also dominated by equatorial rising air currents, the island is surrounded by ocean, providing ample moisture. Therefore, East Kalimantan's average rainfall is higher than that of the Congo rainforest.

In summary, East Kalimantan is more humid and hot than most of East Africa, and it is more representative of the climate and environment of many Pacific islands in Southeast Asia.

Paul said, "East Kalimantan is the Empire's core colony in the South Seas and even the Pacific Ocean, and the South Seas has always been one of the cores of the Empire's strategy. Therefore, the Kars Proving Ground was established to help the Empire explore military construction in the South Seas region."

"Ultimately, the Empire's interests overseas are maintained by military force, and as the world's only tropical power, the Empire itself attaches great importance to combat in tropical regions."

"The climate and environment of the Southeast Asia region are ultimately very different from those of the mainland, so the empire needs to build a separate military theory and technology system for the region."

Since we're talking about the military field, Lieutenant Helmut is naturally no stranger to it, and he has a deep understanding of it: "The combat environment in the South Pacific is indeed very different from that on the mainland."

"It is more humid and hotter here than the mainland, with more complex vegetation, more diverse terrain, and very underdeveloped transportation. Therefore, many of the weapons and equipment native to the mainland are not suitable for the combat environment in Southeast Asia, and some mainstream combat thinking is also not suitable for this region."

"For example, large-scale troop operations would not pose a significant problem in Europe or on the mainland, but it would be difficult to conduct such operations in Southeast Asia."

“Large-scale armored forces cannot be fully utilized in East Kalimantan. Their operational area is limited to coastal towns or places with relatively convenient transportation.”

"Going deeper, they faced vast dense forests, various vegetation that obstructed their view, and difficult-to-pass obstacles such as rivers, swamps, and mud pits. Such areas are not suitable for large-scale military operations."

Paul also agreed with Lieutenant Helmut's insights. Although he was a technician, his research in this area was no less than that of Lieutenant Helmut, an officer. After all, much of the work at their 3207 Institute revolved around the core issue of "tropical jungle warfare."

Paul pointed to the helicopters at the test site and said, "Although I am not a member of the helicopter project team, I think helicopters should be of great significance for future operations in the Southeast Asia region."

"As Lieutenant Helmut said before, the South Pacific region is not suitable for the use of large machinery. Armored forces would be tying their own hands here. But we in East Africa cannot give up our industrial advantages and engage in hand-to-hand combat or close-quarters contact with future enemies."

"Therefore, I speculate that helicopters are a tropical combat platform that leverages our strengths in East Africa and can be used in multiple scenarios."

"Imagine helicopter operations in the rainforest. First of all, they are not limited by terrain. They can move freely in the air, scout and detect enemy situations, thereby reducing the direct contact between our personnel and the enemy when they venture deep into the rainforest."

"At the same time, the helicopter itself is also a weapon platform. It is not difficult for us to install at least one or two machine guns. Moreover, it can hover in the air and attack from a high altitude, thereby providing fire support for ground combat."

"Finally, helicopters can also help the military with personnel transfers and supply transport, which will greatly improve the flexibility of our military support and troop deployment in the rainforest environment, and also enhance the operation of the logistics system."

"Instead of relying on manpower and risking their lives to deliver small quantities of supplies to specific locations..."

After Paul's analysis, Lieutenant Helmut's eyes lit up. He said, "Helicopters are the ideal weapon for our troops. I really hope that this high-performance platform can be equipped by our troops as soon as possible, especially for our overseas-based troops."

(End of this chapter)