I built an armada.

Under the cold white light of the base's underground lighting, his focused expression, slightly pursed lips, and the reflection of the screen in his eyes made her heart beat a little faster.

Their relationship seemed to be stuck at this stalemate, yet they maintained a tacit understanding.

Although work is busy and stressful, a glance or a brief exchange can often convey more than words.

At this moment, she could sense the excitement hidden beneath Su Dingping's calm exterior.

That was the joy of the project progressing smoothly and about to succeed.

Guo Xueyun was also excited about the success, but what moved her even more was Su Dingping's companionship.

Or... well, it can't really be called companionship.

Because if we follow this standard, there are dozens or even hundreds of people accompanying Su Dingping.

The time Guo Xueyun spent with Su Dingping was probably less than half the time Su Dingping's personal bodyguard spent.

"Speaking of which, there's a lot of discussion about sixth-generation fighter jets outside right now, the level of interest is truly astonishing..."

"Do we really not need to intervene?"

Guo Xueyun asked with some doubt.

Su Dingping shook his head slightly: "This is actually part of the plan."

"There's no need to interfere with the discussion surrounding this matter for the time being."

"It won't be long before everyone forgets about this."

An official announcement is unlikely to be released so quickly.

But after so much research, it's time to report on their progress.

Therefore, there was not much cover-up regarding the fighter jets involved. If someone took a picture, it didn't matter; if not, it was fine.

It was expected that this would spark such a large discussion online.

In the past, when we lacked the ability, we could only comfort ourselves with the idea of ​​conserving our energy and biding our time.

But now that the Longxia tribe has the ability and the strength to show its prowess to the world, why should it keep it hidden?

Whether others are willing to believe it or not is their business.

"And this is not our final product."

Su Dingping said calmly.

"What was released this time was just an experimental model with some initial results."

"Let them guess, let them chase."

"Our true sword has yet to be drawn!"

He was referring to the core of the sixth-generation combat system, which is based on a fully modular and reconfigurable concept, can deeply collaborate with the fleet, and is highly intelligent.

He turned his head, seemingly wanting to say something to Guo Xueyun, but paused slightly when his gaze met her focused eyes.

Everyone else in the command center was busy, and no one noticed the brief silence in this corner.

"Xiaoyun, we still need to do a thorough review of the core energy data..."

"I'll go back and put together a preliminary report."

Guo Xueyun withdrew her gaze and nodded slightly in reply.

"it is good."

Su Dingping nodded.

"We can now officially move on to the next phase of research and development."

The most basic architecture has been completed. Now we are researching something more in-depth, or rather... something a bit more cutting-edge.

For example... true optical stealth.

Su Dingping still remembers that when he was a child, he first saw the Eagle Tribe's stealth fighter jet in a magazine and thought that their stealth fighter jet could really be invisible in the air.

At the time, we wondered how the Eagle Tribe could have such advanced technology, and what we could possibly use to catch up.
It wasn't until later that Su Dingping gradually realized that stealth fighters didn't refer to true stealth, but rather electromagnetic stealth.

Later, Su Dingping gradually realized that optical invisibility was not entirely impossible.

Strictly speaking, the stealth performance of a stealth fighter can be divided into several aspects, including radar, infrared, optical, and ultimately acoustic stealth.

The latter two are easy to understand: optical stealth means making it literally invisible to you.

Acoustic stealth refers to the fact that the sound produced when an aircraft starts is so small that it is difficult to detect.

The first two sound complicated, but they are actually quite simple. In short, they are about making it impossible for the enemy's detection methods to detect your aircraft.

The F-22 Raptor fighter jet of the Eagle Tribe is said to have a radar cross-section of only one square centimeter, which is about the size of a normal person's fingernail.

Whether this data is true or false is currently unknown.

At that time, the Eagle Tribe's Raptor fighter jets were indeed impossible to detect.

