The scale or ambition, the Army's equipment renewal program surpasses that of the Navy

Just as the composite battery was first applied in automobiles, the "Longxiang battery" was first "phased" by the army after its inception. Back in 2013, the army created the first electric tank. The result can be imagined, this car uses Z99||The cost of the improved all-electric tank was as high as 100 million yuan, which almost made the Army Logistics Equipment Department "bankrupt".

The high cost of construction led the Army to choose the same approach as the Navy: experiment first.

The all-electric tank, which was called "Thunder Tiger", was not equipped with combat units and did not equip the experimental units under the General Staff, but was supplied to the Army Logistics and Equipment Department.

In the following years, "Thunder Tiger" "transformed" several times.

After completing the basic performance test of the electric tank, the engineers dismantled the "Thunder Tiger" into eight pieces, and transformed the "Thunder Leopard" all-electric infantry fighting vehicle while retaining only the chassis and power propulsion system. After completing the relevant tests, it will be transformed into the "Thunder Elephant" all-electric self-propelled howitzer and the "Thunder Rhino" all-electric self-propelled rocket launcher.

After years of testing, the Army has summarized the all-electric equipment.

In the summary report submitted by the Logistics Equipment Department, the first thing mentioned was not the superior performance of all-electric equipment, but the new requirements of all-electric equipment for the army's logistics support system.

Unlike the Air Force and Navy, Army equipment has higher requirements for logistical support.

The main sources of power for Air Force warplanes and Navy warships are still internal and external combustion engines (turbine engines) that use fossil fuels, and even the Swordfish submarine does not need to be considered to replenish electrical energy during combat missions. Even ground fighters equipped with electric turbochargers can return to the base to replenish their power after completing the combat mission. The situation in the ground is completely different, whether it is tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, or self-propelled guns, they cannot abandon their positions after completing their combat missions and return to the rear camp to replenish their power.

The Army wants to fully replace it with all-electric equipment. First of all, it is necessary to solve the problem of battlefield "charging".

There is only one solution: small fusion reactors.

Compared to the Navy. The Army has higher requirements for the miniaturization of fusion reactors. At the very least, it can be transported by heavy trucks carrying mobile strategic ballistic missiles. It is best to be able to transport it by air by Y-14 tactical transport aircraft. Other words. The total weight of the fusion reactor must be controlled below 70. It's best to keep it below 50.

Why not consider other options?

Electricity is generated by an internal or external combustion engine. The problem of fuel transportation must be solved. The meaning of electric equipment is gone; It is too risky to deploy fission reactor sites to the front line. If the battle is damaged. It is equivalent to dropping an atomic bomb in one's own rear; Only the energy density and safety of the fusion reactor can meet the operational requirements.

Miniaturizing fusion reactors is not a simple matter.

By the beginning of 20177, even a fusion reactor for aircraft carriers had not been developed, let alone a fusion reactor loaded into a truck.

If this problem cannot be solved, there will be no need for the army to fully promote electric equipment.

Peng Maobang has suppressed the plan to comprehensively develop electric equipment and invest more funds in basic research. It has jointly developed small fusion reactors with the Navy, developed high-performance military computers with the Air Force, provided tens of billions of research funds for the Physics Experiment Center, and fully participated in the work related to the "National Strategic Defense Program".

The Chief of the General Staff did not abandon the comprehensive promotion of electric weapons, but only adopted the policy of "saving the country with a curve".

Under Peng Maobang's personal promotion, the army has gone the fastest and farthest in the research of new concept weapons.

As early as 2014, after the "Thunder Tiger" was transformed into the "Thunder Leopard", before Ji Youguo approved the second phase of the research project, Peng Maobang personally wrote a development report called "Looking Forward to the Future Army". Strictly speaking, this report was written by a senior staff officer of the General Staff Department who specializes in technology, but Peng Maobang's name was put first in the signature.

In this report, the army of the future is completely different from the modern army.

The weight of the main battle tank will be reduced from 50 to 70 to less than 20 tons, equipped with powerful electric drive equipment, high-strength alloy armor and electromagnetic guns, and has active and passive defense capabilities, which is an indispensable key node in the future military network.

When the report was published, almost everyone referred to the "weapons of the future" as "science fiction."

Only 3 years later, many new technologies and materials necessary for "weapons of the future" have been introduced.

High-strength alloys can make future tanks have unparalleled defense capabilities, electromagnetic guns will give future tanks powerful destruction capabilities, and military networking will make future tanks an ideal combat platform.

In addition to the power supply system, the key is still one: the price of the composite battery.

Compared to the Navy and Air Force, the Army pays more attention to "price".

Since Ji Youguo came to power, military spending has been tilted toward the navy and air force, and the proportion of the army has decreased year by year. By 2015, the Army's share of the defense budget was only the smallest, and although it was still the "boss" of the three armed services, it was the least of the three armed services after excluding personnel allowances and equipment maintenance costs.

Compared with the navy and air force, the army has the largest scale of equipment.

