The stars, but they become the gray wind

"So, to prevent this kind of unexpected situation, Renlong and I made some additional modifications to these ten drones. Each one is equipped with a self-destruct device. If any drone detects that it has sustained too much damage and cannot return, it will automatically activate the self-destruct device to prevent being captured by the local natives. It will completely blow up the drone itself and everything within a ten-meter radius, ensuring that no debris is left."

"Uh, Wu Yifin Baqiliuyi... a ten-meter radius. Are you sure this thing is a reconnaissance drone and not some 155mm artillery shell?"

Aze obviously had some opinions about this "self-destruct device" which was a bit overpowered.

"That's not bad. This is already the result of a certain degree of power control. If the deuterium fuel cell on the drone was deliberately modified into an explosive, its power would be no less than a 500-kilogram equivalent TNT explosion."

"Well, I think this thing is more suitable for use as a multi-purpose suicide drone and a high-powered guided cruise missile than for reconnaissance and armed patrols, right?"

Aze had some new ideas about the use of this little thing in front of him, and suggested it to Kalisi and Renlong beside him.

"It's not impossible, actually... I just think... using something as precious as a deuterium-deuterium fusion fuel cell... as a disposable bomb is a bit of a waste."

“It seems that I am really sad…?”

"However, speaking of explosives, we actually have bombs with far superior performance and power. There's no need to insist on converting deuterium fuel cells into bombs, right?"

"Actually, even now, we have the ability to create some antimatter, but the cost is not worth the effort."

Renlong flipped through the database in his mind and said as he looked at the small antimatter bomb in the column of multi-purpose explosives.

"No, no, no, antimatter is a bit too much for us at this stage, isn't it? Not to mention that we don't have any current needs for it, but even the storage of antimatter requires extreme caution. If we make a mistake one day, we and this island will be blown to pieces."

In the end, it was the relatively rational Yuki who stopped the two guys whose minds were gradually turning green from wanting to be blown out by the huge explosion.

Ten drones in optical stealth mode flew away from the island where the people were at an extremely high speed, gradually rising into the sky. After reaching a high enough altitude to ensure that their sonic booms when entering supersonic flight would not be observed by any ground personnel, the ten drones suddenly increased their power output. The speed of the ten drones flying in formation exceeded the speed of sound in an instant, and the shock waves generated compressed the surrounding air at a high speed. The tiny water droplets produced left ten sonic boom clouds at the position where the drones entered the supersonic cruise state, which lasted only for a few seconds.

At this time, the few people who were still waiting on the island for the drone to send back more useful information did not know that they had just created another world first on this planet. The ten drones flying towards Europe at supersonic speed were the first man-made aircraft that could fly faster than the speed of sound in the atmosphere of this planet.

"Come to think of it, the first cosmic velocity of this Earth seems to be no different from that of our original world, right?"

Calisi, who was watching Yuuki prepare dinner for everyone in the camp, seemed to suddenly remember something and asked the person beside her.

"They're both 7.9 kilometers per second, there's no difference... What's wrong?"

"I was thinking, as long as the speed is lower than this, we won't burst into the atmosphere, right?"

"Yes."

"In other words, if it's slightly slower than this, it won't break through the atmosphere. And as long as its outer shell can withstand the heat, then theoretically, it should be able to fly at more than ten times the speed of sound within the atmosphere!"

"Wait...you don't mean to...?"

"I tested it before, and the heat resistance of the drone's shell and external equipment is quite good. The whole thing can even withstand temperatures of 5700 degrees. Anyway, the drone body can withstand it, so why not speed it up a bit?"

As she spoke, Kalisi gave the ten drones instructions to accelerate further through the thought network.

As the command was given, the ten drones increased the output power of their backward anti-gravity vector engines again, continuously increasing their flight speed. Under the high power output of the engines, the ten drones soon approached the maximum speed they could reach in the atmosphere.

At this time, the cruising speed of the drones has reached 7.81 kilometers per second. Due to the intense friction between the fuselage shell and the atmosphere, the ten drones have almost become ten daytime fireballs flying in neat formation at high altitude. Under the intense friction with the air, the temperature of the fuselage shell has also risen to nearly 2000 degrees Celsius, but this has not had any adverse effect on the operation of the drones. The ten drones, like fireballs in the atmosphere, are still moving straight towards their destination: the British Isles in western Europe.

At the same time, in a large port on the British Isles, several new warships carrying an important confidential cargo left the port and headed for an area in the North Sea that was designated as an experimental site.

