The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 511 511 He's blown the liar's pipe dream.

"Academician Liu, you're exaggerating. This is an aircraft carrier, after all. When it's fully equipped and manned, it's accompanied by at least four destroyers and more than thirty aircraft. There will also be big black fish below. You can suppress it with just one destroyer."

Liu Hua nodded: "After all, it was a design from ten or twenty years ago. With the development of technology, warships are no longer just weapons, but weapon operation platforms. Their specific combat effectiveness depends on how advanced the weapons carried by the warship are."

"My destroyer can detect it from 500 kilometers away and launch anti-ship missiles to attack it from 300 kilometers away," Liu Hua said proudly. "And this is just for single-ship operations. If it is combined with land-based radar, early warning aircraft in the sky, and satellites in space, this ship will have nowhere to hide."

The people at the Darian Shipyard asked, puzzled, "Since you're making such a big deal out of your destroyers, why do we even need to build aircraft carriers? Aren't your powerful destroyers enough?"

“The operational requirements are different,” Liu Hua paused and said, “Perhaps in the future we really won’t need aircraft carriers anymore, but rather amphibious landing ships or arsenal ships.”

"Arsenal ship?"

Liu Hua nodded: "That's right, it's an arsenal ship, equipped with all sorts of advanced weapons, capable of launching carpet bombing attacks on the enemy."

"Don't we need airplanes?"

"Yes, we need to." Liu Hua nodded. "But ordinary airplanes have their limitations."

"Airplanes also have limitations, namely that they cannot launch attacks on the ground or anchor on the sea, which is why aircraft carriers are needed."

Liu Hua shook his head: "Currently, airplanes cruise at around Mach 1, which is tolerable for the human body. But if future airplanes reach a cruising speed of Mach 10, how will the pilots control them?"

“That’s impossible. Mach 10, the pilot must be a superhuman.” The people at Daryan Shipyard shook their heads: “At that speed, even the pilot couldn’t react.”

"Reaction speed can be assisted by computers, but the key is overload pressure. So if we want to develop hypersonic aircraft, there is only one way in the future, and that is unmanned aircraft."

“That’s a one-sided view. I have another idea,” the man from the Darian Shipyard said with a smile. “We can have them wear pressure suits like spacesuits.”

Liu Hua nodded: "That's possible. But don't you think the cost is too high? All weapons that can be mass-produced have one extremely important characteristic: they must be cheap."

“That’s true.” The man from the Darian Shipyard, who was walking ahead, said with a smile, “You truly deserve to be called an academician. Talking with you is very enlightening. Let’s take a good look at this ship. We need to make it into our country’s active equipment in the shortest possible time.”

"The Russian bear's concept of aircraft carriers is not the most advanced." Liu Hua shook his head: "There's not much for us to learn from. If we weren't so inexperienced, we might as well start from scratch."

"That's true, but Er Mao Xiong has been really generous this time," the leader of Darian Shipbuilding said in a low voice. "Most of the blueprints came with the ship, which will save us a lot of trouble."

“Oh, that would certainly save you trouble.” Liu Hua nodded. “You could also poach people from Er Mao Xiong Shipyard. They don’t have enough industrial capacity to support so many industrial workers anyway. Engineers, workers, and technicians can all be poached.” “We’re already doing that. Our factory recently built a new residential area to house the skilled workers poached from Er Mao Xiong. They’re paid better than our own workers.”

“They should still have work to do,” Liu Hua said with a frown. “Back then, the Russians invested a huge amount of money in the military industry, and many of their technologies are still relevant today.”

“That’s right. It’s precisely because of these technologies that we give these skilled workers such preferential treatment.” The leader of Darian Shipbuilding smiled and said, “Our country has always treated skilled workers very well. Back when we first liberated Northeast China, we also gave preferential treatment to the skilled workers from the Japanese who couldn’t evacuate in time. At that time, our arsenal was able to start production thanks to these people.”

“They’re actually better off staying here than going back.” Liu Hua smiled dismissively. “I don’t have a good impression of the Japanese. Even if they helped us, at least they can eat and dress warmly if they stay here. Going back home means starving. Right after the war ended, the Japanese were so poor they were urinating blood.”

Liu Hua spent several days thoroughly inspecting the aircraft carrier, inside and out.

"Aside from its reference value, this aircraft carrier has no other significance." Liu Hua said regretfully, "It was born at the wrong time. We have to rebuild it inside and out. Fortunately, I have some new special steel at the steel plant in Tangshan, which should be able to be used in this project."

"That would be great." The newly appointed chief designer of the aircraft carrier at Darian Shipyard said with a smile, "Academician Liu, please send over all your special steel as soon as possible."

"Besides steel, we at Taiyi New Materials can also use carbon fiber and graphene." Liu Hua said very seriously, "I will send the new materials over at the same time. By the way, we are currently researching a new material, carbon nanotubes, which should be useful in electrical appliances."

"Carbon nanotubes, which were only discovered in the 1990s?"

Liu Hua nodded: "Perfect timing. Our company has set up a research project team to study carbon nanotubes. However, we haven't made much progress yet. But as long as the country needs it, we will develop it as quickly as possible."

The chief designer of the aircraft carrier nodded happily: "New materials can give our old aircraft carrier unlimited possibilities. I was completely clueless about it before, but now I feel more and more motivated. The future is promising."

Liu Hua rubbed his hands together: "Sigh, I have to hurry back. I have a ton of things to do. The older I get, the more I feel like I don't have enough time."

The chief designer of the aircraft carrier patted Liu Hua on the shoulder: "Take it easy, old buddy. We were born both unfortunate and fortunate. Take good care of your health. I hope we can all see the day when our country is strong and prosperous."

Liu Hua smiled and said proudly, "Of course I will see that day. I have been working hard for that day all my life. Even if that day is still a hundred years away, I will try my best to shorten the time by at least fifty years."

The chief designer of the aircraft carrier gave him a thumbs up: "You're really something. Everyone says that you, Liu Hua, are famous for your speed in doing research. If you have such a grand ambition, I really don't worry about whether I'll live to see that day."

"Don't worry, we'll both see that day."

(End of this chapter)