Chapter 165: Starting the Division of Labor

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……

General Zhou stood up abruptly and gave a military salute to Li Mingyuan:

"Chief Engineer Li, on behalf of the frontline soldiers, I thank you! If these weapons can truly be put into use, they will win us a decisive advantage on the battlefield!"

Li Mingyuan also stood up and returned the salute: "This is what I should do, General. Now, we need to immediately assemble the team and begin production."

Department Head Zhao nodded: "Mingyuan, you are responsible for the technical side, General Zhou is responsible for coordinating military requirements, and I will personally coordinate all resource supplies. From now on, the research institute enters the highest state of alert; all personnel are forbidden from leaving, and all external communications are under unified control."

"Also," Department Head Zhao added, "considering the confidentiality of the project, we need to adopt a special organizational method..."

……

Three days later, the Red Star Research Institute had changed its appearance.

The originally spacious hall was partitioned into several independent work areas by dividers, each area guarded by armed sentries. Staff members were required to wear special badges, with different colors representing different levels of authorization.

Li Mingyuan stood in the central control room, overlooking the entire renovated factory floor through a glass wall.

"How is the grouping going?" Department Head Zhao walked in and handed Li Mingyuan a cup of hot tea.

"It is complete," Li Mingyuan took the teacup, "According to the plan, it is divided into four core groups: Airframe Group, Power Group, Control Group, and Weapon Group. Each group only understands the part it is responsible for and is not aware of the overall design."

Department Head Zhao nodded with satisfaction: "Confidentiality work must be tightened. By the way, have the personnel and equipment arrived?"

"Basically in place," Li Mingyuan took a sip of tea, "The technical personnel transferred from the aviation industry are of high quality, and the equipment is also top-tier domestically. The biggest challenge now is to have them understand and master the brand-new manufacturing processes."

"Is there anything you need me to coordinate?"

Li Mingyuan shook his head: "Not for now. I will personally lead the group leaders in technical training today."

Department Head Zhao patted his shoulder: "Then I won't disturb you. Remember, the leadership is asking about progress every day; this project has been given extremely high expectations."

After Department Head Zhao left, Li Mingyuan walked toward the elevator, preparing to start the day's work.

The first stop was the Airframe Group.

"Chief Engineer Li!" The Airframe Group leader, Lao Wang, was an aviation engineer in his fifties who had participated in the design work of early domestic aircraft.

"We have already started making the fuselage frame according to the blueprints, but there are a few technical details I need to consult you on."

Li Mingyuan followed Lao Wang to the drafting table, where several engineers were discussing a complex structural diagram.

"I have never seen this type of skin connection method," Lao Wang pointed to a detail on the blueprint.

"Traditional riveting might cause vibrations due to airflow during high-speed flight, but what is the principle behind this 'Interlocking Connection' you designed?"

Li Mingyuan picked up a pen and drew a few detail sketches next to the blueprint: "This is a brand-new connection technology. It utilizes the elastic deformation characteristics of metal to achieve a rivet-less connection through specially shaped slots. It not only reduces air resistance but also increases overall strength."

"But, this level of precision..." Lao Wang pushed up his glasses, his tone full of doubt, "The error must be controlled within 0.05 millimeters. Can our existing equipment achieve that?"

Li Mingyuan smiled and handed him another blueprint: "This is a Simple Precision Machining Jig I designed, which can help you achieve the required precision. The principle is very simple: it uses the lever principle and thermal expansion to convert millimeter-level operations into sub-millimeter-level precise control."

Lao Wang and several engineers studied the blueprint for a few minutes, then suddenly burst into exclamations.

"Too ingenious!" Lao Wang said excitedly, "This method is so simple, yet it can solve the precision problems we've had for years! Chief Engineer Li, where did you learn all this?"

Li Mingyuan answered nonchalantly: "Just a change in perspective. By the way, how is the wing material preparation coming along?"

"According to your requirements, we used a special aluminum alloy, but to be honest, we don't know enough about the performance of this material."

Li Mingyuan nodded: "This afternoon, I will give you a specialized training session. The performance of this alloy under high-speed airflow is very different from ordinary aluminum alloy and requires special handling methods."

