Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 506 The Frenchman who tried to stage an accident turned out to be a clown!

Gulf of Aden.

A yacht is moving on the sea.

On the deck of the yacht, a photographer with a video camera was filming a reporter who was leaning against the railing.

Behind the reporter, a warship was sailing forward, cutting through the waves.

"Hello everyone, I'm Monique, a reporter from France 1 television. We're currently in the Gulf of Aden. The warship behind me is the mainstay of the Eastern escort fleet, the 105. As you can see from our camera footage, it's an extremely old warship..."

Number 105.

"These damn Frenchmen, I don't know what they're babbling about."

"Hmph, it's definitely not a good thing. Should we drive them away? Isn't this affecting our work?"

The commander's gaze was fixed on the warship in the distance, his expression complex.

"Comrades, our mission is to showcase the prowess of our Eastern Navy. We are a mighty and civilized force, and we have come here for world peace. Therefore, at this time, we must not do anything rash. We don't need to pay attention to them. We just need to do what we are supposed to do."

"Yes."

That evening, France 1 broadcast a special news report on this topic.

On the television screen, an old, outdated warship appeared.

Meanwhile, the news report also invited two French experts.

"We have invited Mr. Abel, an expert from the French Naval Shipbuilding Bureau, to give us his comments on this warship. Hello, Mr. Abel."

The camera then turned to Abel.

"Hello everyone watching on TV. The warship we are seeing is the Luda-class, which is currently the most numerous warship in the Eastern Navy. It has a full-load displacement of more than 3,000 tons and is an artillery warship."

The host was taken aback: "A gunboat? Wasn't that kind of warship obsolete after World War II?"

"That's right, they were phased out, but the shipbuilding technology of the East was very backward, so for them, they could only build gunboats."

"However, missile launchers can be seen in the middle of its hull."

"That's right. When it was first designed, it was designed as a gunboat. Later, with the development of ship-to-ship missiles by the Easterners, it was finally possible to install anti-ship missiles in the middle of the hull. The first ones installed were copies of the Styx missile. The C801 we see now is a recent modification, but... it is still outdated."

Abel smiled broadly: "We know that the mission of a destroyer is to protect the fleet, either for air defense or anti-submarine warfare. What about this one from the East? If we have to categorize it, it's an anti-ship type. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a unique anti-ship gunboat in the world. In the field of destroyers, the East is far behind the world's advanced level!"

"I've heard that Northwestern Polytechnical University in the East has recently been helping many countries design warships?"

"Yes, that's why we're even more curious. We don't know what those countries are thinking. They have such a long-established naval shipbuilding institution like France, yet they have to ask the East for help. What does the East have? Decades ago, they were still a backward agricultural country. Even if they have made breakthroughs in some areas, their overall strength is still lagging behind!"

Speaking of this, Abel's face was full of pride: "A century-old navy—this is not just an empty phrase. It takes a hundred years to build a powerful navy! In this respect, France has sufficient strength! Our recently developed frigates can meet the needs of the navies of various European countries..."

Their television program clearly aimed to belittle Eastern warships, elevate the value of their own warships, and promote French-made warships throughout Europe!

"In 1981, our French shipbuilding bureau began the preliminary design of a new generation of frigates. Just last year, we completed the development of this brand-new frigate, named the FL25. The biggest feature of this frigate is its stealth hull design! We focused on reducing the emission of various signals, such as radar, infrared, and noise."

Clearly, the 052s built by the East, and even the 054s that have already been put into operation, have not yet been discovered by them.

In their eyes, fighter jets made in the East may be advanced, but warships... a century-old navy is not something to be taken lightly.

On the television screen, a design scheme for a brand-new warship appeared. If you were a military enthusiast, you would recognize it at a glance: it's the Lafitte-class!
Of course, construction only began in the 1990s, after all, the French are always slow and, more importantly, they lack money.

"Look, everyone, our design is brand new, the first of its kind in the world! The hull is tilted inward at a 20-degree angle, forming a normal V shape. However, when it approaches the superstructure, it turns into an inverted V shape that tilts outward. This structure reflects radar waves from the sea surface back into the sky, thus greatly reducing radar reflection."

"Looking at our mast, we've designed it as a stealthy, slanted alloy mast, with the main engine exhaust vents integrated into it. In short, we'll do everything we can to reduce radar cross-section; even the common mast will be replaced by a bulwark..."

"This is a design created exclusively by France, and only we could design such an advanced modern warship!"

"Let's take a look at other design features. We use low-power diesel engines and special smokestacks to reduce infrared signature. In terms of noise reduction, our main engine is mounted on a flexible base covered with rubber to reduce vibrations to the hull."

"Ladies and gentlemen, times have changed. We believe that the future belongs to stealth warships, and our French shipbuilding bureau will usher in this stealth era! The Eastern Navy... without this capability, a century-old navy is not just empty talk."

