Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 248 The Shortcomings of the Navy

Chen Jiang's views have stirred up a great deal of controversy and sparked heated debate.

However, since most of the senior officers in the ministry had experienced the special period of "cannons on fishing boats", they deeply felt the importance and urgency of naval construction.

Under these circumstances, his report was ultimately approved.

Next comes the waiting. Such a major event concerning the transformation of the nation's military power cannot be decided by the General Armaments Department alone. They only have the right to make suggestions; the specific decision still needs to be approved by a higher-level meeting.

Chen Jiang took advantage of this break to fly to the East China Sea Fleet of the Navy for on-site research.

The East China Sea Fleet is the most modernized and strongest fleet in China. Nevertheless, they attached great importance to the visit of the leaders of the General Armaments Department and sent a reception team of considerable size.

Upon meeting, Chen Jiang immediately requested to see some of the fleet's main warships, including the submarine force docked in the harbor. Chen Jiang examined them very carefully, listening to the explanations from the officers around him as he looked, and he would occasionally ask questions.

After leading Chen Jiang and others on a site visit, the fleet's deputy commander personally participated in the discussion, which is a very high level of engagement.

Moreover, at the meeting, Chen Jiang saw Wu Zhe again; he had been promoted to captain of a modern-class destroyer.

"My goodness, the last time I met you, you were just a lieutenant colonel and chief of staff. Now you've become the captain of the largest destroyer in the country. I'm so envious."

"Keep a calm mind, keep a calm mind," Wu Zhe thought to himself, not knowing how to respond to Chen Jiang's "congratulations." He felt that he had already been promoted fast enough, but he never expected that Chen Jiang's promotion speed was comparable to a rocket, and he actually became a senior colonel.

Moreover, he is a powerful section chief in the General Armaments Department. When he comes to the fleet for research, the deputy commander has to attend in person. This level of prestige is really impressive.

"Don't make fun of me. I'm only a colonel, and you're already a senior colonel. Your promotion speed is terrifying!" Even Wu Zhe, who always kept a calm attitude, was a little unsettled at this moment.

When I met Chen Jiang in Africa, he was just like me, a lieutenant colonel.

"What, Captain Wu, do you know Director Chen?" The deputy commander sitting in the middle was somewhat surprised to see that Wu Zhe actually knew the leaders of the General Armament Department, and that their relationship was quite close.

"Sir, I've known Director Chen Jiang since we were in the A Battalion. Back then, he was just a private first class, and now he's a senior colonel," Wu Zhe said with a grin.

As soon as this statement came out, the scene was in an uproar.

Because Wu Zhe is a well-known figure in the East China Sea Fleet and has served in the fleet's Marine Corps, they all know about his background in the A Brigade.

In just a few years, Wu Zhe has risen from a master of optoelectronics to the captain of one of China's "Four Great King Kongs" main destroyers, a feat that has already made everyone envious.

But judging from what Wu Zhe just said, Chen Jiang was only a private first class at that time?
What kind of promotion path is this?
Did they skip around?

People have seen extraordinary rising stars in the military before, but someone as monstrous as Chen Jiang is truly unbelievable.

Even the deputy commander was taken aback. He never expected Chen Jiang to be so capable. Usually, someone like him must have a powerful background, but he must also have real skills. So he suddenly became very serious.

Chen Jiang was unaware of the many thoughts expressed by those present, and after a few brief pleasantries, he got down to business.

The attendees today are mostly commanders of the main warships, so the meeting is of a very high level.

Chen Jiang cleared his throat.
"This is not my first time visiting the East China Sea Fleet. A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to receive training here. At that time, I felt the 'wealth and power' of the East China Sea Fleet. Not only were there all kinds of warships that I had never seen before, but what was even more infuriating was that their food was much better than that of our special forces."

"Hahaha~"

To everyone's surprise, the section chief who came down from above started with such a humorous remark, which amused everyone and made the atmosphere in the meeting room much more relaxed.

"Returning to this familiar place, I saw many newly commissioned ships and equipment, and I felt that the East China Sea Fleet's resources were even more abundant. In particular, the vigorous spirit and high morale shown by our fleet's officers and soldiers made me firmly believe that if any enemy dares to invade our territorial waters, then the East China Sea Fleet is fully capable of defending the motherland's maritime borders!"

Chen Jiang's words were a very high evaluation of the East China Sea Fleet, which made everyone present feel very proud.

