The stars, but they become the gray wind

"Then I'm thinking, since this island has both Stonehenge and a future mass accelerator and various complex underground facilities, how about calling it Taylor Island?"

"Now that you put it that way, it seems true. In a sense, our island is home to hidden dragons and crouching tigers. It's similar to the incredibly important Taylor Island Space Center in Ace Combat. I agree."

"Well, from now on this nameless deserted island will have a name. Its official name will be Taylor Island!!!"

Chapter 19: What will fleet riders do with fleets?

After Renlong uploaded his suggestion to name this uninhabited desert island Taylor Island to the public's thinking network, he quickly got the approval of the other two. The reason was simple: Calisi and Aze, two giant structure fanatics, also had great interest in building a giant mass accelerator on the island.

"However, although Master Lin Yiqiwu understands their desire to build a giant mass accelerator, they still need to finish the work at hand first, right?"

Renlong took out two coconuts picked from the coconut trees on the beach, and used nanomachines to drill a small hole in the shells of the two coconuts. He also used the nanomachines to print out two straws, and inserted the straws into the coconuts through the drilled small holes. Then Renlong handed one of the coconuts to Yuuki, who was operating the nanomachines to print out a fully automatic drone factory. Yuuki reached out to take the coconuts with straws, while multitasking, controlling the nanomachines not far away to continue the construction of underground industrial facilities.

"Thank you. Do Kalisi and Aze have any other opinions or suggestions about our future construction of the giant mass accelerator?"

"Yes, but it's not a big problem."

"Oh, do you have any comments or suggestions?"

"No, that Calisi girl said she not only wants to build a giant mass accelerator on this island, but she also plans to build two mass accelerators on the main peak of Kilimanjaro, the roof of Africa, and the highest peak of the Andes Mountains in South America, as soon as she has the chance."

"Um... I seem to remember... she mentioned something similar in an online chat before we traveled through time, right?"

"It seems so. I remember her saying during that conversation: Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and the Andes in South America, as the two highest peaks near the equator, are simply the most suitable locations for building a giant mass accelerator. Not utilizing these two locations would be a complete waste for future space exploration."

"So, this guy's idea of ​​building a mass accelerator on Mount Kilimanjaro and the Andes Mountains is a realization of his original ideal?"

"Not really. From an engineering perspective, building a mass accelerator on a high enough mountain is much easier than on our flat island."

"But as nanomachines, these engineering difficulties are no problem for us. The microscopic materials science of nanomachine construction is more than enough to build not only a mass accelerator, but also a rotating skyhook and even a complete space elevator."

"As long as we need it, have sufficient resources, and are given enough time, there won't be any engineering or technical problems in creating an artificial ring around an entire planet."

"However, it's still a bit premature to talk about fully-fledged space elevators and artificial planetary rings at this stage. We don't have much demand for such things at the moment."

"True, but what if that Calisi girl goes crazy and insists on building a space elevator right now?"

"Don't worry, even though she looks like a spectacle-obsessed person, she'll still consider practical needs. At least she's not that crazy."

"However, when it comes to building a megastructure, it's only a matter of time before the natives of this planet discover it, right? Have you figured out how to contact the human civilization on this planet?"

"Well, we've only been traveling through time for less than a week. This underground industrial facility will be completed in about four days at most, and we can start producing all kinds of weapons and equipment. And there's Stonehenge above us. Although the humans in this world can already create things like graviton bombs, they've only just successfully experimented with such weapons and don't even have delivery vehicles like missiles. Even if their entire air fleet were to charge us right now, they'd be shot down by Stonehenge the moment they entered the island's 1200-kilometer air defense zone."

"Furthermore, in four days, this underground factory facility will be completed and capable of producing over a thousand fighter jets and other military equipment daily. In two months at most—no, maybe even a month—this underground factory will be able to produce an army of AI-controlled drones that will crush the combined military might of this planet."

"And right now, the world's hegemonic nation far away in Europe is still vying for gravitational bomb technology, stealing each other's intelligence and technical personnel by any means necessary. Meanwhile, the ambitious Third Prince of the Kingdom of Albion is still on his way back to his homeland from the New World."

