Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 247 The development of the navy must be a priority!

(Because it involves sensitive issues, many parts here are different from reality. It's just a novel, so don't take it too seriously, or this book will easily become a 404 error.)

A few days later, the ministry held a meeting where a higher-level leader announced Vice Minister Cao's appointment order, officially confirming his appointment as Minister of the General Armaments Department.

Half a month later, Chen Jiang's transfer order was finally issued.

To his surprise, instead of being appointed as the deputy director of the General Armaments Department's Armaments Research and Development Department, he was directly appointed as the director! This is a proper deputy division-level position.

This appointment further solidified his belief that he had made the right choice.

Minister Cao made a special phone call to him: "This is something I fought hard for for you. Your innovative achievements in the Logistics Department are very convincing. After reviewing your materials, the leaders of the General Armaments Department unanimously agreed that you should be given a bigger stage. However, you must remember that this position of department head is not easy to hold. The Armaments R&D Department is a key department, and the pressure will be immense."

Chen Jiang was both surprised and delighted, and solemnly said, "Please rest assured, sir, I will do my best and will never let you down!"

When the handover procedures were completed, colleagues came to congratulate him.

An older section chief came over, patted him on the shoulder, and joked, "Director Chen, the General Armaments Department is a big stage. With your abilities, you'll definitely be able to shine. Maybe in a few years, when we see you again, we'll be calling you 'Commander'."

Because the Quartermaster Department involves a lot of work, the handover process lasted for two days.

During this period, Chen Jiang took the time to organize all the innovative projects and unfinished ideas from his time in the Logistics Department, especially those related to equipment research and development, and prepared to bring them to his new position to continue to advance.

Before his departure, Minister Zhou had a special talk with him: "Xiao Chen, choosing to go to the General Armament Department is very courageous. Minister Cao is a man of action, and you can learn a lot from him. Remember, the General Logistics Department will always be your home; feel free to ask if you need anything."

"Thank you for your guidance and trust, sir!" Chen Jiang said sincerely.

On his first day at the General Armament Department, Minister Cao convened a welcome meeting for all the cadres.

At the meeting, he specifically emphasized Chen Jiang's innovative achievements in the Logistics Department and asked the department staff to fully cooperate with Chen Jiang's work.

However, Chen Jiang could sense that some of the older colleagues in the department did not completely trust him as the "parachuted" director, especially several senior engineers who had reservations about him, an "outsider" leading experts.

After the welcome party, Deputy Director Li Jianguo took the initiative to come to Chen Jiang's office.

The somewhat elderly section chief smiled kindly. "Section Chief Chen, our section has a heavy workload, but our senior engineers are all technical authorities who have been deeply involved in equipment research and development for many years. Since you're new here, feel free to call me if you have any questions."

Chen Jiang stood up to greet him, his attitude humble: "Deputy Director Li, you're too kind. I'm new here, and there are many things I really need to learn from you and the senior colleagues in the department. Please don't look down on me, a complete novice."

Li Jianguo never expected Chen Jiang to be so calm. He was the most disappointed one in this personnel adjustment because he was about to reach the end of his term. With his age and seniority, the position of director was basically a sure thing.

But he didn't get a chance, so he'll most likely have to transfer back to civilian life. It would be a lie to say he wasn't frustrated.

His purpose in coming today was to see what kind of expert had managed to snatch what was in his pocket, but Chen Jiang's unassuming manner left him feeling like he was trying to see something through a fog.

This young man is quite something!
This was Li Jianguo's first impression of Chen Jiang.

Chen Jiang didn't have a very clear impression of Li Jianguo. It wasn't that Li Jianguo was uncaring, but rather that he had too much to do. After arriving here, he realized that the work in the General Armament Department was much more extensive than that in the General Logistics Department, especially in his department, which was involved in the research and development and allocation of weapons and equipment for various branches of the armed forces, including the army, navy, air force, and Second Artillery Corps.

Of course, the development of some weapons involves national MM (national security forces), which he cannot access even with his authority.

As the saying goes, "a trade is like a mountain," and there were many things he couldn't understand, so he had to work overtime to learn and master them.

He first read through the work summaries and plans of all departments, especially some insightful research reports, which gave him a basic understanding of the overall situation of the army's equipment.

