What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 497 Good Designs Come from Unspoken Understanding (2200 Monthly Tickets in June)

As a special forces team tasked with in-depth frontline missions, Ryan and his team have spent a considerable amount of time dealing with drone-type equipment.

Although many of the drones that would later become famous in the Empire were still under development, many companies had already used the prototypes on a small scale in localized areas during the Desert Wars, and special forces teams had all had some contact with them.

Information about the MQ-1 Predator drone with its inverted V-tail configuration has been circulating within the military for a year, so Seton had some impression of it.

Furthermore, the drone that just flew overhead was clearly distinct from aircraft like the Gnat and Super 262, even to the naked eye. The huge bulging pod below it was distinctly Imperial in style, probably a newly added unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

The group was relieved, but just to be on the safe side, Ryan quickly set up a radio and inquired about the presence of drones on duty in Sector C2.

The city of Caracalla was also unaware of this, and inquired further with Santaren and the Santa Ana base, eventually reaching General Hunter.

About an hour later, Ryan's team, having found nothing and with the sun already out, called for a helicopter to pick them up.

But when the helicopter arrived, it brought not an evacuation and reorganization, but an urgent telegram from Brigadier General Hunt:

Following the direction in which the drone was spotted during the day, a large-scale, comprehensive search was launched, and more teams will be deployed here soon.

It was only then that Ryan realized that the drone did not belong to the Empire!
……

Caracalla
Hunter, experts from General Atomics, and Air Force personnel sat together, asking Ryan and the others to describe in detail what the aircraft they had seen, and then to summarize.

"Inverted V, rear-mounted..."

The GA technical expert became increasingly confused as he listened, and finally, after searching for a long time, he found a picture of the MQ-1 Predator and asked:

"Is it this one?"

MQ-1 Predator:
"Yes, they are exactly the same, only the size may be different."

The group nodded vigorously, but then quickly added a small detail:

"The thing under the nose is bigger; I think it should be this big."

Seton gestured with his hands, making a width larger than a human head, and then said with certainty:

"The protruding part seems to reflect light, and it's almost as wide as the body, like a tumor."

"That's not a tumor!"

GA's experts immediately guessed what it was:
"It must be an aerial camera. Even when shooting from 10,000 meters above the ground, such a large film has very high clarity... This is Hans's U2, and a smaller, more stealthy, unmanned version of the U2! It might even be their predator!"

Hunter, who had been listening attentively, immediately asked:
Why did he use such a large aerial camera?

"Because they don't have advanced digital cameras!"

The one who answered was Mark, who had come with the Air Force, and he was completely excited:
"The MQ1 Predator uses an advanced electro-optical pod that can transmit images back to the local machine in real time and make flexible adjustments. Film cameras may have higher resolution but are difficult to use for imaging. The only option is to send out drones to conduct reconnaissance along fixed routes and then retrieve the film for analysis."

This is Hans's Tu-123!

The Tu-123 that Mark mentioned was a supersonic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft developed by the Alliance in the early 60s. It flew with a ramjet engine and could only cruise along a pre-set route before returning to the starting point to drop off its film pod.

Because it was expensive and inefficient, it was replaced by reconnaissance satellites within a few years.

Since Hans did not have reconnaissance satellites, he could only rely on this ancient method to maintain his reconnaissance.

However, Hunter then asked, "Why can't the larger probe be Hans's photoelectric pod?"

“Then it’s not an electro-optical pod, it’s a large-area CCD digital imaging system used by satellites… It’s worth dozens of drones, and you don’t need that much.”

Mark gave his firm assurances, and GA's technical experts nodded in agreement.

Only a handful of countries in the world can manufacture such large CCD cameras, and they rely on the semiconductor industry. Even if Hans, hidden beneath glaciers, could build a rudimentary semiconductor production line to produce them, they would never be able to afford such a waste.

Mark: "The film reconnaissance plane will inevitably return to drop the film, so as long as we wait for it to return and follow it, we will definitely be able to find the secret base."

When Ryan's team spotted it, it was flying at extremely low altitude, which was most likely to avoid exposing the base during takeoff and to climb only after creating some distance.

Because the Air Force's tracking of targets is too conspicuous, we hope that the Marines can find a high vantage point to hold their position.

Hunter did not doubt Mark's judgment:

"I've done as you said, but I still have a question: why are their drones so similar to the MQ-1?"

mark:"……"

GA expert: "..."

"And drones shouldn't need maneuverability, right? Why not use an inverted V-shape like bombers or gliders? I just want to say they're too similar."

Before Hunter could finish speaking, the GA experts couldn't wait to explain:
"Perhaps they saw the appearance by chance and decided to copy it. The MQ1 has been sent out several times for battlefield testing during the verification phase, but it is impossible for it to be leaked."

Every flight of its was completely under our control. No one, except perhaps the Prism Building, could obtain its critical information. Its appearance and aerodynamic layout were unaffected; even the Indians could copy it. Besides… good designs always seem to flow naturally, which means we all chose the right technological path.”

……

The Empire cherishes this hard-won opportunity, after all, that aircraft, which looks very much like the MQ-1, is likely to be the only one that will be recovered, rather than being used as a manned missile like the previous fighter jets.

They guessed that the reconnaissance plane would not return for at least 3 to 4 hours, so they did their best to mobilize almost all available squads in the surrounding area while avoiding residential areas, and then used airdropped equipment to occupy high ground and use passive infrared or radio detectors to guard the target.

But even as darkness fell, when the drone had theoretically reached its range limit, Hunter still hadn't received any news.

The scattered squads fought off mosquitoes and venomous insects while keeping an eye on the reconnaissance equipment, and night fell.

……

Tang Wen put on his goggles and mask, tightened them securely, checked that his clothes were snug, closed his eyes, and the next second he was riding on the back of the Q97 drone, facing the gale-force winds of over 100 kilometers per hour.

Fortunately, the Q97's stall speed was only slightly over 100 km/h, and he could still manage to move at low speeds. He skillfully found the quick-release handle on the nose of the aircraft, released it, turned off the power to the reconnaissance pod, and then disappeared with the expensive custom-made pod.

After running out of fuel, the Q-97 found a secluded swamp and plunged in to kill a group of crocodiles.

Tang Wen was already very familiar with this process, and he had to personally disassemble the drones every time he went out for reconnaissance.

Throwing away a few million is a small matter, but it takes the Fifth Academy quite a bit of time to put together a pod.

However, he has been conducting reconnaissance less frequently recently. After one of his T6s was shot down by the Empire, the Marines have been staying put and only conducting routine reconnaissance once a week.

(End of this chapter)