Abel finished recording the show with a proud look on his face, and then... he planned to invite the beautiful female host out for a late-night snack. France is romantic, and perhaps something romantic could happen.

Unfortunately, before a formal invitation could be sent, the phone rang.

He pulled out his Thomson mobile phone. Currently, CDMA networks are being rapidly deployed across Europe, and everyone hopes to get a piece of the pie in this new technological field.

Now, European celebrities have already purchased CDMA phones from Ericsson, Nokia, and others. Thomson naturally had to have such a project as well, even if they were reluctant to use Eastern components. Regardless of whether they were good or not, many French people bought Thomson products.

"Hey."

"Abel, you idiot, look at the kind of things you've said!"

The barrage of insults on the phone left Abel completely bewildered. "My phone charges for both calls, so why should I listen to you cursing like this?"

He instinctively wanted to hang up the phone, but... the voice seemed somewhat familiar.

"Chief Henry?"

"Yes, it's me. Get back here right now!"

Henri, the director of the French shipbuilding bureau, personally called Abel and gave him a severe dressing-down!
Abel was stunned by the scolding; he never dreamed that he would be scolded by the bureau chief!

When he rushed back to the shipbuilding bureau, it was already 11 p.m. The romantic evening he had planned with the host had turned into a distraught and heartbroken night.

"Come and see, this is the Suez frigate of the Etuo, which was photographed when it passed through the Strait of Malacca."

"The Suez? Never heard of it, this is..."

Abel took it with a puzzled look on his face, and the next moment, his face turned pale.

The upper part of the hull tapers inward, forming an inverted V shape, and the funnel has many openings, presumably to reduce infrared radiation. This is the design of this warship…

How come it's 80% similar to their LF25?

"Which country built it? The Strait of Malacca...could it have been built by people from the East?"

"That's right, it was made in the East."

"These Asians are going too far! They actually copied our design."

Looking at Abel's expression, Henry didn't know how to scold him.

"Our design is still on the blueprints, while the Easterners have already built the warships! Once this news gets out, what do you think the outside world will say? Will they say the Easterners copied us, or...?"

It's obvious that the French copied the Easterners.

If Abel hadn't given that speech on television, the French shipbuilding bureau might have kept a low profile and avoided the backlash. Now, the whole world knows that the French shipbuilding bureau's design was copied from an Easterner!
When they discovered that Dongfang had the 054, they hastily released a design drawing and then claimed it as original. This... isn't this embarrassing?
"We started designing in 81; we are the original creators!"

"Yes, we started designing in 81, but... we never announced it to the public. Even if there were a design drawing outside, we could say that it was inspired by Easterners who saw our design drawing, but unfortunately, no one did! Now, if we say that, who would believe us?"

"Damn it, it's clearly our original work, yet it's being censored by Easterners..."

"Remember this: when making external announcements in the future, first find out about the equipment of Easterners. Make sure that Easterners don't have it before we make any announcements, so as not to embarrass ourselves!"

Yes. I understand now!

Abel had never really paid attention to Asians before; after all, they were always very arrogant and looked down on Asians. But now…

When he saw the Eastern materials, he was completely stunned.

The Type 054 is just an appetizer; the Type 052 is the mainstay! During the outfitting phase, satellite images were no problem for him. He looked at the huge opening on the deck, which was clearly for vertical launch systems, and the four openings on the bridge, which were obviously for phased array radars.

"Easterners, actually want warships similar to Aegis?"

"You're just finding out? Other countries are rushing to the East to buy this device!"

"I……"

Abel blushed.

Looking at the outdated warships of the Eastern escort fleet, he subconsciously assumed that the Eastern level had always been like this, without any progress. He never imagined that the Eastern actually had warships comparable to the American Aegis system!

"Even with these features, the system performance will still be inferior to that of the West, and even inferior to that of France."

"How can we not compare? The most important thing for these equipment is the improvement of electronic technology. When it comes to electronic technology, who in the world can compare with the East?"

This……

Abel's expression was complicated, and the phone at his waist was a little uncomfortable.

That's right, the electronic technology of the East is the most advanced in the world!

In other words, France is inferior to France in every way?

I've made a complete fool of myself!
United Kingdom.

"What are these Frenchmen thinking? Are they still living in the dream of pre-World War II? They're trying to take advantage of the East with some rubbish design."

"Yes, we need to make a program to promote our Type 45 destroyer, which has been upgraded with Eastern technology."

Britain is already in such a sorry state that even if it cooperates with the East, Parliament can't approve the funding. They have to make some efforts to get it approved!
How to motivate them?

Of course, they're promoting how advanced their technology is!
So, within half an hour of the Frenchman's program airing, British television stations also began broadcasting the program.

"Viewers at home, let's take a look at the latest frigate that the East is building for Etuo. This frigate is currently passing through the Strait of Malacca."

A beautiful warship appeared on the television screen, and the viewers were stunned.

