In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 307: 32 shots, 4 hits; the National Military Standard couldn't be delayed from going live.

"Deputy Factory Director Fan, Deputy Factory Director Cao, is it possible that a launch system of the same standard cannot launch ammunition of the same technical standard but from different manufacturers?"

Xie Wei, with a stern face, questioned the two factory leaders, "The original production contract contained detailed standards. All processed products must be produced according to the process documents and drawings! In addition, I demand to see the production process documents for these two launch systems, all components from the furnace batch number of the raw materials to the process cards, quality tracking cards, and inspection data for each process!"

"..."

The expressions on the faces of both the people from Norinco and those from 102 changed drastically.

They can't even produce the most crucial components.

Everyone knows what's going on during the production process.

"Do as Comrade Xie Wei requests! The launch system and rockets are all exported, and nobody knows which launch system to use to launch which rocket."

Long Yaohua spoke.

He spoke up, and even though they were unwilling, the people from 102 and Norinco had no choice but to comply and have the technicians hoist the already loaded rockets out of the launch box.

While the hoisting was underway, Fan Zhiyong and Cao Bing, the deputy director of Norinco, huddled together. Before they could reach a decision, Xie Wei spoke up again: "Let our people do the loading, and give each one a number! We need more detailed data."

Before Long Yaohua and the others could agree, Fang Pengju signaled the operators they had brought to come forward.

This group of technical operators were selected from retired soldiers in the military and served as seed instructors for the formation of the long-range artillery units. Several of them had been with the unit since the very beginning and participated in the environmental and live-fire tests from the black soil of Northeast China to the Gobi Desert in Northwest China.

This time, many things were involved; otherwise, the seed instructors sent from Iraq for training would also have been involved.

The large size difference between the launch system and the rocket will lead to a greater error in the landing point. Once Iraq finds out, not only will the signed contracts be in trouble, but subsequent sales will also be severely affected.

"Report, reloading complete!"

Half an hour later, the person in charge of the test firing range gave another report.

"All radars at the radar stations along the route have been turned on, and the target range is ready to receive signals."

The two launch systems, reloaded with rockets, are ready for deployment.

"Single shot, target distance 80 kilometers, bearing 275..."

The launch container at the rear of the launch vehicle began to rise rapidly under the hydraulic drive.

"emission!"

"Boom~Boom~"

Each of the two rocket launchers had one rocket ejected from its launch box and, trailing a long plume of flame, rapidly hurtled toward the direction indicated by the guide tube.

The remaining smoke quickly spread in all directions.

Since this was a live-fire test, none of the rockets were equipped with telemetry signal transmitting devices. The test range and the target range were far apart, and the flight parameters of the rockets captured by each radar station needed to be processed and then summarized.

At that time, it was impossible to get a result.

"Target 140 kilometers, bearing 245..."

"Boom~Boom~"

Each time, two launch systems each launch one rocket simultaneously toward the same target, allowing for comparison.

In the first round, each shot was a single shot.

The second round was different.

"Two shots fired simultaneously! Target..."

"Boom boom boom~"

"Two shots fired simultaneously..."

"Four methods firing simultaneously..."

"If a whole battalion were to fire a salvo, the firepower would be incredible! In just over ten seconds, they could blast hundreds of rockets onto the enemy's position..."

Many military leaders felt that only such fierce firepower could barely alleviate the troops' fear of insufficient firepower.

"The firepower is fierce, but the ammunition consumption is also huge! On the battlefield, if a salvo is fired, the supply can't keep up... Ammunition transport simply can't keep up with the consumption... It's not as good as heavy artillery!"

"If we're talking about the price they sold to Iraq, in just this short time, those two rocket launchers cost over two million... A whole battalion would lose over ten million in a single salvo..."

"..."

Upon hearing that a single salvo from a rocket artillery battalion could cost tens of millions, the military leaders' initial excitement vanished instantly.

While the firepower was formidable, the cost was so high that it bankrupted the already impoverished military.

What else can we hope for?
Ten million rounds of 122mm grenades could produce 20000 rounds. That much ammunition could fire an artillery regiment until the artillerymen couldn't even lift their arms.

The attendees were all bigwigs involved in equipment. Although they were satisfied with the fierce firepower, they felt that it was a wise decision for the military not to purchase the rocket launcher with a range of 150 kilometers, given the high cost and enormous logistical pressure.