However, with increasingly advanced reconnaissance technology, higher requirements are now placed on the stealth performance of stealth fighters.

If it were simply electromagnetic or radar stealth, Su Dingping wouldn't need to expend so much effort.

If you do something, do it to the best of your ability.

What Su Dingping is currently researching is, of course, optical stealth!

As for acoustic stealth... strictly speaking, acoustic stealth does not mean making the aircraft completely silent when it is in motion.

This is simply impossible in a physical sense.

As long as there is relative motion between the aircraft and the air, various kinds of vibrations, such as friction, will inevitably occur, and these vibrations cannot be eliminated in a physical sense.

In addition, whether it is a jet engine or a propeller engine, the core of its operation is to draw in air and then accelerate it out, which inevitably generates a huge noise source.

The physical disappearance of sound also means that the engine has stopped working.

At least with current Earth technology, this is simply impossible.

The core objective of acoustic stealth is to significantly reduce the detection range of the enemy's acoustic sensors, delay the enemy's identification time, and obscure one's own strategic intentions and aircraft status.

This technology is relatively important, but the necessary techniques are already largely in place, making further breakthroughs difficult.

Therefore, this is not the focus of Su Dingping's research.

As for optical stealth, which is physical invisibility, there is a high possibility that it can be achieved.

In fact, the core of fighter jet stealth technology is still radar and infrared stealth.

For example, radar and infrared stealth can prevent the enemy from detecting you from tens, hundreds, or even thousands of kilometers away.

Optical stealth and acoustic stealth reduce the distance at which a person can be detected to just a few kilometers or even a few hundred meters.

By the time the enemy notices you, the cannon barrel is already stuffed into their mouth. At that point, what they're thinking is meaningless.

When discussing optical stealth, one must mention some optical stealth technologies that are currently used in stealth fighter jets.

Currently, most mainstream fifth-generation fighter jets have adopted low-visibility paint schemes and some adaptive camouflage technologies.

In layman's terms, it's like the camouflage uniform worn by soldiers.

This low-visibility coating works very well on cloudy nights or in environments with complex backgrounds. However, on sunny days or against a simple blue sky, it's practically indistinguishable from having no coating at all.

The optimal solution is undoubtedly to use a special coating to alter the light path, allowing some background light to bypass the body directly, thereby reducing the visibility of the body's outline.

Many people have probably seen similar materials in their daily lives, such as certain special fabrics.

However, if applied to fighter jets, there are many more issues to consider.

First and foremost, similar materials cannot withstand high temperatures.

The sixth-generation fighter jets have extremely high speeds, generally exceeding Mach 3 or even reaching hypersonic speeds.

At such high speeds, the aircraft's outer shell will rub against the air, generating enormous heat.

Finding suitable materials is already extremely difficult, let alone requiring them to have optical stealth properties.

But methods are devised by people, and technology is implemented step by step.

Su Dingping is confident that he can overcome this difficulty!

……

Meanwhile, the online frenzy continues.

Various detailed analyses, concept art, and even fan works have emerged one after another.

Ginkgo leaves have become one of the most popular terms in recent months!
Some have even compared this fighter jet to the recently popular AI technology, calling it a "fighter jet with its own will."

Various kinds of jokes and teasing emerged one after another.

"In the past, we used an iron will to fight against the enemy's iron torrent."

Now our steel truly possesses willpower; may your bodies be as strong as steel!

Just as various jokes were circulating online, sanctions from the West arrived, albeit belatedly.

Less than a week after the photos were leaked, memory modules and solid-state drives around the world simultaneously announced price increases.

The development of the AI ​​industry requires a large number of high-performance chips, but the overall chip production capacity is limited.

All the production capacity has been used to produce high-performance chips, so chips and wafers for the low-end civilian market are naturally scarce and expensive.

Within just three days of the announcement, the prices of RAM and SSDs on the market jumped by 50%!

And judging from this trend, prices are likely to continue to rise.

