Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1481 Special Metals Are Out of Stock (4k)

This is really counterintuitive. Anyone would think that missiles are never cheap.

But that's not the case, especially when you understand the nature of missiles.

Red Sword-73 decades later: Are you talking about me?

In fact, the Chijian-73 is a typical example of a product that is cheap and plentiful, with production volume driving up costs.

Similarly, semi-active command guided air defense missiles are also like this, or rather, weapons like the Chijian-73 and semi-active command air defense missiles are all like this.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "Sir, the semi-active command air defense missile is a bit different. We originally designed it to be the cheapest one. The shell, the cheapest propellant under the premise of qualified performance, and the servo mechanism, command receiving device, that's it. The cost of such a missile is no different from that of a rocket of the same size, and it is even cheaper than a rocket carrying an advanced warhead."

If it were a rocket with a terminally guided warhead or a simple inertial navigation system, it wouldn't necessarily be cheaper than this. This thing doesn't even have a simple inertial navigation system; its position in the air is determined by the ground-based guidance system.

The leader on the other end was stunned: "No, this thing originally had nothing inside?"

Gao Zhendong was laughing so hard he almost fell over. It was rare to see a leader so bewildered: "That's right, it's something that you tell it to fly in a certain direction and it flies in that direction. It doesn't have any ability to find its own way. How expensive can it be?"

"Then how can it hit accurately?" A missile without homing capability is like a blind man.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "As I just said, the accuracy of this missile depends on the radar. Coincidentally, our radar is very good. This radar and electronic system may be very expensive, but the disposable missiles are very cheap. This is a very good supplement to the air defense system."

Not to mention now, even in the 21st century, after we have all kinds of "alcohol," there are still quite a few of these cheap missiles ending in 2, because they are really useful. They have just been upgraded to some extent according to our technological and economic conditions.

Upon hearing this, the leader was completely relieved: "Hehe, good, so you've thought of everything in advance. I'm at ease now."

What he meant by "thinking ahead" had little to do with the situation in Jiaozhi (Vietnam), but rather with the improvement and planning of their own equipment system.

There are good and high-end ones, and there are not so good ones, but they are usable and affordable to use in large quantities. This is simply tailor-made for our current situation.

“We are still poor after all, and our firepower is insufficient. It’s always good to have a backup plan in this regard,” Gao Zhendong said.

"Yes, with this, we can handle things much more easily from now on." As the unit responsible for equipment supply, being able to provide the appropriate equipment when needed, so that strategies can be executed smoothly, is what constitutes doing a good job.

It can be temporarily not needed, but it cannot be without.

After hanging up the phone, Gao Zhendong was in a good mood and prepared another table of delicious food for the Citizens, but he didn't know how much they could eat.

For Gao Zhendong, thinking back to the hardships he endured in the tunnels, he couldn't help but feel happy that he had managed to trick the other party.
-
In the North, at the White Bear's home, a Comrade from the Special Material Planning Committee frowned as he looked at the report in his hand.

Special Materials Planning Committee—a name very characteristic of the polar bear: accurate, complex, and straightforward.

“Comrade, we’re running out of special metals,” he said to the other polar bear opposite him.

For him, the report in his hand was not good news.

The Special Materials Planning Committee is special because of the word "special" in its name. The materials they are in charge of are all special, either because the materials themselves are special, or because of their special origin or special purpose.

The report he now holds contains almost all three of these special metals.

It's easy to imagine how much trouble it would cause if such a special item were to be in short supply.

"Comrade Belikov, who are they?" The person on the other end of the line asked hurriedly, a little nervous.

If any of our people were here, they would probably find the name Belikov very familiar, because anyone who has gone to high school would think of the Man in a Case because of this name.

However, this Belikov is not the same as the other Belikov; this Belikov is a deputy director of the Special Materials Planning Committee.

"Mainly beryllium, and also tantalum, niobium, etc..."

The person on the other end frowned. This was the worst news imaginable. These metals might not be commonly used, or most people might not know where they were used, but for the Special Materials Planning Committee, they knew all too well that these special metals were mainly used in the fields of electronics, military, and aerospace.

In particular, aerospace is an area where the two leading powers are currently engaged in fierce competition.

"This is terrible news. Why is there a shortage? Have the mines been depleted?"

This is the most likely explanation; otherwise, there's no way to explain how it suddenly disappeared.

“No, the mine is still there, but we can no longer access it,” Belikov said, shrugging.

"why?"

“A significant portion of our beryllium, tantalum, niobium, and other metals come from our comrades in the south, from a special mining area in western Xinjiang. That mining area is very special and contains many kinds of rare metals.”

The person opposite him frowned as well; this was a problem. In other places, they could try different methods, but the situation there was more complicated.

"Why did it exist before but not anymore?" This is the key question.

"This mine has a long history. In short, after the Southern comrades established the new country, the operating entity began to change, and our say became extremely limited compared to before. Originally, they were still using this mine to repay our debts, but with their rise in fields such as electronics, they had a source of foreign exchange and basically stopped using this mine to repay their debts..."

If Gao Zhendong were here, he might burst out laughing. He would never have imagined these side effects; that mine was an absolute treasure.

To illustrate just how precious it is, one fact will suffice.

—A small portion of the money we used to repay the debt to the White Bear came from the output of this mine.

The fact that this mine can support a small portion of such a massive debt speaks volumes about its value.

