Xiaomi Heavy Industry, its first entrepreneurial venture!

Chapter 270 Money is no problem! (Third update!)

Upon hearing about the bet, the person opposite waved their hand, saying, "We must set an example and not bet!"

"Let's get back to our previous topic!"

"You have solved the problem of drone operations in environments with strong interference."

"You've also solved the mass production problem of drones, so I'd like to ask, how do you deploy these things on the battlefield?"

"Or rather, what kind of transportation system would you use to deliver these things to the battlefield?"

"Truck? Train?"

After asking the question, the person who spoke stared intently at Lin Yi.

Lin Yi felt a prickling sensation all over his body from being stared at.

He turned slightly to the side, averting his gaze, and then his eyes fell on Guo Song, but his words were directed at the Air Force representative who had asked the question:
"To quickly deploy these drones to the battlefield, trains and trucks are not suitable; only transport aircraft can be used."

"Whether it's an unmanned transport aircraft or a manned transport aircraft, it's fine."

"If you want to carry out a blanket bombing, you just need to transport the drone over the target, open the aircraft door, and drop the drone down."

"The drones are in the air, unfolding according to the pre-set algorithm, and finally attack the target in swarms."

"In the field of drone algorithms, this attack mode is called swarm."

"This attack mode is the most effective and also the most terrifying attack mode for small drones."

"A swarm of bees?" The person who asked the question repeated the word. He closed his eyes, looking thoughtful, and then nodded emphatically.

"A very good name, and it fits the description well."

"The next question, putting aside drones, is about unmanned equipment."

“In America’s films, there are many similar devices that are operated with great skill and precision by the users.”

"With just this one thought, the device can perform the task according to the operator's idea."

"If we want to achieve this, what other paths do we need to take?"

“This thing requires a brain-computer interface!” Lin Yi answered the question without hesitation.

Before the other person could ask any questions, he added:
"We need to first install a brain-computer interface on the human brain to convert the brainwaves generated when a person is thinking into electrical signals and then transmit them to the device."

"Only in this way can people control the equipment as if it were an extension of their own arm, but in reality, it's impossible to control it perfectly because there's a delay!"

"And this involves the field of life sciences, which is not my area of ​​expertise."

Upon hearing Lin Yi say that he was not good at life sciences, the representative who raised the question paused for a moment, then quickly wrote down the words "brain-computer interface" in his notebook.

After writing those two large characters, he moved his chair back slightly.
"I've asked all the questions I wanted to ask. Now it's up to the Navy to decide what they think."

This sentence drew everyone's attention to the few people in the navy.

On the naval side, the person sitting in the middle opened his notebook, ready to take notes, and then looked at the notebook and asked Lin Yi:

"Does a naval drone system require an aircraft carrier?"

"Yes, I need to!" Lin Yi answered the question softly, but before the other person could speak, he corrected himself slightly:
"In fact, if it is only used as a transportation and delivery platform, what we need is not an aircraft carrier in the traditional sense, but a new era of drone aircraft carriers."

"Actually, we don't need an aircraft carrier; we can use an amphibious landing ship instead."

"After all, these drones are mainly used to attack land, so it is more appropriate to use amphibious landing ships as transport platforms."

He spoke casually, giving others the impression that... it was as if he really had several aircraft carriers and several amphibious landing ships at his disposal, and could pick and choose whichever he wanted.

The army and air force personnel were imagining things, while the navy personnel were looking at Lin Yi with black lines on their faces.

Especially the representative who asked the question.

His face was so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

After a while, a professional, fake smile appeared on his face:
"Um... let's talk about other unmanned devices, like unmanned underwater vehicles."

What do you think is the future development trend of unmanned underwater vehicles?

"Is it speed, power, or the ability to conceal itself?"

These words reminded Lin Yi of the unmanned underwater vehicles he had seen in his previous life.

Initially, the unmanned underwater vehicles from various countries were bulky, ugly, and unsightly.

Later, to prevent being caught by others, America, which was leading the world, began to modify their stealth devices.

