What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 355 Hat Trick
Before the Type 685 destroyer penetrated 1,000 kilometers into our territory, although China knew its own warships were in poor condition, there was still a prevailing mindset:

As long as you are willing to fight desperately and dare to charge forward, you can at least take someone down with you, making people afraid to make any rash moves.

The submarine, which called itself "K279," shattered this illusion, cruelly revealing the extremely backward truth:
When the technological gap reaches a certain level, human resources become only a negligible part and cannot tip the scales of victory.

So let's not criticize the navy for being a freeloader; the main problem lies in the technology.

Moreover, the Type 685 is a product of the 80s, while the US is still researching the next generation. Faced with these cutting-edge products, they probably don't know how they lost.

Leaving aside anti-submarine warfare, the best way to deal with nuclear-powered blackfish is to have better nuclear-powered blackfish ourselves.

However, the reality is that China's nuclear submarine capabilities can only be described in one word: exist.

It simply exists.

The 091 is roughly equivalent to the level of the Xiong and Mi series from the late 50s, with later modifications possibly reaching the level of the 60s, but that's about it.

Currently, foreign countries are already developing fourth and fifth generation, while China is still at around 1.5 generation.

This is a gap that money can't bridge; we need external help, and now we have that.

"Nuclear submarines? I still need the 685 if it doesn't work, but I can think of other options."

Upon hearing Lao Zhang's request, Tang Wen thought for a moment and then gave his answer.

"Does Geykin have other nuclear submarines?"

Old Zhang astutely grasped the key point.

"Of course not, but we can mobilize resources to search for it. We don't know the model or how advanced it is, and the timeframe is uncertain."

Old Zhang said "Oh," thinking to himself that Nanyang was about to mobilize its powerful intelligence network to steal information again.

This is certainly not the truth; Tang Wen wanted to directly seize one:
The sinking of the K278 "Kosomoyets" was an isolated incident. Although there had been previous nuclear submarine accidents, they were all of less advanced models, so it wouldn't be very meaningful to take them over.

The next advanced blackfish to sink wouldn't happen until the Kursk disaster in 2000, and Tang Wen certainly wouldn't wait that long:

Anyway, under the guise of the Second Fleet, we can simply increase the number of U-2501s and ambush and strangle the active-duty US fleet.

Thanks to the system captain's ability to remain calm and composed without eating or drinking, U2501 can stay motionless near important US bases for more than three months.

At worst, a dozen or so U-boats could swarm in, and the elite U2501 or 4501 could launch a surprise attack, taking down one of them wouldn't be difficult.

The Empire has not dared to publicly announce the 'Seawolf's' crash until now, not only because it doesn't want to lose face, but also because submarine crashes are very difficult to detect.

Especially with the nuclear blackfish, most of the time even the family can't contact them, and they only realize they've sunk after the fact. If they don't mention it to outsiders, no one else will know.

Having received Tang Wen's assurance, Lao Zhang was about to leave when he was stopped:
"Wait, there's a small problem that I'm afraid we need to solve."

"What trouble?"

Old Zhang sat down immediately; anyone who could say something like that at this point would be considered a minor trouble.

Tang Wen: "The IAA is investigating the origins of the 001 warship and suspects it may be related to the Second Fleet."

"This is just a minor problem?!"

His voice was trembling. The country is currently trying to join the WTO, and getting involved with the Second Fleet at this critical juncture is a real big deal.

"Calm down, calm down, I have a way."

Tang Wen remained calm, after all, it wasn't just the Yamato that had disappeared from the wreckage.

Old Mi will definitely check the location of other wreckage, while Tang Wen salvages all kinds of warships from all over the world, and melts down those that are not valuable. He salvages as many submarines as he can, so there is no way to connect salvaging wreckage with reviving warships.

If the procedures for Huangpu Shipyard can be completed domestically, this matter can be resolved smoothly.

Of course, the best way to completely dispel suspicion is to continue building battleships:

Just like the aviation cruiser donated to the naval academy this time, everyone knows it has no value, but once it's actually built, there's nothing to fear.

"I suggest you buy another battleship. As long as you have a second one, the IAA won't have any doubts."