However, this statement quickly alerted the person opposite Belikov: "If that's the case, the other side started developing in this area several years ago, so how come they're only running out now?" Belikov explained, "Although they had already found alternative foreign exchange before, because of the relationship between the two countries, they were still selling us concentrates of related minerals. We also had some production ourselves, so there wasn't a shortage. But now the situation is different. The comrade in charge of imports reported that the other side has begun implementing a new export policy, mainly controlling these special metals and their minerals and finished products. And our relationship with them... you know, it's changed, so..."

The person on the other side then realized the seriousness of the problem.

In fact, the polar bear was in a very awkward situation at this time. It wasn't that they didn't have these metals; after all, their territory was so large and rich in minerals.

The problem is that either it hasn't been discovered yet or it hasn't been mined yet, so problems have arisen at this critical juncture.

But things are not that simple. Belikov added, "Moreover, we terminated our space cooperation with them, and these materials were originally included in the scope of space cooperation. Our actions gave them a good reason to stop supplying them."

This is a classic case of "lifting a stone only to drop it on one's own foot."

A certain ASA: You're not alone, I know this stuff.

"Don't we have them ourselves?"

"Yes, but reserves and production capacity are insufficient. There are some newly discovered mineral deposits that have not yet been put into operation," Belikov said.

“Then let’s wait a bit. Once our mine is mined, everything will be alright.” His comrade opposite him was relieved.

"But we urgently need them now. Aerospace and military applications both require these rare metals. You know, those projects can't be stopped. If project delays are caused by the supply of materials, we will find it very difficult to bear the responsibility."

His words made the other person realize the seriousness of the problem.

To put it bluntly, this time difference might make them scapegoats for others.

The researchers say there's no problem with the research, and the manufacturers say there's no problem with production. So where is the problem? Well, the Comrades-in-Chief who supplies the key raw materials didn't do their job properly.

If that's the case, then they'll be under a lot of pressure.

"Could we increase the production of existing domestic mineral deposits while accelerating the development of new mines?"

Belikov shook his head: "It's difficult. The domestic mineral deposits are hard to compare with the one in the south; they're smaller in scale. And the development of new mineral deposits has time constraints, since some of them are located on the Great Ice Field."

This is what's frustrating for the polar bear: there are plenty of good things, but the location isn't quite right.

"Comrade Belikov, we need to report this matter to our superiors. We can't let this matter remain unresolved until it comes to light. Otherwise, we'll be in a very passive position."

This isn't about shifting blame; since the incident has already happened, bringing it up sooner allows for finding a solution sooner. Of course, the ability to shift blame is also a major factor.

Belikov nodded: "Yes, this is not something we can solve."

There was another layer of hidden meaning in his words.

This is not only a problem we can't solve, but it wasn't caused by us either. Whoever is responsible should find a solution. In short, we can't keep it in our own hands and wait for problems to arise; then the responsibility that wasn't originally ours will become ours.

If Gao Zhendong knew about this, he would probably laugh himself to death. He didn't care whether Bai Xiong lacked rare metals or not, and he knew that Bai Xiong could always solve the problem. But the important thing was that the mine was secured earlier, so that he would have more beryllium, tantalum, niobium and other metals available. Before our globalized pattern was formed, we could also have our own sources available.

It's worth noting that the mine was being mined the most intensively right when the debts were being repaid. Before that, the White Bear was busy fighting S2 and didn't have the time, technology, or transportation capabilities.

Even if you don't want to mine your own resources, as long as you own a mine, you have the leverage to negotiate.

However, Gao Zhendong probably didn't expect that his comrades would act so quickly in controlling rare metals.

However, if Gao Zhendong had the choice, he would rather we continue to sell the necessary rare metals to White Bear as usual than have our space cooperation interrupted. But there's nothing we can do about it; it's White Bear's choice.
-
In the south, at Zhennanguan.

A long convoy is heading south from here.

Although it was described as a large and impressive operation, in terms of organization, there were actually only a few combat units. After all, a combat unit consists of dozens of vehicles, from the power supply vehicle to the launch vehicle.

What's special is that a large portion of these vehicles have tracked chassis, and each one has a set of round tubes mounted on it.

Some of these vehicles even looked about the same size as the others, armed to the teeth, with two sets of radars on top and bottom, and cannons and missile launchers on both sides of the turret. Although none of them were particularly robust, they looked quite menacing.

As soon as the convoy entered the other side, it was already being watched by those with ulterior motives. This was a tremendous opportunity. Back in our country, they would never have even known of the existence of this equipment, let alone come into contact with it. Many of these pieces of equipment were seeing them for the first time.

"Is this the new air defense equipment used by people from the South?"

"It looks very different from what they were supposed to be. How could their development speed be so fast in just a few short years?"

"We should not underestimate them. According to our observers in Jiaozhi, their air defense equipment, which combines anti-aircraft missiles and artillery, has played a very important role. Although the range is not long, it has played a very good role in protecting key locations."

"What I find strange is that they actually used missiles? You know, they didn't even have many missiles themselves just a few years ago."

"Perhaps their development has exceeded our imagination, and they are now capable of using missiles for support."

"Contact your comrades in northern Vietnam and ask them to collect as much relevant information as possible and share it with us."

"It's been arranged, but the results are hard to say. The comrades in the south are protecting this equipment very well, and it's unlikely that the people of Jiaozhi would offend them for our mission. You know, the people of the south are the ones directly supporting Jiaozhi from behind."

"Try your best. In any case, they're here to cause trouble for the Citibank, and that's enough."

Since they dared to send out these weapons, they weren't afraid of being seen. After all, these were the most basic things and had no decisive impact on the war. They could be considered rifles among anti-aircraft weapons, and there's nothing to keep secret about rifles.

(End of this chapter)