Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 84: Arms Race
After reaching an agreement with a number of senior officials on reforms, the Federal Army Headquarters immediately reached out to Parliament.

"Build ships and get money!"

If it were before, then facing the situation where the federal army asked for funding at the end of the fiscal year, Congress would definitely let these soldiers taste the power of the congressmen and let them know that the federal money was earned piece by piece from the ground by the congressmen with their butts sticking out and every drop of sweat falling to the ground would break into eight pieces.

But who could blame the civil war that broke out in Side 6? So, the parliament passed the budget very happily and said, no problem, the funds will be approved when the 78 fiscal year begins!
It's not that Congress doesn't want to give. It's almost the end of 77 and the funds that should have been spent have already been spent. If it were an emergency, everyone would have to rob Peter to pay Paul. But now the federal army just wants to conduct pilot demonstrations of some projects. That's not an emergency, so the money can only be paid in the next fiscal year.

Although the money was not distributed, the effect was achieved. On the sixth day after the meeting, the federal military-industrial enterprises of Luna II received relevant document notifications.

The Space Force wants a new type of battleship capable of carrying mobile suits, with a carrying capacity ranging from four to eight units. At the same time, the battleship is also required not to affect the artillery warfare capability, and it is best to adopt an existing mature design.

Then, as an old federal shipyard, Focke-Wellington, famous for its Salamis-class and Magellan-class ships, immediately came up with their renovation plan.

They used Salamis as a basis, installed Columbus-class cargo holds on both sides of the hull, and then moved the naval guns on both sides of Salamis to near the bridge. In this way, the firepower configuration of the battleship remained basically unchanged, but it could carry four mobile suits. Because it adopted a mature existing design, there was no need for a new production line, and the old production line could be modified to solve the production problem.

The transformed Salamis was also given a new name, named after the famous naval commander Nelson of the Earth era.

And its functional division is naturally no longer the Salamis cruiser, but is called the Nelson-class light aircraft carrier.

As soon as this plan came out, it naturally received unanimous praise from both military reformers and conservatives. The reformers saw the ability to carry mobile suits, while the conservatives noticed that the firepower of this thing had not changed, and most importantly, the cost had not increased much, and it was still as cheap and sufficient as before. Everyone was satisfied, and the only ones who were dissatisfied were other manufacturers.

However, Focke-Wellington's proposal was not for a new type of battleship. Therefore, after discussion among the top leaders of the Federal Army, it was decided to keep the plan of bidding for new battleships unchanged. Wellington's project would be part of the Federal Army's 80-year equipment renewal plan to carry out partial replacement within the entire army, and a batch of Salamis-class ships that had been in service in the early 70s would be taken for modification.

In addition to this, there are also new regional air defense frigates. After all, the captains of the Federation Army don’t want to be singing in a spaceship one day and suddenly be sent into the sky by a mobile suit.

In addition, the Federation Army also made additional investments in the RX plan. This time, not only the Space Army, but also the Army and Navy participated in it, requiring the development of multiple series such as medium- and long-range artillery support mobile suits, general-purpose all-weather mobile suits, land combat-specialized mobile suits, and amphibious mobile suits.

Although no one understands why the navy wants to get involved.

"Our Himalaya-class aircraft carrier hangar is big enough. Can't I just stuff a few mobile suits in there as decoration?"

The Navy Commander blew his beard and glared.

"No problem, no problem!"

The bosses of each branch of the military don’t care. After all, they pay for the navy themselves and are not begging for food, so it doesn’t matter!

However, the Army Commander did bring up another matter.

"Well, isn't it time for our students to go back to school to continue their studies? You, the Space Army, can't keep holding them back forever!"

"Isn't this a mission? But what else can your army teach people? Who wants to go back to driving a tank when there are mobile soldiers driving? Why not transfer the file to us?"

Tianm held up his face and said with a smile.

"We will also have mobile suits that surpass yours!"

The Army Commander felt heartbroken. How could such a good seedling be picked by the Space Army? He had to get the person back and treat him like a Buddha.

"Then we'll talk about it after you have your mobile suits. For now, let the child play with us for a few more days. It can be regarded as a military internship!"

The army commander could only helplessly drink some cold tea to cool down.

But what Tianm said was not wrong. In fact, Macharius was not just here to play on Luna II. He had been involved in the improvement plan of mobile suits.

The prototype Gundam is also undergoing some minor upgrades and modifications.

The first is the two armor-piercing grenades on the right wrist. This thing was modified by the maintenance team themselves. It was a wild modification and was used by Macharius as an emergency measure. Therefore, it was naturally removed when it was returned to the factory for improvement.