Such live-fire tests consume ammunition very quickly.

In just over half an hour, all 32 rockets were launched by the two rocket launchers.

"The helicopters at the firing range have already been deployed, and the data will be compiled here soon."

Fang Pengju reported to Long Yaohua.

Long Yaohua nodded, then said, "The firepower of these rocket launchers is undeniable, but the ammunition is not only expensive, the consumption puts a huge burden on logistics..."

He had heard reports before that the army naturally hoped to equip its army groups with such powerful long-range rocket artillery.

Ultimately, however, it was rejected by all departments, including the Army Equipment Department, the General Armaments Department, the General Logistics Department, and the General Staff Department, due to issues related to cost and ammunition consumption.

"Commander, this is long-range support firepower. In any war, if this kind of firepower is needed to continuously fire in salvo, there is no need to continue the war."

Xie Wei grinned and said, "From the very beginning of its design, this rocket launcher was intended to strike enemy armored formations, troop concentrations, battlefield command posts, and even forward airfields at long range. Basically, one salvo is enough..."

Long Yaohua thought about it and realized that it made sense.

"Boom~"

The roar of a helicopter engine came from the distant sky, and soon a small black dot got closer and closer.

"The data is here!"

A Z-5 helicopter painted in military green quickly came to a stop at the test firing range.

Meanwhile, the people from 102 and Norinco were becoming increasingly serious, their faces showing growing pressure.

The winter chill of the Gobi Desert in Northwest China was a warmth compared to the coldness in their hearts at that moment.

The launch went smoothly.

It can bounce off...

Fang Pengju quickly ran over, eagerly grabbed the paper with the recorded data, and then strode towards the van next to him.

Inside, there was not only a ballistic computer specially developed by the school, but also Xie Rou, who had been waiting inside.

"Xiao Xie, take a look first." At this moment, Xie Rou, who was wrapped in a heavy military coat and huddled in a corner of the carriage, had just woken up. She yawned and took the thick stack of data from Fang Pengju, which recorded the flight trajectory parameters of 32 rockets.

"In the first round, rocket number 17 had an impact error of 1700 meters, while rocket number 05 had an error of 780 meters..."

"How could there be such a large error!"

Fang Pengju became anxious.

"The impact points recorded above are theoretical impact points that we have already calculated before, but the ballistic trajectory needs further calculation to be determined."

Seeing Xie Rou rolling her eyes at him, Professor Fang quickly explained, "I wasn't talking about you, please continue."

"The second round..."

Fang Pengju became increasingly alarmed as he listened.

Of the 32 rockets fired, the furthest distance from the theoretical impact point reached 2376 meters; only 4 were within the range of firing accuracy!
"This is terrible! If these rockets are delivered to Iraq, we'll never be able to recover!"

Even before the ballistic trajectory was determined, Xie Rou's calculation ability was far more reliable than that of a computer, a fact that had already been proven.

"A lot different?"

Xie Wei was already mentally prepared.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have invited so many bigwigs from the military logistics system to observe the live-fire test.

"You see."

"Suck~"

Upon receiving the preliminary results, even though he was somewhat prepared, Xie Wei still gasped in surprise. "How could there be such a large discrepancy? Only four shots were within the accuracy range?"

"Xie Rou provided more detailed data and the ballistic trajectory is being calculated; the results won't be available for another hour. What can we do? If this isn't resolved, it won't just be our rocket artillery that will be affected..."

Fang Pengju gritted his teeth and said, "I really don't know how they produced it!"

"If we have to say something, the error between the guide tubes they produce and the rockets might not be as large as we thought..."

With a range of over 100 kilometers and a maximum error of nearly 2400 meters, the difference seems huge, but this is a rocket without a guidance system, not a missile.

"What? The result was very bad?"

Seeing Xie Wei's gloomy expression, Long Yaohua asked.

Xie Wei handed the preliminary results to Long Yaohua, "Sir, this is the result of the lack of standardization: two factories producing the launch systems, and three factories producing the ammunition. If there were more manufacturers, the results might be even worse..."

"Is this the purpose of your invitation to visit live-fire target practice?"

Long Yaohua now understood Xie Wei's purpose.

The result was truly embarrassing.

"Yes. Commander, no single Ministry of Machinery Industry can standardize weapons and equipment production. Norinco belongs to the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry... Last year, the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry issued the 7905 Seven Specialized Technology Agreement, which only covered components..."