Following these new warships that have just been put into service is an old gunboat that is about to be retired. Unlike the leading new warships that are full of experienced soldiers and crew members, this old gunboat has only a dozen necessary crew members who are responsible for driving the boat so that the old ship can be moved to the test site. Apart from these, there are almost no extra soldiers and members on this old ship that is about to be retired.

This old-fashioned gunboat, which seems out of tune with the several new warships that have just been put into service, is the "target" of this secret weapons experiment.

The "new secret weapon" they plan to test on it is the [anti-gravity material bomb].

Chapter 13 Surveillance and Intelligence Summary

This naval fleet, secretly departing from a port in the Albion Republic, sailed for two days aboard the Hiei Lin III ship before arriving at an area of ​​the North Sea designated as a testing ground. Upon arrival, this small fleet quickly began preparations for testing the new weapon.

As the old warship in the small fleet that was about to be decommissioned slowly sailed into the predetermined coordinates in the experimental sea area and dropped anchor there, the highly confidential "cargo" was unloaded from the newly commissioned dreadnought that transported it, and was transported by a tugboat equipped with lifting equipment to the old warship that was used as a test target.

The tugboat slowly docked beside the "target ship". Several crew members skillfully fixed the steel cable hook of the crane on the tugboat to the top of the "cargo" and waved their hands to signal the crane operator next to the crane to start lifting. Then the steel lifting cable of the crane began to slowly tighten, and the spherical "cargo" placed on the rear deck of the tugboat was gradually lifted into the air. Then the crane on the tugboat turned the arm with the cargo hanging on it towards the warship beside it, loosened the steel cable and lowered the height of the "cargo" little by little.

At this time, several crew members and officers gathered on the deck of the warship were also shouting loudly to assist the crane operator to adjust the speed and position of the "cargo" being slowly lowered to the special base on the deck in front of them.

"Okay... continue... slow down, keep descending, okay... aligned."

With a "click", the "cargo" was accurately placed on a special base connected to a large number of steam pipes. Several soldiers stepped forward and tightened the bolts of the pipes and fixtures one by one.

The pipes of the "cargo" had been fixed. An officer instructed several soldiers to move an ordinary wooden box next to the "cargo". Two soldiers holding crowbars stepped forward and used one end of the crowbar to gently pry open the lid of the wooden box that was fixed with nails, revealing a cylindrical instrument with a complex mechanical structure inside the box. Two test tubes filled with green anti-gravity mineral solution were embedded at one end of the cylinder.

"Let's install the detonator core on the bomb as well."

An officer holding the operating instructions compared the steps on his hands and directed two soldiers to open the box lid.

The two soldiers carefully lifted the detonator core in the box with their hands, inserted the core into the circular hole reserved on the anti-gravity material bomb, then tightened the fixing bolts skillfully to firmly fix the detonator core on the bomb, and then opened the valves of all the steam pipes one by one.

After all preparations before the bombs on the ship exploded were completed, all personnel on board quickly evacuated the target ship by tugboat as planned and headed towards one of the dreadnoughts in the fleet anchored 9 kilometers away.

After confirming through the telescope in his hand that the tugboat had moved away from the target ship and reached a safe distance, the captain of the dreadnought, who was responsible for the main observation task of this experiment, put down the telescope in his hand. The first mate, who was standing outside the bridge with the captain with a thick white beard, took out his pocket watch with a nervous look on his face and checked the time again.

"At this time... the internal pressure is about to reach a critical point, Captain."

The first mate said.

"Yes, it's a good thing."

At that moment, a sudden burst of intense light shone from the distant sea, and a massive mushroom cloud rose from the water. The ensuing shockwave created massive waves that violently rocked several dreadnoughts serving as observation vessels nine kilometers away. All the crew and soldiers on board grasped at anything they could to stabilize themselves, preventing themselves from being thrown to the ground by the sudden shockwave and waves.

After expanding to its limit, the distant mushroom cloud began to shrink rapidly under the influence of the anti-gravity material, creating a spherical mass of gravitons above the sea surface. This green mass of gravitons quickly devoured the sea surface below, including the wreckage of the ship at the explosion center, and the seawater. It also created a huge sea vortex and a waterspout that shot straight into the sky at the explosion center.

"The target ship has completely disappeared. The experiment was successful!"

The first mate beside the captain raised his telescope, observing the explosion center in the distance and shouted.

