Chapter 348: Thor Project

An elderly general stood up, his voice low and firm:

"Chief Engineer Li, on behalf of the Frontline Command, I thank you for your outstanding contribution. With this weapon, we can effectively strike the biochemical weapons bases of Di Guo and protect our soldiers and civilians."

Another technical expert then raised a key question:

"Chief Engineer Li, how are the launch device and transport system for this rocket artillery designed? A rocket shell with a 300-kilometer range must be quite large and heavy."

Li Mingyuan walked to another blueprint:

"This is the design for the launch vehicle. It uses a 12-tube design and can fire all 12 rocket shells within 45 seconds, causing a saturation strike.

The launch vehicle uses a special chassis with good mobility, allowing it to quickly change positions.

More importantly, we have designed an automatic loading system that can complete a reload within 3 minutes, greatly increasing sustained combat capability."

"Regardless, this is a great invention!" the director of the Military Department slammed the table and stood up,

"I propose we immediately launch the 'Thor Project' and fully support Chief Engineer Li's research and development work. Minister Zhang, please report to your superiors and apply for special funding and support in terms of manpower and materials."

Minister Zhang nodded: "Of course, I will arrange it immediately. Chief Engineer Li, please prepare a detailed technical report and a list of resource requirements; I will fly back to the capital today and report to the highest level in person."

"Everyone," Li Mingyuan looked around at the group, his tone firm,

"Di Guo attempts to use biochemical weapons against us, but they do not know that we already have the capability to strike first.

With the 'Thor MK-1', we can precisely strike their rear and protect our country and people.

No matter how far away they hide, we can deliver firepower onto their heads!"

He pointed to the blueprint of the guidance system, the corners of his mouth turning up: "Once this thing is equipped by the troops, whoever it hits will cry!"

A burst of enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted in the conference room, and the light of hope and determination flickered in everyone's eyes.

The applause gradually subsided, and Li Mingyuan seized the opportunity to quickly enter a working state.

"Time is tight; Di Guo could launch a biochemical weapon attack at any time. We must finish the R&D and testing of the 'Thor MK-1' before they do."

Li Mingyuan looked around at everyone in the conference room,

"I suggest we divide into three groups to advance simultaneously: A Group is responsible for the missile body modification, B Group will conquer the propellant formula, and C Group will develop the Infrared Guidance adaptation system."

Minister Zhang immediately made the decision: "Agreed! Department heads, organize your personnel immediately and pull the most outstanding technical staff from existing projects to join the 'Thor Project'."

Lao Liu stood up: "Chief Engineer Li, I am willing to lead A Group to be responsible for the missile body modification. We have experience with missile bodies and should be able to convert them quickly."

"Good, Lao Liu, you take A Group." Li Mingyuan nodded and looked at the others,

"Engineer Wang, you have a strong chemistry background, please lead B Group to be responsible for the propellant. Engineer Zhao, you are proficient in electronic equipment; the Infrared Guidance system for C Group is handed to you."

The named engineers stood up one after another to accept, their eyes filled with both excitement and a trace of worry.

A 300-kilometer rocket artillery—this was simply a fantasy within their range of cognition.

After the meeting ended, the three groups immediately took action.

Li Mingyuan did not rest; he wasted no time in holding a small briefing with the three group leaders to explain the technical points and key difficulties of each system in detail.

"The propellant is the key of keys," Li Mingyuan said to Engineer Wang,

"The energy density of traditional rocket artillery propellant is too low to support ultra-long-range flight. This formula is a new type of composite solid propellant I designed; its theoretical energy density is nearly double that of existing rocket artillery."

Engineer Wang took the formula, his brows locked: "This formula... there are some ingredients we have never used before; the synthesis difficulty is not small."

"Can it be done?" Li Mingyuan asked straightforwardly.

Engineer Wang took a deep breath: "We can try, but it requires starting from basic experiments and verifying it step by step."

"You have one week," Li Mingyuan patted his shoulder, "I believe your team can create a miracle."

Turning to Engineer Zhao, Li Mingyuan continued:

"The Infrared Guidance system is another technical difficulty. During the terminal flight phase, the rocket shell needs to be able to autonomously identify the target's heat signal and adjust its trajectory to hit precisely. This requires the seamless cooperation of a micro infrared detector, a signal processing system, and a trajectory control mechanism."

Engineer Zhao studied the blueprint and clicked his tongue: "This precision requirement... our existing infrared detector resolution is far from enough."

"The Iron Arm-11 Robot can help you manufacture high-precision components," Li Mingyuan said, "The key is the algorithm and system integration; I will personally guide these two points."

Lao Liu was responsible for the missile body modification, which was relatively simpler but still faced many challenges:

"The missile body must not only ensure aerodynamic performance to support ultra-long-range flight but also adapt to the needs of the Infrared Guidance system, and we must also consider the feasibility of mass production..."

"Lao Liu, you have the most experience; I am at ease with this." Li Mingyuan encouraged.

The three group leaders took their blueprints and task lists back to assemble their teams, and the entire military industrial base immediately boiled over.

One day later, all three teams were fully assembled, totaling nearly two hundred engineers and technicians, almost one-third of the entire military industrial base's technical strength.

The three buildings of the R&D center were completely taken over and turned into the exclusive area for the "Thor Project".

Li Mingyuan barely slept or rested, rushing back and forth between the three teams to solve various technical problems.

He guided designs and experiments during the day and reviewed blueprints and data at night, sometimes just making do for the night on a sofa in the laboratory.

A Group's progress was relatively smooth; Lao Liu led the team to quickly complete the preliminary design of the missile body and began wind tunnel testing.

"Look at this set of data," Lao Liu excitedly showed Li Mingyuan the wind tunnel test results,

"After our optimization, the aerodynamic performance of the missile body has increased by nearly 30%; theoretically, it can fully support a flight distance of 300 kilometers!"

B Group, however, encountered many difficulties.

Engineer Wang's team fought hard day and night, conducting dozens of propellant formula experiments, but various problems always appeared—either the stability was insufficient or the energy density did not meet the requirements.

Li Mingyuan personally joined B Group's experiments, adjusting the formula details and optimizing the manufacturing process. In the 36th experiment, they finally achieved a breakthrough.

"It's done!" Engineer Wang was so excited his hands were shaking, "The energy density of this batch of propellant samples reached 98% of the target value, and the stability test also passed!"

A burst of cheers erupted in the laboratory, and some engineers were even so excited they hugged each other.

C Group's Infrared Guidance system was the biggest challenge.

Engineer Zhao's team initially almost fell into despair—the precision of the micro infrared detectors simply could not meet the requirements, and the signal processing system could not achieve complex calculations within such a small space.