"This looks a lot like the French design drawings."

"The French only have a design, and the East has already built it. Could it be that the French plagiarized it?"

"Remove the 'can't,' and the French must have plagiarized!"

"We have invited Mr. Adrian Johns, the person in charge of the Navy's Type 45 destroyer project, to give us an introduction."

"Hello everyone, I'm Johns. The East has a very high level of warship design. Several years ago, they began designing stealth warships, and in recent years, they have gradually brought stealth warships from the design drawings to reality. There are Jiangwei-class frigates and Luhu-class destroyers..."

This is also a mockery of Abel, implying that he really doesn't know anything.

NATO has already given these pieces of equipment code names, and you still don't know them!
NATO assigns code names to warships from various countries. For example, the Type 051 corvette is called the Luda-class, and the Type 053 frigate is called the Jianghu-class.

Now that everything is clearly brand new, it naturally needs to be given new codenames.

The Type 052 is called the Luhu-class, after all, it was produced in Shanghai. The Type 054 is called the Jiangwei-class. The nicknames in later generations... are not exactly the same. There's no way around it, these warships came out too early.

"Let's take a look at the Luhu-class first. It's an air defense destroyer with a displacement of 6,000 tons. Our British destroyers will be larger and more advanced than this warship..."

After his boasting, Johns finally felt satisfied.

Viewers at home were thrilled; they never imagined that Britain possessed such advanced warships.

We must build them, we absolutely must build them, even if it means selling everything we own! Otherwise, how can we fight against the Soviet Union?

This isn't even in the future. There are no enemies left, no worthy opponents left. How desolate it is to be invincible. Let's focus on other things, like welfare or environmental protection, as if we love the Earth so much.

And look at other places, like Syria, Gaza, and Iraq... what kind of lives are the people living in these places?

When our 003 is sailing on the ocean, there are always some sarcastic remarks, such as I don't care about aircraft carriers, I only care about my salary.

These people have no idea that without a strong army, we would have been wiped out long ago! They still care about their salaries? The country doesn't even have a stable environment; how can they earn a living?

Even without war, economic aggression is unstoppable! Island nations and European countries will still be exploited. Where does our confidence come from? It comes from our powerful military and strong national defense!

Even today, people in Britain during the 1980s still have this clear understanding.

Italy.

"This frigate is good. We can buy a few to meet our needs in the Mediterranean."

"Yes, this frigate is really good. Why didn't the Easterners try to sell it to us when we went last time?"

Everyone was in high spirits.

Thanks to the French, the whole world knows that the East has built a modern frigate!

As for FL25?

How can a warship that is still on the design drawings be compared with a warship that has already been launched!
The world has taken notice of this frigate, and Dongfang took this opportunity to publicly showcase it to the outside world.

"Special thanks to our viewers at home for watching CCTV-7 military program. Today, we have invited the renowned Chief Shipbuilding Engineer Pan to introduce our Type 054 corvette. Hello, Engineer Pan."

"Hello, viewers at home."

Engineer Pan was a little embarrassed, after all, this frigate was designed by Northwestern Polytechnical University, but Northwestern Polytechnical University did not want to show off, so he was pushed out.

Now, after gathering his thoughts, Engineer Pan began to introduce himself.

"Our Type 054 corvette is the world's first all-around corvette, with first-class air defense, anti-submarine, and anti-ship capabilities. Let's start with air defense. It has a 32-cell HQ-16 vertical launch system at the front, with a maximum range of 47 kilometers. Currently, this air defense missile is still being improved, and a further upgraded version is said to have a range of 70 kilometers."

Seventy kilometers, what does that mean?
The British Sea Dart only travels about 70 kilometers!

This 4,000-ton frigate from the East can launch missiles with a range of 70 kilometers! Even 47 kilometers is incredibly impressive!
What does France have?

In the 1980s, France's main air defense missile was the Sea Rattlesnake, with a range of over ten kilometers, a point defense system!

In this field, French frigates are no match for those from the East!

"It is also equipped with an advanced air defense system that can track hundreds of targets simultaneously and launch attacks on the four most threatening targets at the same time..."

Attacking four at the same time may not sound like a lot, but that's all the firepower channels in Aegis! This already meets the standard for resisting saturation attacks!

"Let's talk about anti-ship capabilities. It's equipped with C802 anti-ship missiles, which have a range of 120 kilometers."

Countless viewers were shocked once again.

The C801, the mainstay missile of the East, has a range of 40 kilometers, while the current C802 has been improved to more than 100 kilometers!

The French flying fish hasn't been upgraded yet!
Eastern technology is truly advanced!

"In terms of anti-submarine warfare, we have advanced towed sonar arrays and bow sonar, and we can also launch Z-20 helicopters, which are ten-ton class helicopters..."

What does France have?

A four-ton dolphin, a thirteen-ton bumblebee—there's a gap in between!

(End of this chapter)