What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 166: Decisive Battle Weapons (2200 monthly tickets plus more)

RAND Corporation.

Tom's group was joined by a very special guest:
Nao Horikawa was one of the design team members of the Yamato. Of course, he was still very young at that time, and later he participated in the modification and construction of the Shinano.

Horikawa Otoko is now 87 years old. After the war, his children brought him to the United States to spend his remaining years. When the Intelligence Bureau was looking for an expert, they saw his name and invited Horikawa Nao, who was sunbathing on the beach, to come over.

Nao Horikawa, who is short in person, looks like a skinny dwarf because of his age, but when he saw the aerial footage of the 001 battleship, two rays of light shot out of his cloudy eyes.

"This, this is Yamato, I won't make a mistake."

Intelligence Officer Freddy stood aside, frowning and asking:

"I mean, how closely does this battleship relate to the historical Yamato? Is it just based on the exterior, or is it a near-copy of the Yamato from the inside out?"

"Of course it's a replica!"

Horikawa Nao said without a doubt:

"A warship's exterior and interior design are closely linked. The layout of the power system determines the smoke duct, and the ship's shape determines its stability and speed. Every piece of data you see has a precise purpose and is not used arbitrarily.

I remember every angle and draft of the Yamato's hull by heart, and I will never make a mistake. Their designers at least got a considerable portion of the original design data, or received assistance from experts who participated at the time.

If we only rely on the appearance data, we can’t restore it to this extent.”

Freddy looked at Matt Mulherin of Newpost Shipyard, who agreed.
"Yes, the superstructure can be changed at will, but the position of the chimney, the center of gravity, and the ship shape cannot be concealed. The 001 battleship at least borrowed some of the Yamato's hull technology."

"But what's the point of a battleship like this? It even retains its main guns!"

Freddy was a little annoyed. The cost of building such a battleship would not be lower than that of the Varyag. Dongda had the ability to build a 70,000-ton battleship. In fact, if they tried hard, they could build a large aircraft carrier of the same tonnage.

Small aircraft carriers and large battleships, what is behind this counterintuitive choice?
Spending at least tens of billions of yuan to master the armor technology, large-caliber artillery technology, and high-power steam turbines that have not been mastered, just to build a battleship that was replaced by aircraft carriers 50 years ago?

No, no, there must be a conspiracy.

He never underestimated his opponents and did not believe that they were just a bunch of fools dreaming of a naval gun battle. He thought there must be a conspiracy.

However, even the Yamato shipbuilders were so confident, so the report was difficult to write.

If you report it like this, you will be scolded by the congressmen.

Freddy had a headache, but he saw Nao Horikawa and Matt looking over the information about the 001 battleship with great interest. The 87-year-old old Deng was stroking the photo and muttering:

"Old man, we meet again."

Matt also sighed: "Actually, I also have a dream. It would be great if I could build a nuclear-powered Iowa that uses an electromagnetic cannon."

Freddy: “…”

"boom"

The door to the laboratory was suddenly thrown open. Freddy's assistant, holding a few pieces of paper, stood at the door and shouted breathlessly:
"It's announced, that's not Yamato!"

……

Tom's team was joined by several artillery experts, and they were extraordinary artillery experts.

Artillery anti-missile is not some novel idea. Everyone has done it decades ago. The United States also has a strong team, and most of them are still alive.

After watching "Beacon Fire Military Affairs," their first reaction was seriousness. This was because the crazy parameters Feng Qianjun mentioned were actually not impossible to achieve, and some people had already done it.

As early as 31 years ago, the artillery genius Dr. Bull purchased two Iowa-class 406mm gun barrels, combined them into a 36-meter-long "Barbatos cannon", and then expanded the bore to 424mm caliber. With one shot, it could launch a 90kg shell to an altitude of 180 kilometers. In theory, it could also launch a 100kg shell to a distance of 4000 kilometers.

Dr. Bull dedicated his life to artillery research. He once single-handedly made a leap forward in the power and range of Western 155mm howitzers, completely overwhelming the Soviet Union's 152-caliber artillery. Even the University of Tokyo later chose to abandon the traditional 152mm route and follow Dr. Bull's 155mm technology tree.

Dr. Bull's dream was to build a super cannon that could launch satellites, but due to his unpredictable fate, he was assassinated in 90.

Although Bull's dream of a 1000mm super cannon ultimately failed to materialize, according to the HARP project plan he once led, he was almost able to achieve his goal when using a three-stage rocket propelled rocket as ammunition.

Although the authenticity of Feng Qianjun's "460mm Pioneer anti-missile cannon" is questionable, the data is theoretically achievable, and is even less radical than Dr. Bull's idea.

Of course, what is more important is that Bull once came to the University of Tokyo and taught him 155mm and 203mm advanced artillery technology, so his relationship with the University of Tokyo is not bad.

If the country can gain some enlightenment from him, it is very likely that the super cannon program will be restarted with national power.

"But, this kind of cannon has a very slow reaction speed, right?"

Freddy couldn't help but ask, but the artillery expert shook his head.
“Of course it’s slow, but it’s designed for ultra-long-range strikes and low-altitude satellite attacks, and short-range anti-ship missiles are enough.

This is a warship that is more terrifying than a nuclear submarine. The weight of a warhead with a 200-ton equivalent is only 100 kilograms, and kilograms is enough for a -ton equivalent.

And because they don't have to travel through the thick atmosphere, the shielding on nuclear shells can be much lighter."

"Hundreds of nuclear artillery shells can be launched in half an hour, and the cost of each shell is less than one-tenth of a submarine-launched missile, and it can also be used against satellites... a genius idea."

Matt suddenly interrupted:

"For the empire, this type of warship is dispensable, and aircraft carriers and a large submarine fleet can fill the needs. However, for a weak country that does not have an aircraft carrier, it has a higher priority than an aircraft carrier."

Freddy nodded:

"I understand. This is a super battleship comparable to the Nuclear Blackfish. It is... um..."

"Decisive battle weapon."

Horikawa Naoki aptly added:
"Just like the original Yamato project, the goal was to use the outstanding advantages of a single piece of equipment to make up for or even catch up with the overall backwardness and disadvantages in comprehensive strength.

We don't expect to gain an advantage in normal times, but we do hope to turn the tide at critical moments and prepare for the final decisive battle."

The old man closed his eyes, as if he had sensed the anxiety and despair in the heart of the designer of the "Pioneer Cannon".

When the Yamato was designed, aircraft carriers already had a status equal to that of battleships, and in the future they would be even higher and broader. However, the headquarters knew that it could not compete with the United States in building aircraft carriers, so it made a desperate attempt to use super battleships to reverse the situation.

As one of the original designers, they knew from the beginning that the era of battleship bombardment was over.

The same goes for the Vanguard Cannon. It's certainly powerful, but—

The weapon of decisive battle is a synonym for poignant beauty and tragedy.

"Yes, that's very fitting."

Freddy was very satisfied with this description. At least it proved that he had made some progress in his work and would not be scolded by his boss.

"Well, gentlemen, let's see how threatening the 'Decisive Weapon' really is."

(End of this chapter)