At the end of 2015,

In 20166, when the army was spending, the army submitted a report.

According to the long-term plan of military reform, the Chinese army needs at least 2,500 main battle tanks, 3,700 infantry fighting vehicles, 2,700 self-propelled artillery and rocket artillery, wheeled armored vehicles and 2,100C small and medium-sized military vehicles in the future.

If each main battle tank is equipped with 1,200 kg of "Longxiang batteries", 950 kg of infantry fighting vehicles, 11c0 kg of self-propelled artillery and rocket artillery, 700 kg of wheeled armored vehicles, and 550 kg of small and medium-sized military vehicles, a total of 25,515 "Longxiang batteries" are needed.

In 2015, the total output of "Longxiang Battery" was 780~:. Even if the "Longxiang battery" is not used elsewhere, it will take 33 years for the army to complete the refitting program! In real terms, it would take the Army nearly 30 years to replace all the old equipment, even if it uses Level 6 batteries or even composite batteries on some secondary equipment.

Thirty years later, the Army has begun its second renewal.

Based on the actual situation, let alone a comprehensive rearmament for the army, even if we "use good steel on the cutting edge" and give priority to taking care of the army aviation, the local output of the "Longxiang battery" will not be able to meet the actual needs.

At that time, the Flying Eagle was the only all-electric helicopter in the Army Air Corps.

Although the Flying Eagle demonstrated unparalleled combat capability in the training and confrontation exercises of the experimental troops, and the combat capability of the Flying Eagle was formalized in the Fourth Indo-Pakistani War, in 20166, Peng Maobang only approved an all-electric equipment development plan, namely the upgrade and improvement plan of the Flying Eagle.

Improvements are also made to the avionics system, not the propulsion.

It was not until the end of 20166 that Peng Maobang approved the development of a new concept all-electric tank, codenamed "Hot Wheels", and a new concept all-electric infantry fighting vehicle, codenamed "somersault cloud".

Compared with "Thunder Tiger" and "Thunder Leopard", "Hot Wheels" and "Somersault Cloud" have added applied research on new materials.

Because the relevant plan is still under approval, the document provided by Pan Yunsheng to Ji Youguo is only very simple.

The test goal of the "Hot Wheels" is to control the combat weight within 25, use high-strength alloy as armor, use an orbital electromagnetic gun powered by a 12-level composite battery, and have a maximum road speed of more than 00 km/h, a maximum off-road speed of more than 50 km/h, a maximum road trip of 750 km, and a maximum off-road range of 300 km.

Very high indicators, more advanced than all the main battle tanks in service and foreign land development.

The "somersault cloud" is the "partner" of the "Hot Wheels", and its mobility performance is not much different, except that it is equipped with a much less powerful electromagnetic cannon (the electric cannon is an alternative main battle weapon), and a heavy anti-tank missile is added, which requires at least 8 fully armed infantry and has the ability to provide ammunition support for the infantry.

After reading the relevant reports, Ji Youguo doubted whether the army's research and development program could be successful.

As an independent branch of the army, the army aviation also put forward a new concept of electric equipment development plan in 20166.

The point is not on helicopter gunships, but on heavy transport helicopters.

Comparatively speaking, heavy transport helicopters are more significant than gunships.

In the military reform proposed by Ji Youguo, the main combat task of the ground forces in the future is not to fight large-scale battles, but to deal with all kinds of sudden armed conflicts and local wars. As the joint operations of the three services have begun to take shape, the army's requirements for its own firepower and protection are decreasing, and the requirements for mobility are rising sharply.

Strategic mobility requires cooperation with the Air Force, Navy. What the Army can do is improve the tactical mobility of its troops.

The rapid assault capability is the main embodiment of the army's tactical mobility, and the rapid assault has to rely on the tactical airlift capability of transporting helicopters.

An army with a strong rapid reaction capability would certainly have a large number of transport helicopters.

The US military has more than 2300 transport helicopters, Russia has 1700 transport helicopters, France has it, Britain has it, even Japan has more than 500 transport helicopters, and at the end of the Fourth Indo-Pakistani War, the republic had less than one. Compared to the huge total strength, the army aviation is significantly weaker.

The key to the development of army aviation is still the production capacity and price of composite batteries.

The report on the development of army aviation mentions that if an air assault brigade is to be created, at least 400 transport helicopters will need to be procured, and together with other units, army aviation will need to procure a total of 2100 transport helicopters. If all are all-electric transport helicopters, at least 15000~: "Longxiang battery".

It can be seen that the output and price of composite batteries have become a bottleneck in national defense construction.

Strictly speaking, this has also had a very big impact on the industrial restructuring that the Republic is advancing.

After reading the report of the three armed services, Ji Youguo had to admit that several new technologies have brought unprecedented opportunities to the republic, and also posed unprecedented challenges to the republic!

Damn it**

Continue to ask for a monthly pass, the third vote is missing, brothers work hard! (To be continued)

Starting