“However,” Chen Jiang said, seeing that the time was right, “I also discovered some shortcomings today.”

"For example, our fleet's core, the Sovremenny-class destroyer, although it is quite large, has relatively insufficient anti-submarine capabilities. I just heard the deputy captain's introduction that we are using the Ka-series anti-submarine helicopters imported from Russia. In terms of radar and electronic equipment, there is a big gap compared with modern Western anti-submarine helicopters. In particular, its electronic equipment is still largely filled with semiconductor technology or even older vacuum tube technology, while Western helicopters of the same generation have begun to widely use integrated circuits, large-scale integrated circuits, and digital computer processing systems."

"At the same time, I discovered that although this anti-submarine helicopter can stay airborne for four or five hours, it doesn't have a hangar and can only be parked in the open. If something used at sea is left out all the time, maintenance and repair will be a major problem. The key issue is that such an expensive imported product will have a significantly shortened lifespan!"

"And the living conditions of the officers and soldiers on the submarines are really very simple. After seeing it, I felt that it was very difficult for them."

Chen Jiang then listed some more superficial problems he had observed, but even so, these problems already deserved sufficient attention.

At the welcome banquet after the meeting, everyone cautiously toasted Chen Jiang, actually hoping to gain an advantage in upgrading equipment. However, Chen Jiang kept his mouth shut and had an amazing capacity for alcohol, showing no fear of the "relay toasts" from the many officers.

After the banquet, Wu Zhe accompanied Chen Jiang back to his hotel. "Chen Jiang, I've noticed that your alcohol tolerance has really improved. You drank at least three bottles today and you can still stand up. That's incredible!" Wu Zhe was very envious of Chen Jiang's drinking capacity. He was someone who would get drunk after just a little bit of alcohol. Even after joining the East China Sea Fleet and becoming a senior commander, he had a lot of social engagements, but his alcohol tolerance had never improved. At most, he could only drink half a jin (250ml).

"Alright, alright, stop teasing me. Get me a glass of water so I can sober up." Although Chen Jiang had a high alcohol tolerance, he had indeed drunk quite a bit today, and his head was really throbbing.

He felt a little better after drinking a large glass of warm water that Wu Zhe handed him.

"Oh dear, this wine is really no good. Drinking too much of it is bad for your health!" he couldn't help but laugh at himself.

"You're doing alright. Many leaders at headquarters have developed big bellies. Look at you, your physique is almost unchanged from when you were in Team A. It's obvious that you've been disciplined and exercised consistently for many years!"

"Haha, aren't you pretty much the same?"

The two smiled at each other, understanding each other tacitly.

The two had a good relationship to begin with, and now that there was no one else around, Chen Jiang still hoped that Wu Zhe could tell him the truth about the current state of naval development. After all, when he went to visit and investigate, he only saw what others had prepared, and it was difficult for him to discover the deeper problems.

But without discovering the real problem, he, as the director of the military equipment research and development department, would have no way to prescribe the right remedy.

Wu Zhe knew Chen Jiang's personality very well, so he told him about all the problems he had discovered during his time in the fleet.

"The most important problem for the navy right now is that although it looks huge, its actual combat capability is not very good. At the very least, it is still far from meeting the requirements of the higher authorities."

Chen Jiang remained silent, listening quietly. He knew that Wu Zhe was also a man of strong emotions, and he had things on his mind that he couldn't keep quiet.

"For example, our most prized strategic missile nuclear submarines have a problem because the integrated hull technology is not yet up to par. As a result, our long-range vertical launch submarine-launched ballistic missiles cannot be installed because they are too long, so we can only use smaller ones. This weakens our deterrent power and also reduces the number of missiles we can carry. As a result, the living conditions inside the submarine are also relatively poor."

"Even small submarine-launched ballistic missiles have to be fitted with a 'turtleback' (turtleback), which makes the noise and diving speed less than ideal. Even so, this is still the most powerful and newest strategic missile nuclear submarine in our country. It's really frustrating."

After listening, Chen Jiang fell silent for a moment. He knew all too well that this seemingly frustrating design had somehow managed to shoulder the heavy responsibility of our sea-based nuclear deterrence. This was the survival wisdom of our military engineers—first solve the problem of "having it," then pursue "how good it is."

"Therefore, our country must overcome the integrated molding hull technology as soon as possible and achieve the goal of catching up with the world's first-class level in strategic missile nuclear submarines as soon as possible."