Leaving the Airframe Group, Li Mingyuan headed to the Power Group.

The Power Group was responsible for the production of the simplified Jet Engine, and the group leader was Engineer Liu, who had been transferred from an aircraft engine factory.

"Chief Engineer Li, you've finally come!" Engineer Liu almost rushed over to greet Li Mingyuan.

"We have major questions about the Combustion Chamber you designed. This 'Ring-type Multi-point Ignition' structure looks too complex, and the manufacturing difficulty is very high."

Li Mingyuan walked to the workbench, where a semi-finished Combustion Chamber model was placed:

"A traditional single-point ignition combustion chamber is indeed easier to manufacture, but it is inefficient and has poor stability. Although the structure I designed is complex, it can ensure full combustion of the fuel and greatly increase thrust."

"The problem is," Engineer Liu spread his hands, "the aperture of these micro-nozzles requires precision down to 0.2 millimeters, and the distribution must be absolutely uniform. Our drilling equipment cannot achieve such precision!"

Li Mingyuan did not answer directly but turned and walked to a toolbox nearby, taking out a few simple tools and a copper plate.

"Watch closely," he said, and began to demonstrate a peculiar machining method.

"First, use a standard drill bit to drill a hole slightly smaller than the target size, then use this specially made tapered drill bit, combined with this homemade fine-tuning device, and you can precisely control the aperture size."

In less than five minutes, he had drilled a row of perfect micro-holes in the copper plate, with aperture errors almost indistinguishable to the naked eye.

Engineer Liu took the copper plate, dumbfounded, and examined it carefully with a magnifying glass: "This... this is simply magical! Such a simple method, why didn't we think of it?"

Li Mingyuan smiled: "Sometimes the simplest methods are the most effective. This set of tools is easy to replicate. I will arrange for a few sets to be sent over this afternoon, and you can start production immediately."

Engineer Liu wanted to ask more questions, but Li Mingyuan had already checked his watch: "Sorry, I still need to go to the Control Group. I will come back this afternoon to answer your questions in detail."

The situation in the Control Group was the most complex.

Radio Remote Control systems were still cutting-edge technology in this era, and the group leader, Professor Zhang, was an expert specially transferred from the university's electronics department.

"Chief Engineer Li, we have studied your design blueprints. To be frank, we can understand the theory of this system, but the actual manufacturing... is very difficult," Professor Zhang said straightforwardly.

"Where is the biggest problem?" Li Mingyuan asked.

"Signal stability." Professor Zhang pointed to the schematic diagram, "The Frequency Hopping technology you designed can indeed avoid interference in theory, but it is too complex to implement. Our existing electronic components lack the precision, and it is very difficult to guarantee stable frequency control."

Li Mingyuan thought for a moment: "I understand your concerns. I have an alternative plan here."

He took out a pen and quickly drew a modified circuit diagram on the blueprint: "This is a simplified version of the control system. It sacrifices some anti-interference capability but greatly reduces the manufacturing difficulty. It can be fully realized using existing components."

Professor Zhang and several engineers studied the new blueprint for a long while, their expressions gradually changing from doubt to surprise, and finally to admiration.

"This design... is too ingenious," Professor Zhang took off his glasses and wiped them with the corner of his clothes, "While simplifying it, it also retains the core functions and cleverly circumvents our technical shortcomings. Chief Engineer Li, your understanding of electronics is breathtaking."

Li Mingyuan waved his hand modestly: "This is just a stopgap measure. After the first batch of Drones is successfully tested, we will gradually optimize the system performance."

The last stop was the Weapon Group, which was also the most confidential part of the entire project.

The Weapon Group was located on the lowest level, with the strictest security measures. The group leader was Wu Zhe, an explosives expert sent by the Military.

"Reporting to Chief Engineer Li, the Weapon Group is ready!" Wu Zhe stood at attention and saluted, his tone full of a soldier's fortitude.

"There's no need to be so formal, Group Leader Wu." Li Mingyuan returned the salute, "How is the fuel ratio test for the Cloud Bomb coming along?"

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