"One can completely destroy a battleship... Such enormous power!"

The captain with a thick white beard opened his mouth and exclaimed in shock at the power of the new weapon, the anti-gravity bomb.

The crew and soldiers on the deck below cheered happily as they watched the waterspout rushing into the sky in the distance:

"Great! It worked. Now we will definitely be able to defeat the Kingdom."

At this moment, all the cheering people did not notice that 1000 meters above them, a spherical drone in optical invisible state was hovering in the air, observing the waterspout and explosion aftermath in the distance with its carried cameras and dozens of analysis devices.

At the same time, on an island in the North Pacific, several people in the camp's conference room were watching and analyzing high-definition images from a drone.

"This thing seems to be very powerful, isn't it?"

Aze sighed as he looked at the mushroom cloud and waterspout in the drone footage.

"It's indeed enormously powerful. If we only calculate based on the explosive equivalent, the energy released by the anti-gravity bomb they just tested is equivalent to the explosion of 9000 tons of TNT, almost equivalent to a small nuclear bomb."

"It's as powerful as a small nuclear weapon. Just looking at its power, it's pretty impressive, but…"

"The detonation conditions for this thing are far too demanding and complex. It requires a large marine steam engine capable of generating sufficiently high temperatures and pressures to provide sufficient high-pressure steam to detonate the bomb. The bomb itself is also far too bulky and heavy."

Renlong criticized the bomb's design flaws.

“However, considering that both the Kingdom and the Republic have large aerial battleships with sufficient internal volume to carry such bulky bombs, these aerial battleships carry large high-pressure steam engines to create an environment suitable for detonating bombs.

"I think it's likely that they'll use this bomb in the future by flying an aerial battleship over the enemy like a bomber, using the steam engine on the aerial battleship to bring the bomb to a critical state before exploding. Then, they'll drop the bomb on top of the enemy like a World War II bomber dropping an aerial bomb."

Kalisi made reasonable speculations and guesses about the possible uses of anti-gravity bombs.

"Right now, it seems so. We've confirmed they don't have a delivery vehicle like a missile. If they really intend to use this bomb in actual combat, they'll most likely use an aerial warship carrying the bomb."

Yuki summarized the information gathered by several drones that had penetrated deep into the Kingdom and the Republic over the past two days.

"By sending stealth drones to conduct in-depth investigations of military bases, military factories, naval and air force shipyards, and barracks within the Kingdom and the Republic, we have gathered a wealth of intelligence on the specific state of this world's military power."

"The navy of this world is still at the level of the pre-dreadnought and dreadnought era of the early 20th century. The main weapon of most naval warships is three to five twin-mounted 305mm main guns, and the secondary guns are multiple 254mm or 203mm guns or smaller-caliber secondary 152mm secondary guns. At the same time, because this world has an air fleet, this air force has a relatively stronger air defense capability than the surface ships of our world in the early 20th century. Of course, this stronger is only relative, and the air defense capability is roughly equivalent to the level of our world just after World War I.

"Next is their most important air force. Using a special substance called anti-gravity ore, they've created atmospheric floating warships with a long axis reaching two to three hundred meters. These floating warships maintain flight through engines powered by the anti-gravity ore, with large propellers on the hull controlling their direction and speed. They are also equipped with up to 305mm guns and a large number of secondary guns of various calibers. These aerial warships primarily engage in aerial combat at distances of approximately 15 to 20 kilometers, using their onboard guns to fire back and forth. They also leverage their high-altitude flight capabilities to suppress both ground and sea targets, thereby gaining air superiority."

"It's worth mentioning that the speed of these aerial warships is not very high, with a maximum speed of only about 180 to 220 kilometers per hour."

"There are some interesting things to spread the word... but it's obviously not good enough..."

Carlisle murmured softly.

Chapter 14: Theory of Operations in Another World Military System (4000 words)

In the conference room, Renlong gave a lengthy analysis and summary of the military system and technological information currently collected about this world.

"What's interesting is that the overall design philosophy of these aerial warships is that most of them are relatively long and narrow, with a relatively large width, which coincides with the design philosophy of surface ships."

"Just as surface ships are designed with a large aspect ratio and a narrow body to reduce drag while sailing, aerial warships are also designed to be quite narrow and long in order to reduce air resistance and increase their speed during flight. At the same time, aerial warships are equipped with several turboprops for propulsion and steering, located forward and aft of the left and right sides of the hull. These turboprops, with their chords exposed, are often the most vulnerable parts in a long-range exchange of fire between two aerial warships."