The biggest problem that follows is that the growth of China's AI industry has begun to slow down.

Although this slowdown may not be immediately apparent, domestic AI companies still have a certain amount of inventory to consume.

However, as time goes by, if the latest supplies and timely replenishment cannot be obtained, it is only a matter of time before China's AI industry is completely held back by others.

Just as Su Dingping predicted, the popularity of ginkgo leaves only lasted for about a month.

Netizens quickly turned their attention to the price increases of memory modules and solid-state drives.

After all, fighter jets can only provide fodder for casual conversation, but the price increases of RAM and SSDs are something that truly affects everyone who needs to build a computer.

Even some companies and small businesses have been affected to some extent.

The sanctions imposed by Western countries this time came with great force, yet they also had a subtle and pervasive effect.

They did not openly launch sanctions against Longxia, but as long as a Longxia company, from the low-end civilian market to the high-end AI field, tries to do business with these manufacturers, the answer will always be the same: insufficient production capacity.

Everyone's not stupid; a little deduction based on the actual situation makes it clear what happened.

After the recent turmoil, the Eagle Tribe has finally resumed supplying dog food to the subspace creatures.

Riding on this wave of public opinion, some people immediately linked the rise in memory module prices to the previous fighter jet incident.

"What does a sixth-generation fighter jet have to do with my monthly salary of 3,000? But the price increases of RAM and SSDs really do have to do with my monthly salary of 3,000!"

"My country is amazing! They can build sixth-generation fighter jets just like that, but they can't even handle a small memory stick?"

"Our technology is so advanced and powerful that it's already far ahead!"

"A mere memory stick? Don't worry, with a bit of force, it's easy to knock it off."

Various sarcastic and unhelpful comments are rampant online, making people feel indignant.

But netizens have no way to refute these traitors, because what they say is the truth.

Some rational people tried to reason with these people, but it was completely useless.

Their goal is to slander the Longxia tribe, and they won't listen to any reasoning you give them.

It's as if these people have no idea that more than a decade ago, Longxia had barely a handful of computers across the entire country.

Now, Longxia has surpassed many established developed Western countries in the field of AI technology.

However, these people's remarks did not actually cause much of a stir.

If it weren't for the fact that there were organized masters behind them providing them with fodder, these discussions probably wouldn't have caused any stir online at all.

Those who truly need it won't care about such a small price increase.

Those who usually wait are already used to it; now that prices have gone up, it's just a matter of waiting a little longer.

As for the high-end sector, they naturally have their own methods.

Just as Longxia's online world was in complete chaos, Takahashi, representing Kato Taro, secretly visited the Eagle Tribe.

……

This is a military officers' club that is not open to the public.

Takahashi visited the Eagle Tribe in a private capacity, so he did not bring any entourage with him on this trip.

The entire trip was kept highly confidential.

The club's bartender was a silent Mexican who seemed oblivious to any conversation.

Ryunosuke Takahashi was not wearing a suit, but rather casual clothes.

Even if someone took a picture of his face and posted it online, it would be hard for anyone to associate this carefree middle-aged man with the second-in-command of the Eastern Wilderness tribe.

He arrived twenty minutes early, chose a table by the window, ordered a black coffee without sugar or milk, and quietly watched the pedestrians outside the window.

The other party was ten minutes late.

The visitor was James Miller, reportedly a newly appointed senior advisor and a former naval intelligence officer.

The Eagle Tribe seems to have truly run its course, as it has been constantly changing its officials in recent years.

Officials were replaced one after another, but the situation did not improve.

But none of this actually has much to do with Takahashi.

James was dressed in standard Eagle Tribe navy blue khaki civilian clothes, with epaulets indicating he was a colonel, though a civilian assistant accompanying him addressed him as "sir."

Miller strode into the club, his sharp gaze sweeping across the entire field before finally settling on Takahashi.

He made no attempt to conceal his identity, which greatly displeased Takahashi. (End of Chapter)