Their underwater vehicles have begun to evolve, incorporating fish scales, fins, and so-called sharkskin.

This was evident in Michael Phelps' performance in the swimming competition at the 2008 Olympics.

Once America started doing it, other countries began to follow suit.

Later, America's research funding was squandered by the professors and the generals who were allied with them.

From then on, America's unmanned underwater vehicle became the same one by the roadside, either tangled in seaweed or tangled in seaweed.

After gathering his thoughts, he coughed twice and added:

"In the future of unmanned underwater vehicles, while ensuring signal connectivity, our development focus should be on biomimicry."

"Because only by imitating it closely enough can you avoid being detected and prevent others from finding fault with it."

"The hydrological data collected by unmanned underwater vehicles is extremely valuable, and it cannot be discarded carelessly."

"But it doesn't matter. When the time is right, we can make a lot of these biomimetic unmanned underwater vehicles. Even if they are captured, it won't be a big problem."

His casual demeanor made several naval personnel begin to feel insecure.

The group of companions looked at each other and finally confirmed it from each other's eyes.

No aircraft carrier!

No amphibious landing ships!
There are no unmanned underwater vehicles either!
Looking at the words he had written, the naval representative who had spoken first took a deep breath and asked very solemnly:

"One last question: if you were asked to build the corresponding unmanned combat system at the lowest possible cost..."

The words paused for a moment, followed by a more serious tone:

Approximately how much funding is needed?

The sudden words startled Lin Yi, who was smiling and waiting for the question.

In his initial vision, he might be asked about costs today.

However, he hadn't expected the question to be so direct.

His relaxed expression vanished, his body straightened ramrod straight, and he stared directly at the naval representative who had just spoken. He opened his mouth, then stammered out the question:
"Um...could you...ask that question again? I didn't hear you very clearly."

When he asked the question, the person who responded to him was not the one from the navy, but Guo Song.

The old man closed the notebook in front of him, tossed it aside, and answered softly:

"That means, under the most frugal conditions, how much funding would you need to initially establish this so-called unmanned combat system?"

"Um...it's not that I'm afraid you'll laugh at me!"

"It's literally no money!"

"The military's current plan is to vigorously develop the air force, while the navy and army will be put on hold until the air force's equipment reaches a certain scale."

"All funding must be allocated to the Air Force." "Under this premise, we cannot spare much funding to build this unmanned combat system."

"However, given the current situation, we cannot give up."

"Because this thing is like a card in our hand. Once we've built an unmanned combat system, we'll have an extra card to play."

"Although the cards aren't very powerful, they can at least be used to block others."

"Even later on, this card will become a big card."

Listening to Guo Song's words, Lin Yi began to organize the timeline of the appearance of those military equipment in his previous life.

In doing this sorting out, he discovered the blind spots.

Whether it's airplanes or ships, the large-scale production of these vessels began after 2015.

To be more specific, the shipbuilding industry began to accelerate after the launch of the first aircraft carrier in 2012, following the verification of numerous technologies.

Aircraft production has started to increase rapidly because domestically produced engines and phased array radars can now be mass-produced.

The year 2010, before these technologies were validated, was a very awkward time.

The technologies that had been mastered were not yet ready for mass production at this point.

And those technologies that are about to break through are still on the verge of breaking through.

At this very moment, America was acting particularly wildly in the Middle East, attacking one person today and another tomorrow.

Nobody can guarantee that this guy won't beat himself up the day after tomorrow.

In order to protect oneself, one must draw two more cards.

Even with a weak hand, you can still fool your opponent.

Moreover, unmanned equipment with a complete combat system doesn't seem like a small player at all.

Moreover, it's just before dawn, and as long as we get through this, the sun will rise in the east.

Lin Yi scratched his head and looked at the naval representative who had just spoken:
"money is not a problem!"

Before the naval representative could speak, Guo Song preemptively spoke up:
"You don't need to comfort us. We called you here today to have a realistic discussion on how to establish this unmanned combat system at the lowest possible cost."