The army is mainly equipped with motorized vehicles. Mechanized equipment can only be used by some elite units, such as the C Brigade where Chen Jiang used to serve, which is definitely considered an elite mechanized force in China.

Motorized units do not mean that the entire unit fights on motorcycles. Rather, this unit mainly uses trucks and wheeled armored vehicles as means of transportation. Compared with traditional infantry, they have stronger armor protection, offensive capabilities, and mobility, making them more formidable than the earlier mule-and-horse-drawn units.

In terms of equipment, mechanized forces are far superior to motorized forces.
Motorization was merely a transitional branch of service in the process of developing mechanization.

Generally speaking, motorized units are poorly equipped and still rely mainly on infantry in combat, with their greatest strength being their flexibility.

Mechanized forces are equipped with very advanced equipment, mainly heavy tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery and other heavy weapons. Their combat methods mainly rely on mechanical equipment, and the role of infantry is much smaller. Therefore, their offensive and defensive capabilities far exceed those of motorized forces.

In short, the country doesn't have much money right now!
Limited funds must be used wisely.

Large-scale replacement of army equipment is extremely expensive. Although army equipment is much cheaper than that of the navy and air force, the sheer number of troops is overwhelming. Moreover, in Chen Jiang's view, large-scale land-based steel torrent battles are almost non-existent in the future, especially in the not-too-distant future. Even heavy equipment cannot withstand a single hit from a suicide drone costing a few hundred dollars. So why spend so much money on this?
Therefore, he skipped over the issue of army equipment.

Next, we looked at the air force equipment. Currently, the country still retains a large number of J-7 and J-8 fighter jets, which are still the main fighter jets of many military regions. However, in reality, these fighter jets are seriously outdated.

Chen Jiang noticed that many J-7s did not have the capability to launch air-to-air missiles and were still relying on machine guns to take off for patrols. How primitive was that?
It's important to understand that many Western countries have already equipped themselves with F-16 and F-15 fighter jets, all of which possess beyond-visual-range combat capabilities, making this situation rather awkward. China's most advanced fighter jet is the J-11B, imported from Russia, essentially a domestically produced version of the Su-27. Of course, its performance is significantly superior to Russia's Su-27.

The use of new materials has greatly increased the strength of the fuselage;
It has been equipped with a new domestically produced engine, which has significantly improved thrust and maximum takeoff weight. In particular, the engine life has been greatly increased, and it is now close to the world's advanced level.
In addition, maintenance is much easier than the original Soviet fighter jets. Someone once said that although the Su-27 has a beautiful fuselage and excellent maneuverability, it drives ground crew crazy. The aircraft is either undergoing maintenance or on its way to maintenance, leaving little time for the fighter jets to engage in air combat.

Despite being domestically produced, this aircraft still had many shortcomings. For example, the radar of the honest Russian bear had a very short detection range and could only lock onto one target. Even so, it was easy for the target to escape, which made the pilot so angry that he cursed.

Moreover, the air-to-air missiles deployed domestically are slow, have short ranges, and are generally unreliable.

These factors have created many shortcomings for the J-11B, but even so, it remains the most popular aircraft among frontline airmen, bar none.

Because there really aren't any other fighter jets that can replace it.

The J-10A at this time was still an early model, and its stability and reliability in all aspects were relatively average. Therefore, in terms of combat capability, it was clearly inferior to the J-11B.

This only covers fighter jets; the situation is even weaker with transport and bomber aircraft.
Among bombers, the only reliable ones are the JH-77 and the JH-6, and the only large transport aircraft is the Il-76 purchased from Russia. This is unavoidable; there are too many constraints on an air force if it wants to become strong.

However, what worried Chen Jiang the most was the navy.

Currently, the core pillars of the navy are still the "Four Great Kings" purchased from Russia—the Sovremenny-class guided-missile destroyers.

Chen Jiang knew that this destroyer had obvious advantages: it had a full-load displacement of 8000 tons and was equipped with a quadruple SS-N-22 "Sunburn" supersonic cruise missile, which was currently the most advanced anti-ship missile in China.

With a range of up to 100 kilometers, it can be called the navy's "trump card".

However, this weapon is gradually becoming obsolete amidst the ever-changing wave of military modernization, especially as modern warships are becoming stealthy. For example, the radar detection range of the US aircraft carrier battle group's airborne early warning aircraft far exceeds 100 kilometers, which makes the "trump card" of the modern class increasingly unbearable.

