Chapter 158: Comprehensive Equipment Upgrade

During breakfast at the Longyin Research Institute cafeteria, Wang Hao grabbed a fried dough stick in one hand and used his fingertip to draw ballistic curves on the dining table with the other:

"... So Brother Hao here has calculated it, the 5 MW output of the 'Xuanming' reactor is enough to drive a 'Bi'an' mech at full power for 480 hours—a full twenty days!"

"Twenty days, brothers! What kind of concept is that?"

"It means the mech can run from here to the Kunlun Mountains and back, and even fight a battle in between!"

Li Yang peeled an egg slowly: "Theoretical calculations are like that, but in a real combat environment, you have to consider heat dissipation, shield load, intermittent peak power consumption of weapon systems..."

"So take 20% off for reality, 384 hours, that's enough!" Wang Hao took a big bite of the fried dough stick.

"Sixteen days! How many times more than the original 72 hours? More than five times!"

Chen Guang sat opposite, drinking porridge while looking at the data on his tablet: "The energy retrofit plan for the Zhoushan base is out."

"'Torch Dragon Eye' laser array, if powered by a dedicated 'Xuanming' power truck, can achieve continuous 72-hour full-power operation without worrying about power grid load."

"What about the mobile laser air defense vehicle?" Zhao Kaiyuan sat down with his tray.

"I worked with Li Yang and the others on the design retrofit until 3 AM last night."

"If we use the 'Xuanming' miniaturized core, one vehicle can carry a 500 kW laser, and the endurance... theoretically infinite, as long as the reactor doesn't flame out."

Wang Hao's eyes widened: "Infinite endurance? Isn't that a perpetual motion machine?!"

"Fusion reactor fuel is calculated by the kilogram; one kilogram of deuterium-tritium is enough for several years," Zhao Kaiyuan explained.

"But in reality, you have to consider maintenance cycles and material lifespan. However, continuous combat for several months is no problem."

A commotion came from the cafeteria entrance.

Engineer Zhao and Li Kui walked in, the two masters each carrying a metal sample box, the surfaces of which were still emitting faint white cold air.

"Old Zhao, Master Li, what treasures are you carrying so early in the morning?" a young researcher asked curiously.

Engineer Zhao put the box on the table and opened the latch.

Inside were several dull-colored metal plates with strange iridescent textures on the surface.

"The third-generation 'Dark Crystal' composite material prepared in the lab," Engineer Zhao's tone was flat, but the pride in his eyes couldn't be hidden.

"Anti-neutron irradiation performance is 15% higher than natural deep-sea samples."

Li Kui opened another box, which contained a dozen black rods the thickness of a finger:

"This is an improved version of the high-temperature superconducting tape. The critical current density has increased by 22%, and the performance decay under an 8 Tesla strong field has been reduced by 40%."

Zhao Kaiyuan stood up abruptly: "This data... really?"

"Samples are here, test them yourself," Engineer Zhao pushed the box over.

"If the data is true, the volume of the magnetic field coils for the 'Xuanming' engineering prototype can be reduced by another 20%."

"Holy crap! Material breakthrough this fast?!"

"Did Old Zhao and the others not sleep this past month..."

"A 20% volume reduction, then the 'Xuanming' reactor could fit into a medium-sized truck!"

Feng Yan walked into the cafeteria at this time and smiled when he saw this scene: "What are you all gathered around for? Not eating?"

"Brother Feng! Good news!" Wang Hao was the first to rush over.

"Material breakthrough! The 'Xuanming' reactor can be made even smaller! My 'infinite endurance missile' has a chance!"

Feng Yan walked to the table, looked at the samples, and then at the bloodshot eyes of Engineer Zhao and Li Kui: "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's our duty," Engineer Zhao waved his hand. "This is just the beginning. The simulation experiment parameters are still being optimized, and the performance of the next batch of samples can be further improved."

"That's perfect," Feng Yan said. "Today, each project team will report on their upgrade progress. Conference room, nine o'clock."

At nine o'clock in the morning, in the main conference room.

The big screen was divided into four areas: Mech Troops, Deep-Sea Platform, Air Defense System, and Missile System.

Li Yang stood up first and pulled up the upgrade plan for the mech troops.

"'Bi'an-2' mech based on the 'Xuanming' energy core, design work is 80% complete," he displayed the 3D model.

"There are five main improvements."

"First, endurance. Under standard operating conditions, it has increased from 72 hours to 480 hours."

"If the energy shield is activated, endurance increases from 8 hours to 120 hours, enough to fight a high-intensity battle."

"Second, mobility. The power of the leg vector thrusters has increased by 50%, and the maximum running speed has increased from 80 km/h to 120 km/h."

"Added 'Full Power Sprint Mode,' short-term burst speed can reach 180, but it can only be maintained for 3 minutes, after which it needs cooling."

