These new equipment of the Imperial Army, on the whole, made Wu Haoxuan very satisfied. These weapons will be equipped with troops one after another from this year, and once the refitting is completed, it will increase the combat power of the Imperial Army a lot. In future wars, the Imperial Army will have a stronger attack power. As for the weapons that have been replaced, they are mothballed. By the time the various vassal states of the Imperial Army began to expand their armies on a large scale, these weapons would still be able to be used. After all, once the war broke out, the Imperial Army began to expand. The vassal states of the empire also need to be expanded.

At the army's training ground, Wu Haoxuan stayed for a day. I am quite satisfied with the tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled guns, rocket artillery, individual rocket launchers, etc., which the army will be equipped with. And, the next requirements were made. It is hoped that the Ministry of Armament will provide more advanced weapons for the army. For example, the Imperial Army needed more powerful heavy tanks, larger caliber self-propelled guns, 24-barreled rocket launchers, and so on.

The more advanced the weapons that the Imperial Army will be equipped with in the future, the smaller the casualties of the Imperial Army will be in the war. It is also possible to win the war at the lowest cost. These advanced weapons were an important guarantee for the Imperial Army to win the war.

On March 15, 4634, Emperor Wu Haoxuan traveled from the Army Weapons Test Site to an air base deep in the grassland. This is an important base set up by the Imperial Air Force in the depths of the steppe. A large number of advanced fighters equipped with the Imperial Air Force will be tested here. As the war approached, the development of the main fighters that the Imperial Air Force urgently needed to equip was also completed, and the test flight had reached the final stage. This means that series production will soon be ready for production.

Emperor Wu Haoxuan attached great importance to the Air Force, and when the Air Force was still very weak, he made the Air Force an independent service. Unlike the United States, the Air Force has not been established until now, but is attached to the Army and Navy respectively. The U.S. Army has Army Aviation, and the Navy has naval aviation. All aircraft belong to these two branches of the military.

The current size of the Imperial Air Force cannot be called the largest in the world. Because, Emperor Wu Haoxuan was a little disdainful of the planes he had equipped before. Therefore, it has always been a small batch production. But not now, war is about to break out, and the Imperial Air Force must expand its strength as soon as possible. The latest fighter of the Imperial Air Force, if it meets Wu Haoxuan's needs, will be produced in large quantities.

When Wu Haoxuan and Marshal Jiang Baili, chief of the General Staff, arrived at the air base, Air Force Commander General Wang Boping was already waiting here. The Imperial Air Force is the youngest branch of the army, and the generals of the Air Force are also very young, and they are generally only thirty or forty years old.

"See Your Majesty." After Wu Haoxuan got out of the car, General Wang Boping led a group of generals of the air force and immediately greeted him.

"Excuse me, let's go straight to our new plane." Wu Haoxuan said.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wang Boping nodded.

Soon, the group drove to Hangar No. 1 at the airbase. In Hangar No. 1, two aircraft of the same type were parked. This kind of aircraft has a unique shape, and unlike the biplanes equipped by many countries, this is a monoplane. And it is a lower monoplane.

"Commander Wang, let's introduce this plane." Wu Haoxuan said. He knew that this was the next generation of the Imperial Air Force's main fighter. At least in the initial period of the war, the Imperial Air Force was to predominate such fighters.

"Your Majesty, this is an F9 fighter developed by the Imperial Air Force. The length of the aircraft is 9.07 meters, the wingspan is 9.92 meters, the height is 2.5 meters, the air is 2630 kg, the maximum take-off weight is 4405 kg, and a liquid-cooled engine is used, with a maximum power of 1850 horsepower and a maximum flight speed of 686 kilometers. It is armed with one 30 mm cannon and two 12.7 mm heavy machine guns. Admiral Wang Boping introduced.

Wu Haoxuan nodded, this is clearly the Me-109 fighter of the Luftwaffe, and even the main performance parameters are exactly the same. Of course, this is mainly due to the fact that this aircraft was jointly developed by China and Germany.

"Compared with the air forces of other countries in the world, does our F9 fighter have a big advantage?" Wu Haoxuan asked.

"Your Majesty, the main fighters currently equipped by the Russian Air Force are the I-15 fighter jet and the I-16 fighter. Among them, the Yi-15 fighter is a biplane with a maximum take-off weight of 2110 kg, a maximum speed of only 444 kilometers per hour, and a maximum range of only 470 kilometers. The I-16 fighter is a monoplane with a maximum take-off weight of 1,715 kg, a maximum speed of 500 kilometers per hour, and a maximum range of 400 kilometers. Compared to the F9 fighters of the Imperial Army, it was completely at a disadvantage. The latest development of the P36 fighter of the US Air Force has a maximum take-off weight of 2.7 tons and a maximum flight speed of 480 kilometers per hour. Nor can it be compared to the F9 fighters of the Imperial Air Force. Admiral Wang Boping said proudly.