However, the factory later redesigned a launcher for him with a capacity of two rounds and repeated reloading. It was much better than the previous wild-style modification. After all, the wild-style modification could only be used at close range, almost face-to-face. If the target was farther away, it would be hard to tell where the grenade would fly.

In addition, the shield of the prototype Gundam has also been improved. The way Macharius installed rockets before actually reduced the strength of the shield. For this reason, professional designers re-optimized the installation position of the rockets and placed them on the fixing device under the shield. This way, it is convenient for quick disassembly and loading without reducing the strength of the shield.

In addition, there is a new rifle grenade launcher that can be installed on the YF100 machine gun. Macharius also saw a new beam rifle, but it was even scarier than this thing. It was more like a beam cannon than a rifle. It needed to be installed on a bracket for use. In addition, it also needed to be connected to a huge battery backpack.

If it were just that, it wouldn't be unusable, but after asking the designer, Macharius found out that this thing is currently super impotent, and the battery backpack is only enough for it to fire one shot, which is about 5 seconds of irradiation.

Then, the rifle needs to have its battery pack, cooling unit, etc. replaced. If the aiming component is deformed due to overheating, it also needs to be replaced.

"In that case, why not develop a live-fire sniper rifle as a temporary solution?"

So, the next day, weapons industries such as Holy Land, Norfolk, Pittsburgh, and YELL also received bidding plans from the Federal Army.

The scene of Luna II's booming armament production was not concealed at all, so Zeon naturally obtained the relevant information quickly.

When he saw the news that his own battleships, mobile suits, etc. were taken to pieces by the Federation Army, a combination of extremely distorted expressions such as anger, pain and regret once again appeared on Gihren's face.

"What secrets do we Zeon have? Ah, Dozle!"

"I'm sorry, Brother Killian!"

Seeing that Gihren was about to use the Friendship Palm again, Dozle knew that at this moment, if he didn't say some good news, he would probably have to go home with a red and swollen face. If it were in the past, he lived alone and it wouldn't matter if he got slapped a few times, but now, he has started a shameless and happy life with Senamia, a graduate of the 77th class of the Zeon Military Academy, so naturally he can't let his wife worry anymore!
"This was our mistake, but please rest assured that the leaked information is outdated and does not cause us much harm!"

It doesn't matter whether Dozle's words are true or false. Gihren just wants an occasion where he can demonstrate his majesty as an elder brother and head of state. So, after Dozle slid to his knees at the speed of light, Gihren withdrew his hand.

The Federation is actively making improvements to address these issues, and Zeon will naturally not lag behind.

In fact, after the Side 6 battle ended, although none of the volunteer troops returned, Dozle still received a lot of information from his own intelligence personnel.

Then, he and Kycilia joined forces for the first time and issued task targets to Zeon military industrial enterprises such as Zeonic, Zmade, and Schweinian. The goal was naturally to develop new mobile suits that far surpassed the MS05 Zaku 1 and to improve the manufacturing of existing warships.

In fact, Zeonic had already started relevant project research a long time ago, and even came up with their design directly after Kycilia made the request. The Zaku 06A, code-named MS2, can also be called the early Zaku 2.

As the name suggests, the MS06 Zaku 2A was developed and improved based on the MS05 Zaku. Due to Macharius's interference, Zeon naturally skipped several improved versions of the Zaku 1. After all, in actual combat, the Zaku 1 was beaten to pieces, so it would naturally not be produced again.

Compared with Zaku 1, Zaku 2 naturally has many changes. The most prominent one is that the characteristic pig-mouth mask of Zaku 1 has been replaced with a design similar to a diver's respirator. In addition, there are more pipes on its chest and legs.

These were originally cooling pipes buried inside the Zaku 1, but in order to upgrade the performance of the Zaku, these pipes were moved to the outside of the body. This not only enhances the cooling efficiency, but also frees up internal space to accommodate new equipment and add additional propellant.

Therefore, after the upgrade, the total weight of Zaku 2a reached 72 tons, and its fire control, detection range, and the power of its rice-grain nuclear fusion reactor all increased. Correspondingly, the strength and speed of the body increased a lot, especially in the most important range in space. Because there is extra space to accommodate more propellant, the range of Zaku 2 is nearly twice that of Zaku 1.

"So, what about weapons and equipment? We need weapons that can inflict fatal damage on the federal army!"

These data were still not obvious enough for Kycilia. What she wanted was a threat visible to the naked eye.