"Third, weapon system. The shoulder laser cannon now uses direct fusion power, the firing rate has increased from 12 rounds per minute to 30 rounds, and there's no need to worry about overheating."

"The waste heat utilization system of the fusion reactor can actively cool the laser."

He pulled up an animated simulation: the mech's shoulder cannon fired continuously, the beams almost forming a single line, burning the distant target into a honeycomb.

"Fourth, shield." Li Yang zoomed in on the energy field distribution map on the mech's surface.

"'Xuanming's' high-power output allows the shield to be kept on constantly."

"And we designed a 'gradient shield,' where the protection strength of the same part can be adjusted, concentrating energy in the direction of the threat."

"Fifth, modularity." The model decomposed, showing the internal structure: "Energy compartment, weapon compartment, control compartment are completely independent."

"The theoretical time for field replacement of the energy core can be compressed to 15 minutes; of course, in reality, it might take half an hour."

After he sat down, Zhao Kaiyuan stood up to report on the deep-sea platform.

"The fusion energy adaptation plan for the 'Jiaolong' mech is relatively simple," he pulled up the blueprints.

"Because there was already a foundation of the 'Dragon Heart' fission reactor structure. The main changes are the fuel system and the heat dissipation system."

"After the upgrade, the standard mission endurance of 'Jiaolong' has increased from 240 hours to... theoretically infinite, but in reality, based on maintenance cycles, 2000 hours."

"Underwater maneuver combat time after activating the shield has increased from less than 4 hours to 96 hours."

He paused: "More importantly, we can install more power-consuming equipment on 'Jiaolong'."

"Such as high-power active sonar arrays, laser communication relay stations, and even... small underwater laser weapons."

Chen Guang followed up with the air defense system report.

"'Torch Dragon Eye' fixed array, the first batch of three 'Xuanming' power trucks have rolled off the line and are being transported to Zhoushan," he displayed photos of the power trucks.

They looked like large container trucks, but the roof had complex heat dissipation grilles and interface panels.

"Each truck can supply 8 MW of power, while the maximum power consumption of one laser array is 6.5 MW, leaving a surplus."

"Three trucks rotating can guarantee 24-hour uninterrupted combat readiness for the array."

"Mobile laser air defense vehicle, prototype vehicle to be completed next week," he pulled up the design drawing.

"Based on a heavy off-road truck chassis, equipped with a 1 MW class laser, mainly used to supplement defense in blank areas and mobile deployment."

"A single refueling can support continuous combat for three months."

Finally, it was Wang Hao's turn.

He walked to the whiteboard, didn't open a PPT, and just grabbed a marker and started drawing.

"Everyone, what I want to talk about today is not a small upgrade," he drew a crooked missile. "But a revolution."

"Traditional missiles rely on chemical energy for propulsion, one burn, and it's over."

"Fast speed, but limited range, even more limited orbital change capability, the fuel is just that much, use a little and there's less."

"And the 'Xuanming-powered cruise missile' I designed is like this—"

He drew a simple symbol of a fusion reactor behind the missile.

"Inside the atmosphere, use a traditional rocket engine to break through the encirclement."

"Once in near-Earth space, deploy solar panels to assist power supply, and start the ion propulsion system."

"Ion propulsion has low thrust but high specific impulse, it can slowly accelerate, accelerate, and accelerate again..."

He drew a long spiral orbit, the missile circling the Earth.

"First lap, speed up to the first cosmic velocity, 7.9 km/s."

"Second lap, speed up to 10 km/s."

"Third lap... as long as there is enough time, theoretically it can accelerate to a few percent of the speed of light."

"Of course, we don't need to be that fast, 20 km/s is enough."

He stopped writing and looked at the crowd.

"20 km/s, what kind of concept is that?"

"From here to the west coast of Eagle Country, about 10,000 kilometers."

"Traditional intercontinental missiles take 30 minutes. And this kind of missile... 8 minutes."

The conference room was silent.

"And in these 8 minutes, it flies outside the atmosphere the whole time, almost impossible to intercept."

Once it flies over the target, shut down, and re-enter the atmosphere.

A re-entry speed of 20 km/s, the kinetic energy is enough to destroy most targets, no need for explosives."

Wang Hao put down the pen: "If a warhead is needed, it can be equipped with electromagnetic pulse bombs, graphite bombs, or even... small fusion warheads."

"Anyway, the energy is enough, carry whatever you want."

Li Yang spoke first: "How long does the acceleration phase of ion propulsion take? From launch to reaching 20 km/s."

"Depends on the orbital design," Wang Hao said.

"If in a hurry, use high-power electric propulsion, 3 hours to reach 20 km/s."

"If not in a hurry, slow work produces fine products, circle the Earth for a day and a night, save electricity."

"Guidance? With such a long flight time, the target might move."

