Chapter 120: Triangulation Method: Adding Guidance to Rocket Launchers

A glimmer of excitement flashed in his eyes.

This is an ancient yet practical technique; by setting up three sound receivers at different locations, one can calculate the precise position of a sound source based on the time difference of the sound waves reaching each receiver.

"If this system were applied to the Tianluo Rocket Launcher..." Li Mingyuan muttered to himself, as if he could already see those rocket shells hitting their targets with precision, "the accuracy would see a qualitative leap!"

Just as he was conceptualizing the details, the laboratory door was gently knocked.

"Come in."

Li Shouzheng poked his head in, and upon seeing the blackboard full of blueprints and formulas, he couldn't help but widen his eyes: "Chief Engineer Li, this is..."

"Ah, I forgot to erase it." Li Mingyuan only then realized that the content on the blackboard involved classified information, so he hurriedly erased a portion, leaving only the most basic framework diagram, "Are you looking for me for something?"

"The first batch of the Numerical Control System installation is complete, and we need you to come and inspect it." Li Shouzheng tried hard to control his gaze from glancing at the blackboard, but those strange diagrams and formulas were truly too attractive.

Li Mingyuan nodded: "Good, I'll go right away." He noticed Li Shouzheng's expression and smiled slightly, "Curious?"

"I wouldn't dare, this is your work, I..."

"It's alright, this is the concept for our next project." Li Mingyuan pointed to the triangular pattern on the blackboard, "Do you know what Radar is?"

Li Shouzheng shook his head: "I've heard of it, but I've never seen it. Is it something the foreign devils use for detection?"

"That's right." Li Mingyuan explained simply, "It detects an object's position, speed, and other information by emitting electromagnetic waves and then receiving the signals reflected back by the object."

Li Shouzheng's eyes grew wider and wider: "This... doesn't this mean using waves to replace eyes to see things that are invisible?"

Li Mingyuan laughed loudly: "Insightful! Your analogy is very apt."

"Then what is this triangle?" Li Shouzheng pointed to another diagram.

"A Triangulation System. Simply put, it uses three receivers at different locations to determine the position of a sound source by calculating the time difference of the sound waves' arrival." Li Mingyuan explained,

"I intend to use this system on our rocket launchers to significantly improve their accuracy."

Li Shouzheng gasped: "You mean, to let the rocket launcher find the enemy itself as if it had grown eyes?"

"That's pretty much what it means." Li Mingyuan nodded.

"This... isn't this a god-like method?" Li Shouzheng said stutteringly, "Can humans really do such a thing?"

Li Mingyuan patted his shoulder: "Science is not a god-like method, it is just knowledge we have not yet mastered. Let's go, let's go see the installation of the Numerical Control System first. Once this project comes to an end, I will start forming a new R&D team."

"Can... can I join?" Li Shouzheng asked, plucking up his courage.

Li Mingyuan looked at this honest and loyal Technician and nodded: "Of course, I am just in need of talent like you."

Over the next few days, Li Mingyuan supervised the installation and debugging of the Numerical Control Machine Tool while racing against time to perfect the design of the Radar and Triangulation System.

On the third night, he finally drew up a complete design plan:

A Simple Radio Receiver is installed at the tail of the rocket, the Ground Radar Station emits command signals to control the rocket's flight direction, and three sound receivers are arranged in a triangle to calculate the enemy aircraft's position via sound wave time differences.

"This system can increase the hit rate of the Tianluo Rocket Launcher by at least three times." Li Mingyuan said to himself, "But it's not enough; the lethality of a single Rocket Shell still needs to be improved..."

He recalled the data provided by the system and began to study it intently.

"Tungsten Alloy Fragmentation Warhead..." His eyes lit up, "This is a good idea!"

Tungsten is a metal with extremely high density, with a melting point as high as 3422°C, the highest among all known metals.

More importantly, the density of tungsten is as high as 19.3g/cm3, which is 2.5 times that of iron; targets struck by Tungsten Alloy Shrapnel have almost no chance of survival.

"Long Country's tungsten reserves rank first in the world, mainly distributed in places like Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guangdong." Li Mingyuan recalled the data from the materials,

"The Dajishan Tungsten Mine in Jiangxi is the largest in Asia; this one deposit alone has reserves exceeding 300,000 tons."

Most crucially, tungsten ore was one of the few materials Long Country used to earn foreign exchange at the time, and because of its excellent quality, it was highly favored by foreign countries.

Although the domestic tungsten processing industry had only recently started, it had already mastered the basic manufacturing processes for tungsten alloys.

"Using tungsten alloy to make a fragmentation warhead will increase the rocket launcher's lethal radius from 50 meters to 150 meters..." Li Mingyuan calculated,

"In this way, even if the positioning system has an error of 500 meters, it can still guarantee a fairly high hit rate."

After the plan was finalized, Li Mingyuan immediately applied to his superiors to form a new R&D team.

Because his previous weapon designs had already proven his capabilities, this application was approved very quickly.

A week later, a special R&D group consisting of 30 people was officially established, and Li Shouzheng was appointed as the Deputy Team Leader, responsible for coordinating daily work.

Most of the team members were young technical personnel transferred from all over the country, full of vigor and innovative spirit.

"Comrades, we are gathered here today for a major research project that may change the way war is fought." Li Mingyuan stood in the center of the laboratory, looking around at his new teammates,

"What we are going to develop is a brand-new Radar system and rocket launcher guidance technology."

"Radar? Guidance?" A young man wearing glasses asked in confusion, "Chief Engineer Li, we are not very familiar with these terms."

"It's normal not to be familiar with them, because this is a brand-new field." Li Mingyuan walked to the blackboard and began to explain in detail the working principle of Radar and the concept of the Triangulation System.

As he explained, the atmosphere in the laboratory shifted from confusion to shock, and finally to irrepressible excitement.

"This is simply a revolutionary invention!" An engineer who had returned from studying in the Star-Spangled Country said excitedly, "If we can master this technology, it will greatly improve our military's air defense capabilities!"

"Not just air defense," Li Mingyuan added, "this system can also be applied to the navy and army to significantly improve firepower precision."

The intense discussion lasted for an entire day, and everyone was captivated by this grand vision.

That evening, the team was divided into three groups, respectively responsible for the Radar System, the positioning system, and the rocket modification work.

In the following days, the R&D team worked almost day and night.

The Radar System adopted the most simplified design, utilizing existing radio technology and some imported components to barely piece together a prototype.

This Radar adopted a fixed design and could not rotate 360 degrees, but its detection range reached 200 kilometers.

Although the resolution was relatively low, it was sufficient to detect large aircraft formations.