Wu Haoxuan nodded: "Very good, in this way, the Imperial Air Force is already far ahead of the enemies of the Empire." However, the Empire cannot afford to take this lightly and must speed up the development of newer fighter jets. Make sure that in the future, the Imperial Air Force will still be ahead of its opponents. ”

"Your Majesty can rest assured that the F10 fighter of the Imperial Air Force has also begun to be developed, and it is expected that it will be able to start test flights next year. Mass production will be available the year after then. Admiral Wang Boping said.

Subsequently, two F9 fighters took off and performed an air show in front of the Emperor Wu Haoxuan, with excellent speed, good climbing performance and maneuverability, which made Wu Haoxuan very satisfied. This kind of aircraft, at this stage, is undoubtedly the most advanced aircraft in the world.

"What about the maximum range?" Wu Haoxuan asked. He remembered that the biggest drawback of the German Me-109 fighter was its short legs. With a range of only eight hundred kilometers, this is simply not enough to provide protection for bombers. It would not be good if bombers were allowed to bomb local targets without fighter protection. The losses alone were enough for the Imperial Air Force to bear.

"Your Majesty, the maximum range of the F9 fighter is only eight hundred kilometers. However, we can increase the maximum range to 1,000 kilometers by carrying an external fuel tank. In the event of an air battle, you can throw away the external fuel tank. Admiral Wang Boping said. He knew that Wu Haoxuan was obviously not very satisfied with this voyage.

Wu Haoxuan nodded: "The range is indeed too short, we need a long-range fighter jet, when our bombers bomb the enemy's ground targets, they can take off to escort the bombers." The next generation of fighters, I hope to be able to improve in range. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Admiral Wang Boping nodded.

This aircraft is undoubtedly suitable for the Germans. The Germans could not compare the size of the empire, and their strategic depth was not large. The range of this aircraft is enough to ensure their safety. However, the empire is not good, the territory of the empire is so vast that without a fighter with a long range, it is absolutely impossible.

Of course, the F9 fighter is undoubtedly much stronger than the I-15 and I-16 fighters of the Soviet and Russian Air Forces, which only have a range of more than 400 kilometers. It's just that this pales in comparison to the needs of the Imperial Air Force.

After watching the performance of the F9 fighter, the next step was the dive bomber.

"Your Majesty, this dive bomber is the most advanced dive bomber in the Imperial Air Force, named FC4 dive bomber. The length of the aircraft is 11.5 meters, the wingspan is 13.8 meters, the height of the aircraft is 3.88 meters, the maximum take-off weight is 6600 kg, the maximum flight speed is 410 kilometers per hour, and the maximum range is 600 kilometers. Armament consists of two twin 7.62 mm aviation machine guns, or a twin 20 mm cannon on a hoist. Capable of carrying two 500 kg bombs with a total load of 1800 kg. Admiral Wang Boping said.

FC4 dive bomber, primarily a ground attack bomber. This bomber is capable of diving at an angle of almost 90 degrees, which allows the bomb to hit the target accurately. Whether it is a ground strike or a ship strike, it is very important to ensure the accuracy of the hit. If you can't hit the target, even if you drop more bombs, it will be in vain.

In future operations, this dive bomber will become an extremely important ground attack aircraft.

In addition to the FC4 dive bomber, the Imperial Air Force also developed another ground attack aircraft. This is the A5 ground attack aircraft. This is a ground attack aircraft. The length of the aircraft is 11.6 meters, the wingspan is 14.6 meters, the height is 4.17 meters, the maximum flight speed is 410 kilometers per hour, and the maximum range is 750 kilometers. It is armed with two 20 mm cannons with 300 rounds of ammunition. Two 7.62 mm machine guns with 750 rounds in reserve. In addition, 750 kg of bombs can be carried. In addition, rocket launch pylons are also reserved, which can carry 8 rockets to strike at fixed targets on the ground or armored targets.

Unlike dive bombers, the A5 ground attack aircraft can hover over the battlefield for long periods of time, and can immediately call in ground attack aircraft for reinforcements if the infantry needs it. Cannons and rockets are extremely lethal to armored targets. After all, the top armor of the tank is the weakest and can be easily torn apart by these cannons. Carrying bombs, it is also capable of launching attacks on ground targets and densely armored targets.

Emperor Wu Haoxuan planned to establish an army aviation unit and assign both fighters to the army. After all, when the army is on the offensive, it wants to be supported at any time. In addition, the Imperial Air Force is also developing helicopters. Once the development is successful, it will be assigned to the army aviation. In this way, the air force of the future empire will become mainly a strategic air force. Responsible for fighting for air supremacy on the battlefield, as well as carrying out strategic bombing of enemy countries, destroying the war potential of enemy countries and forcing enemy countries to surrender. (To be continued.) )