What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 483 The Wrong Path (1400 monthly votes in June)

Philadelphia, offshore

Experts from Raytheon and the Philadelphia Shipyard stood on the shore, their eyes fixed on the Fletcher-class destroyer being used as a test subject.

This destroyer looks quite different: it has a ram.

A long, protruding pole extends from the bow of the boat, about ten meters long. Calling it a ram is too long; it's more like the sharp spine of a swordfish.

After a nine-month development cycle, Raytheon finally managed to replicate the high-speed smoke generator.

Smoke screens are widely used in the navy. The earliest method was to directly mix inferior coal into the ship's boilers or restrict air intake to cause incomplete combustion, producing a large amount of black smoke.

During the Battle of Jutland, Hans also used methods such as adding sulfur trioxide and chlorosulfonic acid to create thick smoke.

Later, people tried to create smoke screens using airplanes. Solid particles produced by the decomposition of substances such as titanium tetrachloride and silicon tetrachloride were released from the air and fell naturally, forming a sky-covering smoke screen for naval battles.

However, with the advent of the aircraft carrier era, smoke screen tactics have completely disappeared from the stage—the Bismarck fleet last year was an exception.

The ability to survive in a smokescreen without affecting the precision firing of electro-optical devices is practically a violation of physics.

Raytheon couldn't simply copy the old experience from a century ago to achieve these goals. They not only invested more money to find special substances that could meet the requirements, but also acquired a small chemical company.

Now, Captain Edwin, the legendary hero commander of the USS New Jersey, will witness the first test of Thor's Smoke.

Following the instructions from the shore, the Fletcher-class destroyer accelerated forward with its engines at full power, thick smoke billowing from its smokestacks.

When the speed reaches about 10 knots, the tip of the long "spike" at the bow spreads out as a slanted shock wave, creating a large cloud of white mist that rapidly expands and merges into a sphere. The advancing destroyer plunges into it and disappears from sight in an instant.

As the smoke spread rapidly, a growing cloud of fog immediately formed wherever the destroyer passed, and it could remain in the air for a long time before slowly dissipating.

"it is good!"

Edwin clapped:
"Great, this is almost exactly what I saw, except for the addition of a ram. Can this smoke also interfere with radar lock-on?"

"Yes, we have added small molecules that can resonate with electromagnetic waves to the diffuser. When the radar is irradiated, it will absorb a large amount of the molecules and scatter them everywhere, which greatly increases the difficulty of locking on the radar."

"Is it possible to still hit accurately while there's a cloud of smoke?"

"Yes, our combat effectiveness will not decrease."

Hearing the confident assurances from the project manager at Thor, Edwin's gloom dissipated considerably.

The Empire is still quite powerful; they easily handle mere smokescreen technology.

Seeing the destroyer gliding around in the smoke without any problems, he asked with a smile:
"Can you tell me how you did it? Why doesn't this white smoke affect the warship itself?"

"Uh...it will actually have an impact."

"Then how can you say that you can still hit accurately?"

Raytheon executive:
“We do not use a single technology product, but rather we combine it organically with the existing ecosystem, making full use of the Empire’s years of information technology achievements.”

"speak English."

"Destroyers that activate smoke screens do not need detection capabilities. Instead, they rely on data links from friendly forces or helicopters and early warning aircraft in the air for indexing. Furthermore, we have developed a high-speed infrared communication device specifically for this purpose, ensuring that communication is not interfered with."

Edwin pondered for a while, then asked uncertainly:

"So, you just copied a smoke generator from a hundred years ago?"

"No, no, no, we used the latest water molecule technology and ion generator. It's completely non-toxic and harmless, and the diffusion rate is at least 50% higher than before." "What if I want the same model as the Second Fleet on the High Seas?"

"They must have used other methods as well. The smoke cloud must be a two-way interference to the radar. It is impossible for it to interfere with us without affecting itself at the same time."

But no matter how the other party explained it, Edwin was still inevitably disappointed. This coincidental method was definitely not something the Second Fleet on the high seas would use; it was simply too useless.

……

Capital
"Wow, it has to be the hairy chicken who's generous."

Old Zhang and his staff were engrossed in reading the newspaper, which contained a detailed battle report on the nighttime air battle that had taken place the previous day.

This is the first time they have obtained a detailed record of their encounters with the Second Fleet, and it is highly credible.

The French were quiet for more than half a year because of the loss of the Clemenceau and five other warships. They even seemed to have little interest in going to the desert to beat up weaker ships. The cabinet kept talking about building a second Charles de Gaulle-class ship to make up for the losses, but no action was taken.

Yesterday's resounding victory delighted the entire nation, with articles flooding in from Guyana to the mainland, even releasing the entire record of the entire process from E3 detection to the start of the aircraft swarm—except for a few minor details.

The report from the "haired chicken" version is largely accurate, except that it emphasizes that "the F-15 is at a disadvantage" when the Mirage 2000 is launched, and then focuses on promoting the "MICA EM" and "Magic II" missiles used by their own Mirage 2000, attempting to sell them on the spot.

There is also considerable interest in these two types of missiles domestically, since the only missiles currently available to the Air Force are the PL-8, which is similar to the Python 3; the others are mostly flying toggle sticks.

What interested them even more was the Hans Air Force's second demonstration of its ability to fly at extremely low altitudes over complex terrain.

"Old Zhang, the higher-ups need you to make a trip."

One man walked into the servants' room and directly appointed officers to Old Zhang's command.

Old Zhang: "What's going on? Looking for... Gai Jin?"

Strictly speaking, it's not them.

……

"Low-altitude flight is great. It remains an effective penetration tactic, from the Alliance's Witch Flying Squadron to the present day."

A female flight cadet who came from a farming and textile worker background earned the nickname "Witch" in the 40s for bombing opponents with the slow-moving, live target, the Wave 2. Now, Hans, using less than a second-generation jet, can make the F-15 stumble.

"These are all things I was told."

After Lao Zhang finished speaking, Tang Wen knew why he had come.

The goal of defeating the strong with the weak has always been pursued domestically. If the Second Fleet's ultra-low-altitude surprise attack technology could be learned, wouldn't that mean a significant reduction in national defense pressure?

But Tang Wen asked uncertainly:
"Contact with the Second Fleet? Those Hans? Don't they have any... concerns?"

He knew all too well the risks of contacting the Second Fleet, given the country's consistently cautious approach...

"Concerns? If you want to develop, you can't be hesitant. Otherwise, the navy wouldn't have taken out a loan to buy ships from you."

Old Zhang shook his head, and then stated his request:

"Whether it's specialized technology or the pilot's personal skills, we want to acquire some... and we're willing to pay a certain price; just ask them to speak."

"As far as I know, they have both, but this is their ultimate secret method, and the possibility of sharing the technology is not high, but their pilots really shocked me."

Tang Wen didn't really want the country to go down this wrong path, but in the end he still said:
“If you insist, I might be able to arrange one or two pilots to do a secret demonstration flight—for observation only, and the number of observers must be strictly controlled… Go to the Spratly Islands, observe from there.”

(End of this chapter)