Chapter 259: Steel Umbrella

Li Mingyuan stood on the factory's open-air lot, the grease on his face not yet wiped away, his eyes bloodshot from consecutive nights of staying up, yet his spirit was surprisingly exhilarated.

In front of him, a modified T-34 Tank was equipped with two strange things on top—a twin-mounted 14.5mm Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun and four small Missile launch tubes.

"This thing looks just like a hedgehog," Lao Liu stood to the side, clicking his tongue in wonder, "Xiao Li, you really dare to imagine; a tank that can perform anti-aircraft defense? Isn't this a fantasy?"

"Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets their mind to it." Li Mingyuan patted the tank armor and laughed, "In traditional concepts, a tank can only rely on its armor to take a beating, but why can't it actively fight back? The Di Guo 'Thor' is deployed on the front lines, and we must be prepared."

The Technical Backbone of the entire factory had gathered on the lot, every person's face filled with curiosity and doubt.

After all, the idea of equipping a tank with an Anti-aircraft weapon was simply unheard of in this era.

"Today is the first comprehensive test," Li Mingyuan looked around at everyone, "Our goal is simple—to let the tank detect and intercept incoming aerial threats, especially Rocket Shells and Missiles."

An old engineer couldn't help but ask: "Chief Engineer Li, can this thing of ours intercept such fast Missiles? Don't joke around."

"We'll only know if we try." Li Mingyuan didn't offer much explanation and turned to the technical team, "Is the Radar Group ready?"

"Ready!" A youth with a face full of grease raised the tool in his hand, "According to your blueprints, we dismantled and reassembled the enemy's AN/TPQ-1 Radar and modified the internal circuitry; now it can detect fast-moving objects in the air."

Li Mingyuan nodded and continued to ask: "What about the machine gun modification group?"

"Report to the Chief Engineer, the 14.5 Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun has completed the motor linkage modification and can automatically rotate after receiving the Radar signal."

"Missile group?"

"The PL-2 Missile has had its Guidance System simplified according to your requirements," the Missile Group Leader held a Missile model that looked like it had been taken apart and reassembled, "To be honest, we don't even know if this thing can fly, let alone hit a target."

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly, "Today is exactly for verifying that. Load the ammunition, prepare for the test!"

The staff moved quickly, loading the ammunition belt for the Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun and loading four modified small Missiles into the launch tubes.

At the same time, at the other end of the lot, several staff members had prepared the test target—a simple launcher modified from a tractor, capable of firing simulated shells similar to Rocket Shells.

Li Mingyuan walked into the tank, where three technicians were already seated, responsible for Radar observation, machine gun operation, and Missile launch respectively.

"Attention everyone, the test begins!" Li Mingyuan ordered through the intercom, "First round, test the Radar detection capability, fire the simulated shell!"

At the other end of the lot, the tractor-modified launcher spewed a puff of white smoke, and a simulated shell flew toward the tank with a whistling sound.

"Target detected!" the Radar Operator reported loudly, "Azimuth 95 degrees, elevation 30 degrees, distance approximately 700 meters!"

"Machine gun group, automatic lock-on!" The machine gun operator looked nervously at the simple display screen in front of him and gripped the control stick with both hands.

Li Mingyuan ordered: "Fire!"

The Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun on top of the tank rotated to aim at the sky, spitting out a string of tongues of fire, and the deafening sound of gunfire echoed throughout the entire test field.

However, due to the limitations of the operator and the machine gun's response speed, all the Bullets landed behind the simulated shell.

"Target shell not hit, adjust the reaction time parameters!" Li Mingyuan calmly recorded the results.

In the next two hours, the test team continuously adjusted the system parameters and improved the operating procedures.

During the fifth test, the Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun finally succeeded in hitting a simulated shell, fragments scattered and flew, drawing a burst of cheers from the staff on site.

"Don't be happy too early," Li Mingyuan reminded, "Now test the simple anti-aircraft Missile system."

This was the most challenging part.

The modified small Missiles no longer relied on complex electronic guidance, but instead adopted a simple guidance method that almost returned to the World War II era—the general direction is determined by Radar before launch, and after launch, it relies on simple inertial flight, triggering an explosion with a proximity Fuse after approaching the target.

"Prepare to launch!" Li Mingyuan ordered.

At the other end of the lot, two simulated shells were launched almost simultaneously, flying toward the tank in intersecting paths.

"Target locked! Launch Missile one and two!" The Missile operator pressed the launch button.

The launch tubes on top of the tank erupted with flames, and two small Missiles roared toward the sky.

The entire scene held its breath, staring at this moment.

The first Missile deviated from its trajectory and returned empty-handed; but the second miraculously flew into the path of a simulated shell, exploding upon approach, creating a cloud of metal fragments and successfully shooting down the simulated shell.

"One success! 50% success rate!" Li Mingyuan excitedly slapped his thigh, "Better than expected!"

The test continued, and after repeated adjustments and attempts, by that afternoon, the system's overall success rate reached 40%—the Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun interception rate was about 35%, and the Missile interception rate was about 45%.

Although it was still far from perfect, for a system started from scratch and pieced together with existing technology, this was already an astonishing achievement.

Li Mingyuan walked out of the tank and gathered all the technicians for a meeting.

"Today's test proves that our idea is feasible," his voice was full of confidence,

"Although the system is still rough, it represents a brand-new line of thinking—the tank is no longer a target to be beaten, but a war machine capable of active defense. I have named this system 'Tank Simple Active Defense System', codename 'Steel Umbrella'!"

Lao Liu scratched his head, "Steel Umbrella? Strange name."

"It's very vivid," Li Mingyuan laughed, "Just like an umbrella blocks rain, it can block the 'steel rain' falling from the sky for the tank—the enemy's shells and Missiles."

On the very night the test ended, Li Mingyuan barely closed his eyes, working through the night to organize the data and write a detailed report.

Before the Di Guo "Thor" system was fully deployed, securing support from the Military Department was the top priority.

……

Early the next morning, Li Yunlong arrived quietly at the factory with several high-ranking officials from the Military Department.

"Is this the new thing you came up with?" A general surnamed Zhang sized up the strange-looking experimental tank, his expression somewhere between curiosity and skepticism.

Li Mingyuan saluted, "Report General, this is the 'Steel Umbrella' system we developed, specifically used to intercept the enemy's Rocket Shells and Missiles."

"What is the interception rate?" General Zhang asked straight to the point.