"Even the ambitious Duke of Arkham is planning a self-directed assassination, taking the opportunity to have his men steal the finished product of the Albion Republic's gravity bomb. He intends to use it to kill his brothers and sisters and other potential rivals for the succession, helping him ascend to the throne."

"However, Carlisle said that since she's in this world, she wants to get to know the main characters of the Pretty Girl Spy Team."

"She previously said that she planned to contact the beautiful girl protagonist spy team in the Kingdom of Albion after completing the construction of Stonehenge, the Hundred-Handed Giant Fleet, the Alicorn, and the corresponding supporting facilities."

"If Kaleese wants to contact the protagonists, I have no problem with that, but have you ever thought about... why she has to complete the P1112 Hundred-Armed Titan formation and the Alicorn before contacting them?"

"?!!!"

"Fuck, I forgot about that! Could it be that she wants to...?"

"I'm just worried that one day he'll have a sudden whim and bring the entire P1112 fleet with him, brazenly driving it into the faces of the Kingdom and the Republic."

Yuki spread his hands helplessly.

"My opinion is that it's best to be cautious. Even with a combined air, land, and sea strike force like the Hundred-Handed Giant Fleet and the Alicorns, we shouldn't rush to expose our presence so ostentatiously."

"It's not impossible for a fleet to attack us, but I don't think now is the right time. It's true that we have an absolute military advantage, but that doesn't give us a reason to show off our military might too arrogantly."

"We'd better not rush into things like bringing an entire fleet to our face. It's better to wait for a sufficient and appropriate opportunity before doing so."

"And if the timing is right, it will be a great opportunity for us to showcase human civilization on this planet."

"Nation-annihilating fleet," are you sure that thing flying over the enemy's head is just for show?"

Renlong reached out and wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead.

"It depends on the situation. If someone really doesn't know what's good for them, then we'll just have to use excessive force, right?"

Yuki commented on this without denying it.

At the same time, near the hydroelectric platform at the southern end of the island, a huge aircraft with a wingspan of more than 900 meters was floating quietly above the sea. Next to it, four giant motherships that were slightly smaller but also had a long axis of more than 400 meters were anchored in the water on both sides.

"What do you think? Should we build a multi-purpose airport on land for both military and civilian use?"

Aze, a Sakota girl with wings on her back and a halo on her head, asked Kalisi, who was obsessed with the modified Alicorn beside her.

Kalisi, who was trying to equip the Alicorn with various more fancy weapons, turned her head and looked at Aze, who was thinking with his hands folded on his chest.

"Oh, how come you see it?"

"Although we have aerospace carriers like the P1112, not all aircraft can take off and land on the P1112's flight deck, such as various heavy transport aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities. Obviously, we do need a large enough airport, huh?"

"That seems to be the case. I'm going to need some time to build the Alicorn and a giant dock for it to dock and repair. How about you take advantage of this time and find a place nearby to build an airport?"

"I thought so too. There's a piece of terrain near Yilin Lingqisi that's perfect for an airport. How long will it take to build the Alicorns and the associated infrastructure?"

"About three hours. This Tianjiao Sulin (II) 侕氵Fourth Father Beast Class has quite a few modifications, so it'll take a while."

"Can I ask what specific parts you changed?"

Aze asked curiously.

"The power system has undergone a major overhaul. The original two 30 horsepower liquid metal-cooled fission nuclear reactors were converted into smaller, more powerful deuterium-deuterium fusion reactors. The reduced size of the reactors freed up space for six additional torpedo tubes capable of launching supercavitating torpedoes."

"Thanks to the enhanced propulsion system, both surface and underwater speeds have been significantly increased. Now, while maintaining the same displacement, this modified Alicorn can reach speeds exceeding 40 knots on the surface and 58 knots underwater."

“那座隐藏在甲板下的6仪淋三陾 起咝(八)00毫米口径,128倍径的电磁主炮也由于供能和供弹系统的升级,可以以更快的速度装填并再充能后进行连续射击,现在在经过升级的主炮,每分钟射速能达到70发以上,单纯在射速上甚至可以接近船体两侧的两座每分钟射速高达80发的副炮。”

"I haven't made any improvements to the two electromagnetic secondary guns on either side. In addition to the Alicorn's existing close-in weapon system, I've also added more efficient high-power pulse laser close-in weaponry."