We must expedite the formulation and promotion of national military standards. Even if we wait until 84 to introduce the 8406 technical specifications, it will still only be for military components.

Only with the introduction of national military standards can military product production truly have standards, and production and execution be carried out in accordance with those standards.

Now is the best opportunity.

First, launch it, then test it, and wait for the technical experts sent to the United States to return so that they can integrate the American experience and form their own military standards.

"Tell me your specific thoughts."

Long Yaohua also realized the seriousness of the problem Xie Wei mentioned; there had indeed been no standardization in China.

With a poor foundation, weak industrial base, and even poverty, people often modify anything that can be altered or utilized during the production process.

"The General Staff and the General Armament Department take the lead in formulating military standards, which are then distributed to all military factories. The production of any component must be strictly carried out in accordance with the established standards. Any component that exceeds the tolerances during the production process is scrapped and is not allowed to proceed to the next process... If the finished product has quality problems, it is not allowed to be assembled..."

Decades later, the national military standard is a far more stringent standard than the national standards in the civilian sector.

If the quality is outside the acceptable range, the item is scrapped.

No matter how high the cost, it must be scrapped unconditionally.

As for modifying the components that mate with the out-of-tolerance parts?
No!

"Once standards are established, the costs in the production of some high-precision components may be beyond imagination..."

After listening, Long Yaohua did not nod in approval of Xie Wei's suggestion.

As he was in charge of equipment-related work, he was naturally aware of the current technical level of major military factories across the country. High-precision and cutting-edge components often take a long time to produce. According to Xie Wei's suggestion, any component that is not within the standard tolerance range should be scrapped.

The costs will rise to an unacceptable level.

"That's certainly true in the short term. Without a standard that all units can follow uniformly, the problems in logistics and maintenance will never be solved... We cooperated with Factory 122 to produce vans. In order to reduce the training cost of logistics and maintenance personnel, we required the parts manufacturing plant to process and produce according to the drawings we provided from the beginning. During the production process, we found that not only did the production efficiency improve a lot, but the performance of the vehicles also remained consistent."

At this moment, Xie Wei directly brought up the issue of automobile production at Factory 122.

The automotive industry was one of the first in the world to implement assembly line production, and also one of the first to adopt standardized production and management. Even now, the Japanese have begun to implement "5S" management in order to control production quality.

It's extremely difficult to push for the introduction of national standards.

Let's promote the national military standard first.

"32 shots, 4 hits... Analysis shows that all of them were caused by inconsistent sizes. I believe you all agree on that, right?"

Xie Wei looked seriously at the heads of production units such as 102 and Northern Industry.

It turns out they already knew, and they couldn't even produce the complete quality control process cards and quality tracking cards. If there were no problems, who would believe it?
"Since there are no objections, all production will be suspended immediately. Each unit will send 20 experienced inspectors to work together, following the design drawings and process flow diagrams we provide. Any component that exceeds the tolerances must be scrapped; the overall quality must be certified with a qualified inspection report... The school will send inspectors to conduct process inspections, component spot checks, and finished product spot checks based on the qualified inspection reports. If any defect is found, the entire batch will be scrapped! If you cannot do this, please let us know, and we will find another manufacturer!"

Xie Wei's words were very impolite.

In other times and on other occasions, the people at Jiangshan Machinery Factory wouldn't have any objections, but the leaders of Norinco and 102 would probably flip the table.

But with a group of military leaders present, they couldn't even lift their heads.

Of the 32 rockets fired, 4 hit the target within the accuracy range, and two of them were even manufactured by Jiangshan Machinery Factory.

The other 28 shots were all considered substandard.

What can they do?
It's conceivable that the entire logistics and equipment system will undergo quality overhaul next.

Xie Wei didn't say much about the production quality issues. The specific situation was already in front of Long Yaohua and other leaders of the logistics and equipment system. How to solve it was the problem they were currently facing.

"Hand it over to the ministry. Also, ask the ministry for a group of experienced inspectors to form an inspection team!"

Xie Wei remained calm in the face of Liu Debao's concerns.

As long as the quality is fixed and anything exceeding the tolerance is scrapped, the problem of poor accuracy in the landing point of rockets will be solved instantly.

It's not a design problem.

"The problem is, I'm afraid they'll use this as an excuse to delay production..."

(End of this chapter)