While complaining, Wu Zhe also mentioned a series of problems with the active submarines, such as excessive noise and insufficient power. Chen Jiang was quite troubled by this, as solving these problems would likely require a great deal of effort and a huge amount of money.

"The submarine issue is a bit easier to handle, since we have powerful land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, so that's relatively straightforward." Wu Zhe took a sip of water, pausing for a moment.

Chen Jiang frowned. In fact, the situation with land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles was not very optimistic. Although the latest missiles had a range that could cover the west coast of the United States, such a long distance gave them ample time to intercept them.

If we want to carry out a nuclear strike, the most reliable option is still a strategic missile nuclear submarine!
Or it could be the hypersonic variable-orbit intercontinental ballistic missile that appeared later. However, this kind of advanced weapon requires the liquid fuel to be replaced with solid fuel. The only advantage of liquid fuel is that the missile body can be built very large to ensure the range, but it is very difficult to change the trajectory. It's like how a raw egg is harder to spin than a cooked egg.

Chen Jiang didn't tell Wu Zhe these words, but continued to listen to him.
"Currently, our main warships are still the 'Four Great Kings' (referring to the Type 054A destroyers). The newly launched Type 054A missile frigate, although its displacement has increased significantly from the 2250-ton Type 053H3 frigate to 3500 tons, uses the YJ-83 anti-ship missile. It adopts a twin quadruple launcher layout, semi-recessed installation, and carries eight missiles. This anti-ship missile uses a dual-speed flight mode, with high subsonic flight during the cruise phase and supersonic flight for attack in the terminal phase, skimming the sea surface, and a maximum range of 150 kilometers."

"It sounds like it's more powerful than the anti-ship missiles on the Sovremenny-class destroyers, but it's not a vertical launch system. Compared to the anti-ship firepower of developed Western countries, it's still inferior, and our shipborne radar is also inadequate."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jiang finally couldn't help but ask, "Then the modern-class is indeed inferior to it?"

Wu Zhe shook his head. "That's not true. The Sovremenny-class is a large-tonnage ship, and its seaworthiness and endurance are unmatched by current small and medium-sized warships. As for firepower, I suggest that it can be appropriately modified."

Chen Jiang shook his head unconsciously after hearing this. The Sovremenny-class destroyers would definitely require major modifications later on, but the cost would be substantial. Especially with new warships being built one after another like dumplings being dropped into a pot, the once-sweetheart quickly became a worn-out old maid.

"The modernization isn't something to rush; the navy will have plenty of new ships in the future," Chen Jiang said firmly.

Wu Zhe hadn't expected Chen Jiang to say that, but he was certainly happy to see it happen. He couldn't wait for more and more new warships to be launched. What naval officer wouldn't want their country's navy to be strong?

"Moreover, our aircraft carrier is also undergoing accelerated refitting and will be launched on schedule in the future. The most troublesome issue now is the carrier-based aircraft."

Chen Jiang was also full of expectations for this project. Although it was someone else's second-hand equipment, it could at least solve the embarrassing situation of the national navy not having an aircraft carrier. In particular, once enough experience was accumulated and the intricacies of the project were figured out, an aircraft carrier fleet would eventually be formed.

"Really? That's great!" Wu Zhe had also heard of this aircraft carrier. Although it's just a shell now, our country's reverse engineering capabilities are quite impressive. As long as we invest enough time and effort, we'll be able to build it sooner or later.

"Could it be commissioned into our East China Sea Fleet first?" Wu Zhe is currently the commander of a Sovremenny-class destroyer, but who wouldn't want to be the captain of the country's first aircraft carrier?
"I don't have the authority to decide that, and this matter is still far from settled. Go on, is there anything else?" Chen Jiang didn't want to dwell on this issue any longer and decisively changed the subject.

"As for the others, there are too many old ships that are no longer suitable for reuse. Many of the Type 053 corvettes are already very old, and their radar and fire control systems are very outdated, not to mention the even more antique Type 051 destroyers. These warships can hardly shoulder the heavy responsibility of defending the sea frontier."

"These can't be retired all at once. You have to understand that naval warships are extremely expensive, and a fleet needs both a core and support vessels. Before new ships are launched, these warships must be allowed to fully utilize their remaining capabilities so that the East China Sea Fleet's combat power can continue to grow stronger." Chen Jiang was full of confidence in this.

(End of this chapter)