"Once one or both turboprops are completely destroyed and power is lost, the entire warship may still be able to remain afloat, but it will almost completely lose its ability to move, becoming a sitting duck for the artillery of other aerial warships."

"And next is the most critical part of the entire battleship, and also the prerequisite for the development of aerial battleship technology. That is, the anti-gravity core used by these aerial battleships."

"Due to the technological limitations of this world, even relatively small warships can't maintain hover and flight with just one anti-gravity device. Therefore, each warship is equipped with multiple anti-gravity cores. A single ship may have as few as two to four, or as many as eight to sixteen. Some ultra-large warships even have as many as twenty-two or more. These anti-gravity cores are also very large, occupying a significant amount of space and mass. Therefore, they are often placed relatively outboard to conserve internal space."

"Another reason they placed such a fragile and crucial component as the anti-gravity core on the outside of the ship was because they couldn't guarantee that the ship's large-caliber guns, when fired in the air, could rely solely on the ship's turboprops to offset the recoil and maintain the ship's stability. This necessitated the placement of multiple anti-gravity cores on the outer sides of the ship's hull to ensure stability during navigation and firing. When firing, they adjusted the power output of the anti-gravity cores in different locations to offset the impact of gun recoil on navigation stability."

"Of course, the people of this world are well aware of the dangers of exposing such a vital component as the anti-gravity core to the outside of the ship and being attacked. Therefore, each anti-gravity core is surrounded by very thick armor."

"Speaking of this, we need to discuss their ship's protection in detail. The most protected areas of an aerial warship are located on the sides and bottom. Most of the armor is concentrated on the bottom of the ship and the front gun mantlet. The armor thickness is often as high as 300 to 400 mm. The protection of the front, back, and top of the hull is weaker, with armor only 100 to 200 mm thick. However, in key areas of the ship, such as the bridge, engine room, and the anti-gravity core device on the sides, the protective armor is even more than 500 mm thick."

"Of course, their armor stacking doesn't come without a price. The result is that the entire aerial battleship weighs nearly or even exceeds ten thousand tons, and its maneuverability becomes extremely poor. I mentioned earlier that their aerial battleships can reach a maximum speed of around 180 to 220 kilometers per hour, but those that can reach this speed are almost all light aerial battleships whose designs completely abandon defense. And those large aerial battleships, which have almost become iron tortoises, mostly only have a cruising speed of around 150 kilometers per hour."

"Let's talk about the main armament and combat methods of these aerial warships. Their main feature is the use of large-caliber artillery to strike down low. In a duel between two aerial warships, the one at the higher altitude often has the advantage. From a higher altitude, they can use their large-caliber artillery to strike the enemy's relatively vulnerable top, while using their bottom, where their armor is thickest, to defend against enemy fire."

"Aerial warships use the same principle when carrying out fire support and suppression operations against sea and land targets. They use large-caliber artillery and their own higher altitude relative to enemy targets to bombard the enemy. Furthermore, these aerial warships, due to their large volume, can carry a large number of bombs and fly over the enemy to drop bombs."

"And they've also discovered through their long-term use of aerial warships that flying directly overhead and bombing enemy clusters with high-yield bombs is more effective than bombarding the enemy with large-caliber artillery from the air."

"Due to the presence of these aerial warships, the ground-based and sea-based military forces have placed greater emphasis on air defense than they did in our world at the same time. However, due to the 300 or even 400mm thick armor on the bottoms of these aerial warships, small-caliber, high-rate-of-fire anti-aircraft guns have difficulty threatening these armored bottoms. Therefore, anti-aircraft firepower is mainly provided by large-caliber artillery. The vast majority of anti-aircraft firepower on naval vessels utilizes relatively slow-firing guns of 130mm and above. In necessary situations, 305mm main guns are also used for air defense."

"These large aerial warships have also played an unexpected role in an area we didn't anticipate. They've had a huge positive impact on the naval fleet's firepower and the delivery of troops and weapons and equipment to inland areas difficult for the army to penetrate. Relying on their enormous internal volume and exceptional endurance, aerial warships can easily traverse various inland terrain obstacles, including rugged mountains and forests or vast deserts, and deliver large numbers of soldiers and weapons and equipment to areas difficult for the army and navy to reach."

"For example, they leveraged the powerful transport and endurance capabilities of their airborne warships to quickly transport large numbers of troops and supplies across geographical obstacles like the Sahara Desert or the Himalayas, which are difficult for normal armies to cross, allowing them to more easily deploy forces behind enemy lines."