"...You increased the main gun's firing rate to almost the same as those two secondary guns? Wasn't the original firing rate of those things already ridiculous enough?"

"Initially, I wanted to increase the firing rate of the 600mm electromagnetic main gun to the same level as the AK-176 naval gun's maximum firing rate. However, considering that doing so would require a major overhaul of the entire electromagnetic main gun structure, it would take too much time, so I didn't do it." Note 1

"Uh... I remember the AK-176 naval gun's maximum rate of fire was around 134 rounds per minute. Are you trying to take it to the heavens?"

"Actually, I still feel that this amount of firepower isn't enough. It would be great if we could get a few hundred more Alicorn-class 600mm electromagnetic main guns with a higher rate of fire."

"You're not just suffering from a lack of firepower, are you? Isn't your demand for firepower projection a bit excessive?"

Aze made a huge new discovery today, that is, his good friend Calisi is definitely a fan of explosion mania and crazy person equivalent who far surpasses himself.

注1：AK-176舰炮的发射率一般为120130发/分，最高可到134发/分左右。奥托76紧凑型舰炮的发射率最高可到85发/分，奥托76超射速型舰炮的发射率最高则为120发/分。可见AK-176不愧为最快速的中口径舰炮。

弹鼓储弹量：AK-176舰炮的弹鼓可储弹152发，而奥托76系列舰炮的弹鼓一般储弹80发，因此一次装弹后AK-176具有更强的持续打击能力。

Chapter 20 Airport Air Defense Weapons?

After completing the modified Alicorn model, Kaleesi began the construction of a deep-water port and giant dock dedicated to the Alicorn. It is also equipped with a complete rail communication freight system that connects the island, including the temporary camp, with the entrance of the artificial sinkhole in the center of the island. After the underground industrial system in the center of the island is completed and put into operation, this fully automated deep-water port terminal at the southern end of the island will take on the responsibility of connecting various spare parts and important equipment, and even weapons and equipment, from the artificial sinkhole to the port.

At the same time, dozens of giant dry docks in this port will also be used for the construction and maintenance of the Alicorn and subsequent ships of the same type or other types of ships. If necessary, these dozens of docks can even be used to print nanomachines to quickly produce an entire nuclear-powered aircraft carrier fleet in just a few days.

Of course, Kalisi did not forget to plan several wide water runways on the sea near the port for the take-off and landing of P1112 and its escort fleet. In order to facilitate the construction of P1112 and other aerial fortress-type weapons that need to take off from the sea, Kalisi specially left several special berths in the port. These special berths will be used specifically for parking and maintenance of giant aerial fortresses that need to take off from the water, such as P1112 Hundred-Handed Giant or Gleipnir.

After a series of complex planning, nanomachines like silver sandstorms began to change the terrain of the southern end of the island with extremely high efficiency, and quickly printed out this huge artificial port.

At the same time, on an open space a few kilometers away, Aze looked at the nanomachines controlled by Kalisi on the distant coast that were making drastic changes to the terrain. He turned his head and refocused his attention on the large unmanned multi-functional airport he was about to build.

This military airport, planned as a permanent facility, was rapidly formed under the power of nanomachines. Four flat runways made of asphalt and concrete, each over 4500 meters long and 80 meters wide, a huge unmanned terminal building, and a 120-meter-high fully automatic unmanned observation tower were all built in less than two hours. After completing this fully functional and well-equipped airport, Aze looked at the three-dimensional holographic image of the entire airport projected into his field of vision and always felt that something was missing.

“Although the facilities are quite complete, I always feel like something is missing.”

"Let me see... the aircraft parking area... add some high-strength reinforced concrete fortifications, right? At least it should be able to withstand attacks from heavy bunker-buster bombs."

"The aviation fuel storage area... besides a giant underground fuel tank used to store aviation kerosene, it looks like there's quite a bit of extra space... How should we use it?"

"Why don't we ask other people about this?" Aze put his right thumb on his chin, thought for a few seconds, and decided to consult other people's opinions and upload this question to the thinking network.

After uploading this question to the thought network, a reply came from Renlong, who was still underground helping Yuki build industrial facilities.

"It looks like you have quite a bit of extra space in the aviation fuel storage area at your airport. Yuuki and I happen to have some ideas and suggestions. Would you like to hear them?"