"..."

After thinking for a while, Old Zhang's face seemed to wear a mask of pain, because it seemed that this might actually be useful.

But, but, why did the South Seas have to build so many battleships?! You guys like collecting large figurines, you can enjoy them yourselves, don't dump them all on us!!!
Tang Wen watched as he frantically grabbed his hair until it became a complete mess before finally looking up with red eyes and asking:

"What kind of weird stuff are you trying to sell this time?"

"Professor Qian hopes to have gun barrels of 20 inches or more for larger vanguard guns. The Hanover has a hull of 9.8 tons, and its 483 mm guns are a waste. They can be replaced with twin turrets of 600 mm or more, and can accommodate much more weaponry."

Tang Wen even pulled out a roll of blueprints:
"Preliminary hull modification plan:"

Now, Geykin Shipyard has the capability to perform any modifications you want, even switching to nuclear power, building new turrets, creating entirely new superstructures, leaving room for installation, etc., none of these are problems.

Once the Yamato sails out of Hanover, the IAA will no longer question its capabilities.

"What if we don't want Hanover?"

"And there's the Maine, which is basically a larger version of the Montana... or you could ask for the Kearsarge."

Tang Wen picked up a pencil and sketched the general layout of the USS Kearsarge air battleship. After looking at it, Old Zhang asked in horror:
"You guys made this thing too?"

Tang Wen nodded seriously.

"..."

Old Zhang clenched his fists and leaned back weakly in his chair.

Frustrated by the blueprints of the ship.jpg

……

Gloton.

A grand celebration ceremony is being held in the dry dock of the General Electric Boat Submarine Shipyard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, fellow sufferers of freedom, this is the Empire's sharpest blade, the sword of freedom, the defender of peace, the Empire's sixth-generation super nuclear submarine, the Seawolf!"

As the spokeswoman's impassioned voice rang out, the cannons on both sides were lit, and the celebrities, shipyard personnel, and naval officers present began to applaud enthusiastically.

The Seawolf has been launched again.

In fact, this is the second Seawolf-class submarine, the USS Connecticut, which was originally scheduled to be launched in July.

But now its hull has been assembled, and it is only lacking some internal outfitting and testing. It is perfectly adequate for use as a makeshift vessel.

Among the crowd, Johnson and Calvin stared at each other expressionlessly:

This is the outcome of the game between the Imperial Navy and the general-purpose electric ships:
Pretend the Seawolf didn't sink.

After all, this was a submarine that was not in service, and even the Second Fleet certainly did not know what it had sunk, so theoretically the Imperial Navy suffered no loss.

The second ship, the USS Connecticut, which was originally planned to be built, has become the first ship, the USS Seawolf. The original plan was to launch this year and enter service in 1999, but now the target of entering service in 98 has been brought forward.

Although Congress was aware of the situation, it couldn't bear the embarrassment and, after berating Johnson, had no choice but to allocate additional funding.

The Seawolf-class destroyers were originally planned to have 30 ships, but 27 were cut. Now, the budget has been increased to 2 ships, with the goal of having 4 ships actually in service.

An even stricter requirement was to immediately develop a more advanced variant than the Seawolf.

The Federal President does not accept nonsense such as "surprise attack" or "premeditated attack." If you lose, you lose. Then immediately, right now, develop new ships!
The Imperial Navy also paid a heavy price behind the scenes, but fortunately Johnson landed safely in the end.

But the loss of a submarine certainly cannot be completely covered up.

"The Birmingham has been towed to its designated location, and everything is arranged."

Calvin originally didn't want to get into trouble, but at his level, he had no choice but to help Johnson.

The aging Los Angeles-class destroyer "Birmingham" was originally scheduled to be decommissioned in the second half of the year, but now it's simply being towed out and scuttled, with "Birmingham" replacing "Seawolf" in the sinking. This can be excused by reasons such as "mechanical failure," and won't cause too much of a stir.

There were very few people who knew about this matter, so keeping quiet about it wouldn't have been difficult.

"Thank you, Calvin. You will become the deputy commander of the Antarctic task force."

Johnson looks much older than before; heaven knows how many favors he's expended.

(End of this chapter)