The rise of great powers: starting from military industry

The focus of the army now is to streamline the army.

The establishment of independent divisions in provincial military regions was completely abolished, and then some troops were transferred to local areas. Some field army infantry divisions were also renamed this time and became simplified divisions to streamline coastal garrison troops.

Although the army also has some money, this money is used to relocate the streamlined troops and purchase some weapons and equipment.

If the Type 81 infantry fighting vehicle is too expensive, the army can't afford it at all, and even if it can afford it, it is reluctant to spend so much money.

Liu Tao said: "If the army purchases it, each vehicle will be 250,000 yuan, and the cost price will be subsidized!"

Hearing the price of 250,000 yuan per vehicle, all the leaders couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

None of the leaders thought it was expensive, but rather felt it was relatively cheap.

After all, a jeep costs 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.

Infantry fighting vehicles are used for war, so it is normal for the price to be ten times higher.

"How difficult is production?" asked another leader.

"The production difficulty is not too great, about the same as the Type 81 light tank." Liu Tao said, and then he complained to the leaders, "Leaders, the level of the 1,000 technical backbones supported by the ministry in Factory 256 is too low, it's almost like retraining."

The tanks produced by Factory 256 are all transported to Kun City for quality inspection by Liu Tao.

From the beginning to now, no qualified tank has been produced, and there are more or less problems. Liu Tao has to use the golden finger to repair it.

And it was only after he transferred 200 technicians from Panshan Machinery Factory to Factory 256 that the problem was greatly reduced.

Several leaders blushed when they heard Liu Tao's complaints.

The damage to the military factory in those ten years was very great. The technical level of the workers did not improve but regressed. Some technical backbones were sent to labor reform, and a group of them died. Another group of them had more or less physical problems. There were very few technical backbones who could be healthy.

The leaders knew what level these supporting technical backbones were.

Because the Type 59 tanks they made are not even as good as the Type 59 tanks made more than a decade ago.

But this is already the best that can be selected, like picking the tallest among the short ones.

The reason for supporting these 1,000 people is to take advantage of this opportunity to have Panshan Machinery Factory properly rectified and forge a group of technical workers. Fortunately, the First and Second Machinery Factory have implemented reforms. Otherwise, these state-owned factories have no clear understanding of reforms and it is difficult to promote them.

Now Liu Tao complained in person, which made them feel quite embarrassed.

"Leader, if the First and Second Machinery Factory are like this, I am afraid it will be difficult for them to produce tanks or infantry fighting vehicles." Liu Tao said helplessly: "We really hope that the department can support us with a group of technical talents."

Leader Zhang quickly comforted Liu Tao and said: "In this way, we will draw technical talents from the Tank Design Institute and the Armored Forces Academy to support you."

When the First Machinery Factory was just built, it was a complete replica of the Soviet model. The production department only cared about production and the design department only cared about design. However, as time goes by, domestic factories are also developing. They have set up their own R\u0026D institutions, at least to be able to improve on a small scale.

Even the technical department responsible for R\u0026D at the First Machine Factory has many talents.

There is also a group of technical talents at the Armored Forces Academy.

But even they have to admit that the strongest weapons and equipment R\u0026D capability is not the First Machine Factory, the Second Machine Factory or other military factories and scientific research institutions, but the Panshan Machinery Factory.

For several consecutive years, the new weapons developed by the military industry system have been the most eye-catching of the Panshan Machinery Factory, and it can even be said that it is the only one that has made achievements.

"By the way, you said before that the 122mm self-propelled howitzer has not been mentioned yet, let's talk about it!" Wang Baoguo spoke at this time. If this continues, the meeting will not be able to be held.

Since he was transferred to the Fifth Machine Ministry, he has been promoting the system of the Panshan Machinery Factory to the weapons industry system, and even organized several groups of people to visit and study at the Panshan Machinery Factory.

But the actual implementation of the reform is not optimistic.

Many people's thinking is still stuck in the past, eating from the big pot. There are also many military factories where the original technical backbones have either died, fallen ill, or grown old.

The situation of a lack of successors is very obvious.

It is very difficult to truly implement reforms. After all, not every factory has a Liu Tao like Panshan Machinery Factory, who is enterprising and courageous.

Even in many military factories, the phenomenon of fear of making mistakes, not daring to make mistakes, and no mistakes is a merit is very obvious.

"The 122mm self-propelled howitzer is also developed on the basis of the Type 81 light tank, and the chassis of the two are basically the same." Liu Tao said.

The leaders listened and couldn't help but marvel.

The range alone has doubled.

Not to mention the mobility and power!

In theory, those who have developed new weapons need to undergo a series of reviews and tests, and finally look at the results before finalizing them.

For example, for a 122mm self-propelled howitzer, one or two prototypes were manufactured and sent to Beijing. Experts from the Fifth Machine Department conducted a 500-kilometer test and achieved good test results. The prototype was then handed over to the Armored Forces Military Product Finalization Committee for finalization testing. The prototype needed to withstand about 5,000 to 6,000 kilometers of driving tests in cold, hot and humid areas, and normal temperature areas. It met the requirements of combat technical indicators and then passed the design finalization inspection. The Armored Forces Military Product Finalization Committee formally approved the design finalization of the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and gave it a formal name.

However, Panshan Machinery Factory is very special. The products developed by Panshan Machinery Factory are first delivered to the troops, and the troops are satisfied. Because the products developed by Panshan Machinery Factory often fill the gaps in China's military industry or greatly improve the performance, the Military Product Finalization Committee is not as professional as Liu Tao. Moreover, the military products produced by Panshan Machinery Factory are not purchased by China in large quantities. They are mainly exported, and they are subsidized for the purchases of domestic troops.

"Comrade Liu Tao, can this new 122mm howitzer technology be applied to other military factories to produce 122mm howitzers?" Leader Zhang asked.

China also has the ability to produce 122mm howitzers, but although the caliber is the same, the performance is also very different.

The 122mm howitzer produced by China is the Type 54 122mm towed howitzer. Its predecessor is the 1938-type 122mm howitzer produced by the Soviet Union in 1940. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, my country once purchased a batch of this type of howitzers from the Soviet Union to equip the Volunteer Army. After the Volunteer Army artillery used it, it reflected that this gun was indeed reliable, durable, and had good shooting accuracy, so it was selected for mass imitation.

The Type 54 122mm towed howitzer is the first caliber howitzer imitated and produced by the Republic's military industry department. As the backbone of the division's artillery, it is mass-produced and equipped to the troops.