"What suggestions? Tell me first."

"You know about Yuuki and I planning to build a giant mass accelerator on the island, right? A mass accelerator is essentially used to launch cargo and aircraft that are too large and heavy. You should be quite familiar with this, right?"

"Hmm?? And what are your suggestions?"

"Yuki is planning to give your airport some aerospace capabilities. We hope you can add some giant storage tanks for liquid hydrogen and liquid methane to the airport."

"But I'm not planning on launching a rocket at the airport, am I? It's impossible. Is it possible to build a rocket launch pad at the airport?"

"Therefore, his plan is to build some SSTO spacecraft with the ability to take off horizontally and enter orbit, and to add storage equipment for liquid methane and liquid hydrogen, the working fluids used by SSTO spacecraft, to the aviation fuel storage area at the airport." Note 1

"Plus, not all cargo needs to be launched into space using something like a mass accelerator, so there are inevitably some things that can be launched into space using only a small or medium-sized SSTO."

"Your airport itself is large enough to accommodate some relatively large SSTO spacecraft taking off and landing without having to worry about the length and width of the runway.

"The liquid methane and liquid hydrogen in the aviation fuel storage area will serve as fuel and propulsion fluid for SSTO spacecraft that will take off and land at the airport in the future. Before each SSTO aircraft takes off again from the ground, it will be refueled by the airport's fuel supply facilities to replenish the fuel consumed by the SSTO spacecraft when it passes through the atmosphere."

"So you're planning to have my airport double up as a ground takeoff and landing and launch center for SSTO spacecraft in the future?"

"That's fine, but the primary mission for space launches will still be undertaken by Yuki and I at the mass accelerator. Your airport will only play a supporting role."

"By the way, Yuuki also asked me to remind you: no matter how good an airport is, if there's no adequate air defense, it's useless to build a base at Reiyama II. She suggested that you deploy some anti-aircraft weapons around the airport that can complement the Stonehenge."

"Thanks for the reminder, I will take note of it."

"Anti-aircraft weapons... With the entire island protected by Stonehenge, what kind of anti-aircraft weapons would complement Stonehenge and be more suitable for air defense at the airport?"

Aze bit his thumb while thinking about the choice of air defense weapons for the airport.

Note 1: SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit) reusable launch vehicles (launch vehicles) pursue a technological approach that integrates the functions of launch vehicles and spacecraft. However, the partially reusable US space shuttle required two solid rockets for takeoff and a large external fuel tank to be discarded; other countries' space shuttles required launch vehicles to reach orbit; and some space planes were also carried aloft by large aircraft. None of these fully integrates the functions of launch vehicles and spacecraft; in essence, none of them are single-stage to orbit.

Chapter 21 Matryoshka Air Defense System x, Logistics Array Air Defense System Zero

Sitting on a stone beside the already built airport, Aze was thinking about the kind reminder from Renlong and Yuki just now, and kept flipping through the column about "intra-atmospheric guided air defense weapons" in the thinking network database. Although the database provided a lot of options, Aze was at a loss as to how to choose the appropriate air defense weapons.

Stonehenge has an effective range of up to 1200 kilometers, and through guided ammunition, it has the ability to carry out precision fire strikes against air, ground and sea. However, Stonehenge is not without weaknesses. Its original design intention was essentially to serve as an air-to-air anti-asteroid artillery, and there will be certain tiny blind spots when conducting ground fire strikes. This means that it is possible to break through Stonehenge's 1200-kilometer air defense circle from the blind spot of Stonehenge's ground fire strikes by penetrating at low altitude and high speed close to the sea surface or the ground.

What Aze needs to make up for now is the blind spot of Stonehenge's ground firepower attack, to prevent the island's infrastructure from being attacked by the method of low-altitude and high-speed breakthrough from close to the sea surface through the blind spot of Stonehenge's artillery. At the same time, it can also complement Stonehenge when dealing with too many targets at high altitude. And in order to be prepared for any eventuality, it is necessary to set up a final line of defense to ensure the safety of the island after all defense systems have been breached.

It was at this point that Aze was in trouble. The choices before him were not too few, but too many. There were no less than dozens of air defense systems that had been selected as suitable for this task. Among these dozens of options, there were even many whose functions and usage environments conflicted or overlapped with each other.

