The rise of great powers: starting from military industry

"Dong dong dong~~"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in~~" A slightly old voice sounded.

Wang Baoguo took Liu Tao into the office.

The two of them saw Zhang Zhen, the person in charge of the Fifth Machinery Department.

This old man is about the same age as Wang Baoguo, and they are both over seventy years old.

He is responsible for the entire department, and the national weapons industry is under his jurisdiction. You can imagine how many things he has to deal with every day.

"Comrade Zhang Zhen, I have something important to report to you." Wang Baoguo said solemnly.

Zhang Zhen is slightly older than Wang Baoguo, but Zhang Zhen joined the revolution in 1927 and joined the party in 1928. His party experience is higher than that of Wang Baoguo. Moreover, Zhang Zhen is a top student who graduated from the Chemistry Department of Fu Jen Catholic University, and his academic qualifications are much higher than Wang Baoguo's.

So when he came to the Fifth Machinery Department, Wang Baoguo respected the squad leader very much.

"It's Comrade Baoguo and Comrade Liu Tao, sit down!" Zhang Zhen stood up and looked at Liu Tao. Zhang Zhen was smiling: "Our God of Wealth returned to Beijing this time, but did he bring wealth again?"

Last year, thanks to the large orders brought by Liu Tao, the Fifth Machinery Department could be said to have placed a big satellite.

Even the leaders above were alarmed and praised the Fifth Machinery Department.

No one expected that once the proposal was made to convert free military aid into paid military aid, a bumper harvest would be achieved.

Coupled with this year's orders, which total almost US$2 billion, the Fifth Machinery Department can make a big appearance.

With money, the Fifth Machinery Department can also conduct research on some weapons projects and let military factories upgrade production lines.

More importantly, the several firearms developed by Liu Tao have saved the country at least billions in firearms research and development funds, and more importantly, they can save a lot of time.

As a result, Panshan Machinery Factory was upgraded to a large-scale military factory, the first of its kind since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Liu Tao was promoted to deputy department level cadre at the young age of 25.

You know, 25 years old is too young. Many people actually have opinions. They think that young people can't do things with their mouths. However, Wang Baoguo argued with reason. Zhang Zhen made the decision and said that his ambition should not be based on age, but to demote talents in an eclectic way. Only then did Liu Tao continue to be in charge of Panshan Machinery Factory, instead of parachuting someone from the Fifth Machinery Department to Panshan Machinery Factory as the director.

What Zhang Zhen wanted to hear most was that Liu Tao had brought another arms order.

Wang Baoguo laughed and said: "This time Comrade Liu Tao quietly released a big satellite to shock the whole country!"

"Oh? Tell me!" Zhang Zhen's eyes lit up.

Wang Baoguo said: "Comrade Liu Tao has been developing a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun during this period, which is similar to the West German 'Cheetah' self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. Now he has finally succeeded in developing it. This time he returned to Beijing to report the good news."

"Really!" Zhang Zhen was shocked.

The West German "Cheetah" self-propelled anti-aircraft gun shocked the world when it was born.

After the news came back to China, the Fifth Machinery Department also began to organize experts to conduct demonstrations, set up a project team, and began to develop technology in this area.

It’s just that after a few years, there have been no major results so far.

Every time there is a surprise with a big result, it turns out to be a wasted surprise. It's just because someone is so happy about the success, and treats the small results as big results, reporting good news instead of bad news.

"Comrade Liu Tao, come and report to Comrade Zhang Zhen." Wang Baoguo looked at Liu Tao.

"Okay, leader!" Liu Tao nodded and began to report.

The more Zhang Zhen listened, the more shocked he became.

He is not a professional, but he can feel the power of this self-propelled anti-aircraft gun just from the speed, weight, and range.

Speed ​​represents mobility and can be transferred quickly. It can quickly establish a defensive position at medium and low altitudes, and can also be quickly moved to other places to increase the chance of survival and avoid being hit by fighter jets or missile attacks.

Weight represents armor defense. The stronger the armor defense, the heavier the armor. It also reflects the performance of the diesel generator.

Range is an important indicator of anti-aircraft guns. The farther the range, the greater the range that can be defended.

But what shocked Zhang Zhen even more was what Liu Tao said next: "Leader, it won't be long before I can develop a third-generation main battle tank based on this!"

"Third generation main battle tank!?" Zhang Zhen's eyes were filled with shock.

You know, the Type 59 main battle tank currently used by China is only the first generation main battle tank.

Not even second-generation main battle tanks.

The only third-generation main battle tank currently in service in the world is the Soviet T-72 main battle tank.

Although West Germany has developed the Leopard 2 main battle tank, which is also a third-generation main battle tank, it has not yet been installed in large quantities.

The M2 tank developed by the United States is also a third-generation main battle tank, but it was only reported last year that it would be mass-produced.

China naturally feels the urgency and wants to develop more advanced main battle tanks.

The previous Type 69 main battle tank was so disliked by the armored forces that it was reduced to a training tool. Now it is all packaged and given to Iraq. The Type 59 main battle tank has always been the first generation main battle tank. The 59 cannot be allowed to Let's compete with the third-generation main battle tank.

Two years ago, in order to improve the Army's main battle tanks and develop a new generation of main battle tanks with independent intellectual property rights, a large amount of funding was allocated to a large tank manufacturer in the north to start developing a new domestically produced main battle tank.

Although there have been some achievements, it is still unknown how many years it will take until the development of the domestic second-generation main battle tank is completed.

Now Liu Tao actually said that a third-generation main battle tank will be developed soon!

This is even more shocking than Liu Tao's development of advanced self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.

"Leader, we have overcome many technical difficulties in developing self-propelled anti-aircraft guns this time. Many technologies can be used in third-generation main battle tanks." Liu Tao said, "But in order to complete the development earlier, we have asked our superiors to transfer a group of experts to assist. I!"

Liu Tao really didn't want to spend a lot of time and energy on drawing.

In the final analysis, the level of technical personnel at Panshan Machinery Factory is relatively limited.

If there were a group of researchers in the field of armored vehicles, his energy in drawing would be greatly reduced.

"This time, the ministry organized an expert group to go to your Panshan Machinery Factory to review and accept the self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. If it is as you said, the expert group will stay at the Panshan Machinery Factory and coordinate a group of engineers to provide You!" Zhang Zhen said.

Wang Baoguo smiled and said: "I told Comrade Liu Tao before that if he successfully develops an advanced self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, Factory 256 will be placed under the jurisdiction of Panshan Machinery Factory. As soon as he came to my office today, he asked me to fulfill it." This matter."

"Haha!" Zhang Zhen laughed, "Well, you old Wang, you are planning on Comrade Liu Tao, and there are no orders from Factory 256. You are throwing thousands of workers who are crying for food to Comrade Liu Tao."

Others don't know the situation of Factory 256. Doesn't he, the head of the Fifth Machinery Department, not know?

As the country's focus shifts to economic construction, military spending has been significantly reduced, and military procurement has naturally also been significantly reduced.

In the past, 256 could also produce tanks, armored vehicles, and military vehicles, and the factory could still operate.

However, starting from the second half of last year, the life of Factory 256 became difficult.