"'Torch Dragon' AI accompanies the flight the whole way," Chen Guang took over.

"Real-time reception of satellite reconnaissance data, dynamic update of target location. When the missile enters the terminal phase, there will be a near-space glider separation for final correction."

Zhao Kaiyuan asked the most practical question: "How small can the 'Xuanming' reactor be miniaturized? It needs to fit into a missile."

"The engineering prototype is estimated to be 2.5 cubic meters, weighing 4 tons," Zhao Kaiyuan pulled up the data.

"If specifically optimized for missiles, it can be compressed to 1.8 cubic meters, about 3 tons. For an intercontinental missile weighing more than ten tons, it's acceptable."

"Fuel? The half-life of tritium is only 12 years, we can't add it before every launch, right?"

"Use deuterium-helium-3 fusion," Zhao Kaiyuan was prepared.

"Helium-3 is not radioactive, and fusion products have no neutrons, so the protection requirements are low."

"Although the reaction cross-section is a bit small, for our current magnetic field confinement level, it's enough."

Feng Yan had been listening quietly, and only then spoke: "How long to build a prototype of this kind of missile?"

Wang Hao, Li Yang, Chen Guang, Zhao Kaiyuan exchanged looks.

Wang Hao raised his hand first: "Missile body design, Brother Hao can get it done in a month!"

Li Yang: "Propulsion system and structural integration, two months."

Chen Guang: "Guidance and control system, needs 'Torch Dragon' cooperation, three months."

Zhao Kaiyuan: "Fusion reactor miniaturization... if the materials team is on the ball, four months."

Feng Yan nodded: "Then aim for four months. This project, codenamed 'Kuafu-2'. Haozi leads, others cooperate fully."

He paused and added: "But before that, first implement the upgrades for existing equipment."

"Old Li, I want to see the test data for the first 'Bi'an-2' in three days."

"Guangzi, Zhoushan power truck integration, complete within a week."

"Engineer Zhao, Kaiyuan, materials and production, hurry up."

After the meeting, each project team took action immediately.

Over the next week, the institute was a scene of intense activity.

Mech test field, the first 'Bi'an-2' prototype retrofitted with the 'Xuanming' core was undergoing endurance testing.

The mech was running, jumping, and shooting on the field with its shield on, and it had been going for 56 hours without any sign of stopping.

On the monitoring screen, energy remaining: 97%.

Zhoushan base, three 'Xuanming' power trucks were in position.

Engineering soldiers were laying dedicated cables to connect the power trucks to the laser array.

The person in charge of the local power grid company stood by, looking at the complex interface system, muttering to himself: "That's good, no need to worry about tripping the breaker every day."

In the materials lab, the fourth-generation 'Dark Crystal' composite material was being prepared.

On the parameter display screen of the reactor, thirty-seven parameters such as temperature, pressure, and ion concentration were jumping in real-time, all controlled within a nano-scale fluctuation range.

In Wang Hao's design room, the whiteboard was filled with various orbital calculation equations.

He was arguing with two young researchers: "This orbital change point must be moved forward! Turning 5 seconds early can save 0.3% of fuel!"

"But turning early will increase the time exposed to radar!"

"Then use decoy missiles! Brother Hao is best at making decoys!"

In the evening, Feng Yan patrolled the institute.

Passing by the mech test field, Li Yang happened to be coming out of the cockpit of the test mech, covered in sweat but smiling very brightly:

"Brother Feng, ran for 72 hours, energy still at 94%."

"Shield kept on the whole time, laser cannon fired more than three thousand rounds, system temperature completely normal."

"If this were before, it would have collapsed long ago."

"Good," Feng Yan patted his shoulder. "Keep testing, test to the limit."

Walking to the remote monitoring room of the Zhoushan base, Chen Guang was observing the power truck operating data on the big screen.

The output power curves of the three trucks were as stable as three straight lines, and the standby indicator lights of the laser array were all green.

"Ready to intercept incoming targets at any time," Chen Guang said. "And no need to worry about electricity bills."

Finally, he came to Wang Hao's design room.

The whiteboard was full, and Wang Hao was continuing to draw orbits on the window glass.

Seeing Feng Yan come in, he excitedly pointed to the sketch on the glass: "Brother Feng, look! This is the 'three-stage penetration' I designed:"

"First fire three conventional missiles to attract attention, then 'Kuafu-2' quietly climbs, accelerates in space, and finally dives... perfect!"

Feng Yan looked at the complex curves: "Haozi, what do you think is the greatest significance of this kind of missile?"

Wang Hao thought about it: "Deterrence."

"Not 'I can hit you,' but 'I can hit anywhere you want to be hit, in a way you can't intercept, and I can hit for as long as I want, before you even react'."

"Correct," Feng Yan nodded. "So we must get it out as soon as possible, so our country will be even stronger." ===== CHAPTER 159 =====