"The Antey-2500 air defense missile has a maximum effective range of 2500 kilometers, effectively destroying any ballistic missile launched within 2500 kilometers. The system can simultaneously attack 24 maneuvering targets, or 16 missiles flying at a speed of less than 4500 meters per second."

"Although this air defense system's range is a bit too far, and its accuracy at maximum range is far inferior to Stonehenge's, it can indeed serve as a temporary backup in the event Stonehenge fails. Changing the missile's interception targets within a 2500-kilometer range from high-speed ballistic missiles to slower-moving warships is probably not a problem. However, this type of missile doesn't seem to be able to solve the problem of low-altitude penetration targets flying close to the sea."

Aze turned his attention to the next weapon on the list and carefully browsed the corresponding information.

"The LRASM long-range anti-ship missile has a maximum effective range of 930 kilometers. If it uses a high-altitude, high-trajectory approach, it could easily reach 1000 kilometers. This perfectly complements the Stonehenge missile, which has a range of 1200 kilometers. Within the Stonehenge air defense zone of 1200 kilometers, an additional 900-kilometer air defense zone could be constructed. However, as a subsonic missile, its flight speed is far too slow."

"However, developing a supersonic version of the LRASM-B anti-ship missile isn't a problem for me right now. All I need to do is modify the engine and use nanomachinery to strengthen the missile's structure, and I'll be able to turn it into a supersonic, sea-skimming anti-ship missile." (Note 1)

"The inner 900-kilometer air and sea defense, which has a slightly smaller range than Stonehenge, can be provided by LRASM-B anti-ship missiles and Antey-2500 air defense missiles. However, to be on the safe side, only two layers of air defense may not be safe enough..."

"We need to find a way to fill the inner air defense zone within 900 kilometers."

“Maybe I should consider the S500 air defense missile?”

“最大射程600千米，最大射高200千米，如果采用专为大气层内作战改装过的77N6-N1远程拦截弹的话，射程也许能达到接近700千米也说不定？”

"The S500 system's radar has a maximum detection range of nearly 800 kilometers. It would be perfect for use as a defense within an inner circle of 800 to 500 kilometers."

"Next, is it air defense in the closer area, and most importantly, the last line of defense to save lives in an emergency..."

"Targets between 200 and 400 kilometers can be dealt with using S-400 air defense missiles with a maximum range of 400 kilometers... But the most crucial part is the last line of defense, which indeed requires more intensive and precise firepower..."

As Aze spoke, he put more energy into designing this last line of defense.

"If this last line of defense is effective, it only means that all outer air defenses and defensive circles have been breached. Then, this last line of defense requires sufficiently precise firepower to ensure the complete destruction of the enemy."

200公里以内的最后一道防空圈就用最大射程125km的红旗9导弹吧，再配上85台左右的轮式地基1130近防炮和35台左右的TLS激光武器发射车作为最后一层防线来增加更多的保险。”

After completing the plan for this multi-layered air defense circle, Aze touched the back of his head and sighed:

"Shh... Why do these layers of defense I designed feel like they're almost like Russian nesting dolls? One inside the other, and after you destroy one, there's another. If someone were to attack this island, this nesting doll-like defense system, designed specifically to annoy the enemy, would be a torture worse than death for the attacker."

"But...if we only rely on land-based weapons for missile defense and air defense, it's still a bit difficult. So, we really need the coordination of air and surface forces?"

"If we only rely on land-based air defense and anti-ship missiles, there will still be some gaps within the 1200-kilometer air defense circle... In other words, I still need the navy and air force to help fill the gaps in land-based air defense..."

"It seems we should consider equipping the ADF-11F with TLS laser weapons and anti-ship missiles. By relying on its near-infinite endurance under microwave power, and conducting 24-hour uninterrupted air patrols, we can ensure that we have a truly comprehensive air defense capability."

"Perhaps I should also consider building a few shield ships like Kalisi did, to provide air defense?"

"Let me think about it. An unmanned version of the Type 055 guided missile destroyer? That seems quite feasible... We could consider building one first."

Thinking of this, Aze's thoughts couldn't help but drift away, and she began to conceive of her own unmanned ship version of the 055 destroyer.