Rebirth of Military Workers

Chapter 387

“The military wants to obtain a batch of these tanks?” Zheng Yucheng looked at Long Yaohua and Li Mingshan in surprise, “I heard that right?”

“No. At present, the development of the domestic three-generation tank project has just started, and the equipment of the army is in urgent need of upgrading. Even if the military expenditure is not high, we cannot always use old-fashioned equipment. If we don’t study the combat and defense of advanced weapons and equipment, isn’t it?” Long Yaohua nodded and said. .

Li Mingshan looked at Zheng Yucheng and others, “Is there any difficulty? Even if we want, we will pay.”

“Chief, this is our cooperation project with Pakistan…” Wang Guilin weighed and said cautiously.

The military needs, this has a great impact on the future prospects of the 359 tank.

For domestic equipment, for the sake of national defense and security, the combat capability of the exported 359 tank must be very different from that used in the country.

This is true for any export of advanced heavy weapons in the world.

The tanks and fighters exported by the United States and the Soviet Union will have some restrictions on their functions, and will reduce their performance configuration to prevent the enemy from acquiring their advanced weapons and equipment, so as to develop correct equipment based on their performance.

“It is difficult to reduce the configuration of the 359 tank at present. Once it is lowered, a large number of orders will be lost. In the absence of finalization, Iraq has ordered 11 vehicles for combat experiments…” Qi Zhiyuan also emphasized .

Xie Kai sat in the corner without speaking.

On the opposite side, Mr. Zhu’s eyes kept on Xie Kai’s body.

“The military’s orders do not affect your exports.” Long Yaohua’s eyes were sharp, looking at Zheng Yucheng and others, he didn’t dare to look at him. “Of course, this is just a possibility. If your tank fails to perform well during testing, you will definitely not get an order from the military.

“Chief, do you know the manufacturing cost of the 359 tank?” Xie Kai asked, “The military wants to purchase, what is the reserve price of each tank?”

Xie Kai’s question is a bit sharp.

The subtext is obvious, the military cannot afford to use this kind of tank.

“The things you have developed in more than a year are all domestic existing technologies. Where can they go?” Li Mingshan looked at Xie Kai and answered easily.

In their opinion, the 359 tank developed by the 404 base is not so expensive at all.

For the 59 tank, the chassis determines the space, so there is no way to make a big breakthrough. Naturally, it limits too many things.

“Chief, I think the military should wait for a while, and then consider after we reduce the cost. The domestic strategic focus is on economic construction, and the demand in this area is not urgent.” Xie Kai said.

Li Mingshan was a little unhappy, “Boy, do you think we are too poor to afford it?”

“Chief, I don’t mean that. It’s just that the cost of the 359 tank is really expensive at present. Moreover, the performance is not mature enough, and many tests have not been completed.” Xie Kai is noncommittal.

Everyone knows that the military is poor.

So far, major disarmament is underway, and the number of domestic troops has been reduced from 4 million to 3 million. This is a huge task.

The military expenditure has not increased, and even decreased a bit because of disarmament.

The military expenditure in 1985 was only 19.1 billion, which is equivalent to only about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars!

It only accounts for 2% of U.S. military spending.

A 359 tank, even if it is sold at the lowest price, has to be more than 3 million.

The military’s funds are not only used to buy equipment, but also include scientific research investment, feed the army, sea, land and air force, equipment upgrades and so on…

Xie Kai feels that the military cannot afford it, which is natural.

In the special armored unit, almost all weapons and equipment have to be upgraded.

The 59 tanks that are the main force in combat almost occupies a huge proportion. This is the tank of the 1950s in the world! They have been upgraded for generations.

“I don’t believe it anymore. No matter how expensive the 359 tank is, where can it go!” Li Mingshan was full of dissatisfaction. “If the equipment developed is not right, we can’t use it ourselves. Why do we develop it?”

“Chief, I think Mr. Zhu can explain.” Xie Kai burned the fire on Mr. Zhu.

Three generations of tanks are not cheap.

I wish that the thing the boss made will be far more expensive than the 359 tanks made by the 404 base.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)

How much is a 99 tank?

These are all tens of millions of vehicles, and the domestic economy has increased many times, so they have to upgrade 96 tanks and equip a small number of 99 tanks because of the high price.

“A set of anti-stability image type fire control system, plus a computerized fire control system, would cost millions, right?” Mr. Zhu did not directly explain, but asked Zhang Deming.

The image-stabilizing fire control system is so expensive that Li Mingshan and others are breathing heavily.

“The price of the 125mm tank gun, bistable system, etc. is also several times higher than that of the Type 59, right?” Without waiting for an answer, Mr. Zhu continued to ask.

“The development of new ammunition, power system, etc., are also several times that of the 59 tank, right?”

“The production cost of Chobham armor is also much higher than that of homogeneous armor, right?”

A series of questions left Long Yaohua and Li Mingshan dumbfounded.