"Coupled with the powerful endurance of these aerial warships, they can also provide continuous firepower and logistical support to the ground forces deployed behind enemy lines."

"However, in our opinion, these aerial warships are actually quite vulnerable. First and foremost, this world hasn't yet developed radar technology. Their air and sea reconnaissance capabilities still rely on telescopes and the human eye."

"And the maneuverability and flexibility of these aerial battleships are really poor. Even the small number of light and small aerial battleships that sacrifice protection in exchange for flexibility and maneuverability are too slow for us."

"The emergence and rise of aerial battleships also led to an unexpected consequence: there was almost no room for the development of aircraft based on aerodynamic principles. As a result, even the most primitive wooden turboprop biplanes do not exist in the world."

"Who would want to develop early aircraft with pitifully small payloads and poor endurance when facing airborne warships with powerful payload and endurance?"

"Add to that the incredibly small payload of early aircraft. Even if they were equipped with machine guns or bombs, they couldn't cause any effective damage to heavily armored aerial warships."

"With the endurance of a single aerial battleship sufficient to easily carry a large number of people and cargo across the Atlantic, early aircraft have lost almost all room for survival and development. Therefore, in a sense, the world's thinking on the use of aerial battleships is still stuck in the era of cannons and big ships, and there has been no idea or product like the airborne aircraft carrier."

"Having discussed the air force, let's move on to the state of their army. As we anticipated, the combat systems and theories of this world's army are largely still based on the trench warfare and positional warfare of World War I. They dig and construct fortifications, hold trenches and positions, and employ rifles and machine guns for suppressive fire and blockades."

"Although steam-powered vehicles and vehicles are widespread and popular in this world, they haven't yet developed things like tanks. Mobile vehicles in the military are basically only used to transport personnel, ammunition and supplies, and to tow towed artillery."

"As for the weapons and equipment widely used by their army... from our perspective, it's a bit difficult to describe. Most soldiers are still equipped with bolt-action rifles. An entire battalion only has two or three machine guns, and a large portion of them are not fully automatic machine guns like the Maxim, but early hand-cranked Gatling guns. Some soldiers are also equipped with short-range submachine guns that fire 9mm pistol rounds, but these submachine guns have very poor lethality and accuracy, and are basically only suitable for shooting within 50 meters."

After completing a lengthy summary that resembled a work report, Renlong breathed a sigh of relief.

After listening to Renlong's summary, Carlisle stretched, stood up from the conference table, and said, "Okay, we've pretty much finished investigating this world's technological level and military strength. So, should we do something more interesting next? For example... how about developing something a little ahead of its time?"

As she spoke, Carlisle showed a sly expression.

"If you want to cause trouble, just tell me directly..."

Yuuki, who was leaning on a chair nearby, rolled his eyes at Carlisle who looked very interested.

"Okay, then let's skip all the twists and turns and just go for the big one!!!"

Carlisle sent the three files extracted from the database to everyone. When they saw the specific contents of the files, they were stunned and turned to look at Carlisle, who almost had the words "I'm going to make trouble" written on her face.

"So, you want to build a Stonehenge orbital defense system on the island first?"

"That's right. Now we're going to build a Stonehenge orbital defense system on the island to improve our ground-based air defense firepower. Then we're going to build up our surface and air forces!"

"And after you finish building Stonehenge, you're planning on building an Alicorn-class submersible aviation cruiser and an entire P1112 aviation fleet?"

Yuuki covered his forehead and asked, looking at Carisi who was looking ambitious in front of him.

"Yeah! Give this world some small air power shock!!"

"And what you're planning to build isn't just an ordinary Hundred-Handed Giant Aerospace Carrier, but an improved nuclear-powered version of the P1112 fleet."

Renlong added another sentence in time.

"Look... since we have this island as our ground base, we naturally need a mobile secret base on the sea and under the sea, as well as an aerospace command center, right?"

"In that case, it makes sense to use the Stonehenge to guard our ground base on the island, the Alicorns as our maritime command center, and the Hundred-Handed Giant Aerial Carriers as our airborne command center."

Kalisi explained to everyone.

"Besides, since it's only a matter of time before we're exposed to the human civilization of this world, why not make some preparations in advance and then demonstrate our strength to the human civilization of this world? Isn't that necessary?"

"It seems...it does make some sense..."