As for the submarine force, our conventional submarines have not yet solved the AIP technology problem, and engine noise is a major challenge, not to mention the "integrated" hull technology that has plagued our military for a long time. This leaves our strategic missile nuclear submarine force with nowhere to use its power, which is very frustrating.

After considering all the above, Chen Jiang had a preliminary idea, but this idea had to be discussed and approved by the higher-ups in the ministry.

A few days later, at the ministerial meeting, Chen Jiang had the honor of attending for the first time. When Minister Cao asked about the next steps in military equipment research and development, Chen Jiang took out his long-prepared plan.

"You mean you want to focus all your efforts on building up the navy? The second priority is the air force, and the last is the army?"

Minister Cao and his colleagues were somewhat puzzled after reading it, because the limited military budget had always been distributed equally among the three branches of the armed forces. The army, due to its enormous size, would hardly make a dent in the amount of money spent, while the navy and air force were hampered by technological bottlenecks that they could not overcome.

At the meeting, a senior official asked bluntly, "Comrade Chen Jiang, your idea is very bold, even somewhat subversive. Explain your reasoning. Why prioritize the navy? You must understand that our land-based security pressures are not insignificant."

All eyes of the attendees were on Chen Jiang.

He took a deep breath, stood up steadily, and walked to the huge world map at the front of the conference room.

"Comrades, I have three main reasons," Chen Jiang said firmly.

"First, the changing strategic needs. With the deepening of economic globalization, my country's overseas interests have expanded rapidly. The security of energy channels, trade routes, and overseas investments all require a strong navy to protect them. This is not a matter of choice, but a matter of survival."

He paused, and seeing the leaders nod slightly, continued, "Secondly, the technological window of opportunity. The construction cycle of a modern navy is long and the technological threshold is high, so we must plan ahead. Although air force equipment is equally important, shipbuilding often takes several years or even more than a decade. If we don't increase investment now, we will miss the strategic opportunity period in the future."

"Third, cost-effectiveness considerations." Chen Jiang turned and pointed to the map. "The army's equipment is being updated and replaced quickly, and large-scale replacements require huge sums of money. I believe that the future form of warfare will undergo a revolutionary change, and the traditional confrontation of steel torrents will be eliminated. On the contrary, a navy that can control the seas will bring greater military benefits in terms of strategic deterrence and actual projection capabilities."

A murmur rippled through the room.

A vice minister frowned and said, "Chen Jiang, what is your basis for saying that the future form of warfare will undergo revolutionary changes? Does that mean the army is no longer important?"

"Sir, the army is certainly important," Chen Jiang replied respectfully but without flinching. "However, I believe we should shift our development strategy—the army should develop towards a lean, integrated, and special operations force, rather than pursuing sheer size. At the same time, we must face reality: without sea control, if energy and trade routes are cut off in critical periods, even the most powerful army will be unable to function effectively. After all, we have a long coastline, and it is absolutely impossible to function without a powerful deep-sea navy!"

He pulled up a prepared slide: "This is my analysis of local conflicts around the world over the past two decades. It is clear that the decisive role of naval and air forces in modern warfare is becoming increasingly prominent. In particular, the navy is not only a conventional deterrent force, but also a carrier of strategic nuclear deterrence, and a guarantee of long-range projection capabilities."

Minister Cao had been listening in silence, but then suddenly spoke up: "Continue, what are your specific suggestions for the development of each branch of the armed forces?"

Encouraged, Chen Jiang's thinking became clearer: "Regarding the navy, I believe we should focus on developing regional air defense destroyers, new strategic missile nuclear submarines, and amphibious assault ships. The Sovremenny-class destroyers are outdated, and we must accelerate the independent research and development of a new generation of main warships. In particular, the speed of our aircraft carrier conversion must be accelerated so that we can achieve combat capability as soon as possible!"

"For the Air Force, the most urgent task is to accelerate the improvement and mass production of the J-10, while the development of a fourth-generation fighter jet must be started immediately. Support forces such as transport aircraft and early warning aircraft also urgently need to be strengthened."

"Regarding the Army," he paused, "I suggest postponing the large-scale replacement of heavy equipment and increasing investment in research in new fields such as drones and electronic warfare."

(End of this chapter)