At every turn, the price is several times!

Is this still alive?

“What is the cost of your car now?” Long Yaohua realized the problem.

They did not ask Zheng Yucheng and others how much they would sell, but the cost of the 359 tank.

404 provided a sample car to Iraq for 2.5 million U.S. dollars; for Pakistan, it only provided 1.8 million U.S. dollars for a prototype.

“US$1.8 million, cost price.” Zhang Deming said helplessly. “Converted to RMB, more than 5 million.”

“What the hell? Are you sure that this is just the cost price? If we equip one hundred vehicles, it will cost us 500 million in military expenses!” Li Mingshan’s expression was a little frustrated.

If it is really this price, the military cannot afford it.

It is also impossible to supply the 404 to the military at a cost price.

“Indeed, all current technology costs are quite high.” Zhang Deming nodded affirmatively.

“Chief, this is the price that must be paid for adopting new technologies. When the technology is mature, the production process of various materials is mature, and the production capacity is increased, the cost will be reduced a lot.” Wang Guilin said.

Xie Kai glanced at Mr. Zhu, and then at Long Yaohua and Li Mingshan.

One can imagine the wonderful expressions on their faces.

I wish the boss took a look at Xie Kai with a wry smile. It is not only technically difficult to engage in three generations of domestic tanks, but also how to reduce costs is also the R&D team must consider.

359 tank, the technical level is much worse than that of the three-generation tank project that Mr. Zhu is responsible for, and it is only a medium tank.

The price of a heavy tank, if calculated according to its technical performance, is at least twice that of the 359 tank.

The troops can’t afford it.

“How long does it take to reduce the cost?” Long Yaohua was silent for a while before starting to ask.

“Chief, this has to be based on our order situation. The more the production quantity, the lower the cost. Without production, the R&D cost will be higher…” Xie Kai said. “At the same time, there are reactive armors that are not used. Once other technologies used to improve performance are used, the cost will be higher.”

“…”

Hearing Xie Kai said that the cost will be higher, the faces of Long Yaohua and others are even more exciting.

“How many intentional orders does Iraq have? How many vehicles will be produced will reduce the cost to what level?” Long Yaohua did not say any more about reducing the configuration of exported tanks.

Before talking about this matter, they watched the maneuverability and target shooting of the 359 tank prototype that was still undergoing service life tests on the tank proving ground of the 404 base garrison regiment, and then put forward the military’s needs.

Just on the issue of cost, it is unbearable for the military.

How to talk about it?

We can only count on more foreign orders to reduce costs.

“It’s not clear for the time being, everything has to be based on the combat experiments of the 11 sample vehicles, and even the opponent is likely to be used in actual combat, depending on the results and placing orders.” Expensive tanks are different from ordinary tanks.

The Type 69 main battle tank transformed from the Type 59 has backward technology, poor firepower, and even worse defense. Iraq has purchased a lot, and the quantity has made up for the losses in the Iran-Iraq war.

They need more advanced tanks to improve combat effectiveness.

The 359 tank became a choice. If they cannot surpass the T72, at such a high price, coupled with the possible immaturity of the new technology, the Soviet T72 will be their best choice.

“When the 404 was developed, didn’t it consider domestic use?” Li Mingshan still asked.

He hopes to hear a comforting answer.

Hope to hear other solutions.

“Director, the military was not interested in this project before. In order to continue the project, we sought investment from abroad.” Zheng Yucheng gave Li Mingshan enough face.

But Li Mingshan listened to it, the more it became unpleasant.

The military has no money!

The military is poor!

The military is not uninterested, but afraid of it.

Once you are interested, you have to pay.

“For domestic purposes, our goal is to allow the developed technology to fill the domestic gap and bridge the gap between domestic and foreign countries. As for whether it is affordable, it should not be our consideration. The M1 main battle tank in service in the United States and the Leopard in Germany 2 The main battle tanks, even the Soviet T80 main battle tanks, have sold for more than five million U.S. dollars internationally…”

“Price and cost are two different things! Otherwise, Americans and Soviets can afford so much equipment?” Li Mingshan blamed Xie Kai unceremoniously.

“Even if the cost price is too poor, our troops can’t afford much, Chief!” Xie Kai said politely, “We are different from units such as 617. We raise project funds and develop technology by ourselves. Chief, if these costs are No, not even profit. How can 404 develop? If this is the case, can we continue to develop it?”

“I think that the chiefs would not use this method of killing chickens to get eggs, do they?” Xie Kai directly blocked Li Mingshan and others from wanting to let 404 put aside the profit on the price and put aside the technical cost of research and development.

Without profit, and even the original cost cannot be recovered, how can we continue to develop new projects?

So far, the 404 base has several key projects.

The project to transform the transport aircraft and the early-warning aircraft of the Yunshi has always been designed; the Super Seven project has also been launched, and there are 122 mm howitzers and so on…