"We may not have much money, but we will definitely give it to you if you need it."

"Now, I need you to give us a number so we can be prepared."

After listening to Guo Song's words, Lin Yi shook his head again:
"Money is really not a problem!"

"We have approximately $30 billion in cash on our books!"

"Converted to RMB, that's roughly 200 billion."

"Enough for anything!"

"The biggest problem is that we are a private enterprise, and it is illegal for us to produce those things."

"That's the biggest problem!"

He spoke casually, and across from him, the twenty-odd people whose combined age was nearly 1000 years old all turned their gazes toward Fang Yaoguo, their eyes filled with questioning.

Feeling guilty under the gaze of this group of people, Fang Yaoguo turned his head away and stared at the window next to him, then started whistling as if no one else was around.

As he whistled, he remembered what Hao Jin had said.

Or rather, it was Hao Jin imitating the pretentious words of the higher-ups:
"No need, that would be a waste."

[Use it! This kid has inexhaustible energy; he's always causing trouble and itching to get back at you.]

This is why I feel my feelings are being wasted!
Tell me earlier!
If you had just said it was for this reason earlier, we wouldn't have had to beat around the bush or be so careful.

It's also my fault for not asking clearly.

No wonder that after I mentioned this yesterday, the leaders agreed to it without saying a word.

The thought of not doing his job well made Fang Yaoguo feel even more guilty, and he unconsciously increased the volume of his whistling.

His voice rose, startling the stunned people beside him. Guo Song looked up, waved his hand irritably, and said to Fang Yaoguo as if shooing away a fly, "Stop bragging, look at the background check you've done..."

Having already spoken frankly, Guo Song no longer bothered to hide anything.

He bent down and pulled a suitcase out from his side.

He then carried the briefcase to Lin Yi, opened it, and showed Lin Yi its contents:

"This is what you applied for through the security bureau yesterday."

"It will be made public in a while. You could say that this is the first time in history that you have done this."

Inside the suitcase were four transparent document bags.

Inside the four transparent file folders were four documents with slightly different contents.

[Approval for Xiaomi Heavy Industry Group's application for private rocket and satellite R&D, production, manufacturing, and launch qualifications!]

[Application approved!]

[Approval of the General Armaments Department's application to collaborate with Xiaomi Heavy Industry Group on joint military-civilian research and development of naval weapons and equipment!]

[Application approved!]

[Approval of the General Armaments Department's application to cooperate with Xiaomi Heavy Industry Group to conduct joint military-civilian research and development of Air Force weapons and equipment!]

[Application approved!]

[Approval of the General Armaments Department's application to collaborate with Xiaomi Heavy Industry Group on joint military-civilian research and development of army weapons and equipment!]

[Application approved!]

Beneath these brief words are a dozen or so bright red seals, each bearing a name.

These names and seals almost completely cover the document.

Upon seeing this, Lin Yiche breathed a sigh of relief.

With this, he could recruit soldiers and horses, drag the satellite out in the shortest possible time, and then launch it into space.

Once the satellite positioning system is in place, those little drones can be put aside, like an old woman, to welcome a new sweetheart.

Suppressing his overwhelming joy, Lin Yi gently closed the suitcase and looked up at Guo Song:

"Now I can answer your question, sir!"

"For others, it would take at least 200 billion to build this system."

"But I'm different!"

"By the end of this year at the latest, you will be able to see systematic drone warfare!"

After speaking, his gaze fell on the few navy men:
"It also includes unmanned ships and unmanned underwater vehicles that you want to see. Of course, due to time constraints, we can't make large ones, but we'll show you some that are a hundred or two tons each, so you can play around with them. It's not a big problem."

When he heard that the finished product would be available by the end of the year, Guo Song's face twitched. He wanted to say something, but seeing Lin Yi's determined look, he decided not to spoil the mood.

Coming to his senses, he realized it was lunchtime. He naturally turned to the crowd and said:

"Since things have come to this, let's eat first! We can talk after we eat!"

(End of this chapter)