"The 280mm rocket launchers currently equipped by our army can cause damage to the Federation warships!"

"No, that's not enough! Where's the nuclear warhead?"

"Nuclear warheads can be adapted to our 280mm rocket launchers, but the Zaku 2 needs to be modified!"

"Considering the range of the rockets, we need to add additional three-defense facilities to the Zaku 2 to ensure survivability!"

"Then do it right away!" Kycilia said with an indifferent expression and a cold tone.

"Understood. We will immediately order the modification of the Zaku 2!"

The person in charge of Zeonic was sweating profusely. Zeon was not like the Federation. If they really couldn't complete the mission, the whole family would have to go on a day trip to the decompression chamber!
As for the Zmade company, they submitted an old model that was previously used to compete with the Zaku, namely the EMS04 Zdda. This is a high-speed and highly maneuverable mobile suit with much faster maneuverability than the Zaku, but during the test, the body disintegrated and it was eliminated from the project test.

But its data is still very impressive. For this reason, after Zimade Company made what it claimed to be a revolutionary transformation, it was brought to Kycilia again.

"I remember this machine disintegrated before, right?"

“Yes, but we’ve made improvements and refinements, and now it won’t have the same problems as before!”

The head of Zimade Company also wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, then patted his chest and made a promise.

"If patting one's chest is useful, then there's no need for me to establish an intelligence bureau. When can you deliver the test machine?"

After thinking about it, Kycilia became interested in this extremely designed machine. After all, Zeon was very short of time at the moment. According to Gihren's plan, Zeon would be fully mobilized in 78 years, and by that time, the equipment gap of the Zeon army would be terrifyingly large.

Although the Zida requires a high level of proficiency to operate, it can be equipped by some of Zeon's elite pilots. The operability of this high-speed machine is naturally not a problem for elite pilots. At the same time, its high speed is also suitable for the combat style of elite pilots.

When she thought of the pilots, Kycilia couldn't help but get angry. Although the battle of Side 6 was not fatal to Zeon, it was still heartbreaking because of its very high quality.

Under normal circumstances, the highest rank of commander of a mobile suit battalion would not be higher than Major, but these two volunteer battalions are different. They are seed pilots secretly trained by Zeon before. If they are placed in any unit, they can quickly lead a team that can fight tough battles by combining the old with the new. Not to mention that there are two elites among the elites, whether it is Oggs or Eric, their future is promising, but now.

The superstar fell before he could grow up, and was strangled by the Federation's secret weapon. Strictly speaking, the three brothers and sisters were severely punished by the other party. The Dozle Military Academy uprising failed, and she and Gihren failed to interfere with Side 6. Kycilia was even considering whether to send secret agents to assassinate or kidnap Macharius to Zeon, because the huge potential shown by the other party was not like what a sixteen-year-old child should have.

Then, the other party should be the legendary new human, new type!
In the past, the so-called new humans referred to the new type of humans that would appear in future space life. They were space residents with new ideas and new lifestyles.

But now it seems that the strength shown by the other side means that the new humans also have unlimited possibilities in war!

It seems necessary to let the Kycilia Agency conduct some similar investigations!

But now, Kycilia is still thinking about starting to train qualified mobile suit pilots on a larger scale as soon as possible. This is the top priority. They are very clear about the size of the Federation. If they cannot get ahead of the other party and have a sufficient number of pilots to overwhelm the other party in one go, then, Zeon will be suppressed by the other party's continuous military power.

However, the selection of pilots is not that easy. If everyone can become a pilot of a mobile suit, then all Zeon members might as well commit suicide by slitting their own throats!
To be able to become a mobile suit pilot, there are first of all strict requirements on physical fitness. In addition, balance, observation, perception, etc. are extremely important. Otherwise, with the population of Zeon, the number of qualified pilots trained so far is only over 10,000.

But there is a problem. The number of reserve soldiers who can become pilots is limited, but whether it is Gihren or Dozle, the troops under their command are also short of people. So, the only option is to relax the age limit!

Fortunately, Zeon has no shortage of young soldiers. There are tens of thousands of young soldiers left over from the former Deiken faction. Their parents were purged because they were Deiken factions. They are either dead or about to die, or even if they are not dead, they will never be able to return to Zeon. Naturally, their remaining children have become a big problem.

Therefore, these remaining Deiken children were naturally organized into Zeon's boy soldier unit. Together with those ordinary Zeon boy soldiers who could not pay the air tax and gravity tax and were forced to serve in the army to offset the tax burden, they acted as inconspicuous lubricants in the army.

These young soldiers will serve in logistics and clerical departments until they reach adulthood, and then be added to combat units. Recruiting them now is a blessing for these young soldiers!
Moreover, Kycilia felt that the possibility of new humans appearing among the young soldiers would be much greater!

As for Dozle, he didn't think as much as his sister. He was completely immersed in the failure of the Zeon fleet. As an experienced space army commander, he knew the crux of his fleet's failure without even thinking about it.

The air defense capabilities of the Zeon fleet have always been deliberately ignored, because it is envisioned that the Zeon fleet should work closely with the mobile suit unit to effectively make up for the lack of air defense.

To this end, Dozle and the shipbuilding company requested that the anti-aircraft firepower of the Zeon Army's active warships, mainly the Musai-class and Chibe-class, be increased. Of course, new warships are also indispensable.

Especially considering that the strategic target of the Zeon army is the earth, a military battleship that can single-handedly penetrate the atmosphere is very necessary. In addition, considering various tactical objectives, this type of battleship should have high speed, high firepower, long-lasting self-sustaining ability, sufficient mobile suit capacity, etc.

Naturally, the Federation could not hide Zeon's arms production from the other side. Both sides now knew that the other was secretly expanding their armaments and preparing for war, just waiting for the day when they would completely tear each other apart and go to war.

But for now, there was still some respectability to be maintained! However, beneath the veneer of respectability, the series of personnel transfers within Zeon's intelligence agencies revealed an undercurrent. Countless secret letters flew in and out of Zeon, and the content of the messages was naturally very similar. Whether it was to Zeon agents or federal agents, they all requested that the other party obtain as much first-hand military intelligence as possible.

In order to deal with this situation, the federal army also increased security measures for important institutions. Luna II was naturally fine, as it was under the protection of millions of federal troops, but Side 7 was still some distance away from Luna II. For this reason, the Second Fleet of the Space Army immediately sent a small-scale guard fleet to Side 7 Blue Noaga.

At the same time, an elite military police force with strong ideology and good work style was also transferred to the Blue Noah 1 satellite to strengthen local security.

These large-scale military deployments were naturally seen by some teenagers playing on the roadside after school.

However, the boring military mobilization was not as attractive to these teenagers as the swimsuit girls playing by the river.

Until the 130th Training Corps returned to Blue Noah after completing rest and commendation on Luna II.

At this moment, the 130th Training Regiment can no longer be called a regiment, because later, the Federation Army selected more than elite personnel to receive mobile suit driving training. Compared with Zeon, this scale is indeed pitifully small, but who can blame the Federation for not having the subsequent models of its current mobile suit project yet?

As Macharius had become an ace, he was naturally kicked out of the barracks by Colonel Carter after returning to Blue Noah. This was because ever since he had a fight with Captain Conte, he had been enjoying torturing the new pilots. In order to prevent the new recruits from suffering from depression, the colonel had to give him a half-month leave.

So, Macharius had no choice but to go to the city to kill time!

And that day, when he was standing on the street thinking about which restaurant he should go to for lunch, he suddenly heard a strange duangduang sound.

As a new human with a sense of sense, Macharius immediately sensed something approaching him from behind, so he turned around and punched him!
"Hello!"

Then, a green ball was knocked out by him.

"Amuro, it's all your fault. Haro almost hit someone!"

A soft and gentle female voice sounded.

"I'm sorry, it's our fault. We're so sorry!"

A petite girl with some baby fat hurriedly bowed to Macharius and apologized. Next to her stood a red-haired boy in a denim jacket. When the red-haired boy saw Macharius in the federal army uniform, he turned his head away, obviously having some prejudice against soldiers.

"Amuro, what are you doing? Apologize to the officer!"

The girl wanted to identify Macharius's rank, but he was still wearing the rank of cadet, which the girl obviously didn't recognize, so she had to think of an officer in a hurry.

"It's okay. You didn't bump into me anyway. Judging from your appearance, you two must be a couple. My name is Makarius Crinyi!"

"My name is Frauber! This is Amuro Lei. We are just neighbors, not lovers!"

The girl, who was a little shy after hearing Macharius's word "couple", lowered her head and said.

"Amuro Ray?"

Macharius suddenly felt his mouth itchy and wanted to eat a fist!

"It sounds like a girl's name!"

It’s a pity that the person standing in front of him is a good kid with stable emotions.

"That's not a girl's name, Mr. Macharius!"

"Sorry, I was just joking!"

(End of this chapter)