Chapter 545 - 534 Phase 2_1

B-level Base.

Two medium-sized, grayish-white aircraft were successively towed into the final assembly hangar, where many soldiers still stood.

Xie Liaofu sized up the two Tu-16... no, H-6H bombers in front of him, feeling as if he had slipped back to the last century in a dazed moment.

"Mr. Xie, these are the two aircraft to be modified. We hope to complete the modifications and tuning within two months,"

the highest military rank present was a colonel, who was in charge of this modification task.

Tian Zhan, at 54 years old, had planned to retire next year, but now the plan had changed. He would retire early to become the leader of China’s division of the IAEA Anti-Chemical Emergency Support Rescue Team, heading to Fukushima to help complete the entire radiation cleanup plan.

The country was preparing to send out a radiation dust collection aircraft, an observation aircraft, as well as dozens of corresponding transport planes and helicopters totaling about 2,000 people, with the fire brigade acting as the support rescue team.

At this time of the year, firefighting still belonged to the armed police sequence, still under military control, so it was convenient to arrange the Chemical Defense Troops to switch over, using the guise of firefighters to avoid drawing too much attention.

However, there were no dedicated aircraft models domestically available for the two airplanes tasked with the main mission. The commonly used Y-8 and Y-9 platforms were relatively slow and not very risk-resistant, so it was decided to use two H-6H bombers as the base for modification.

To speed up the process, the highly efficient New Yuan ultimately took on the modification order.

It was an easy job for them, and New Yuan had nuclear qualifications and was more familiar with this area, but Xie Liaofu couldn’t help feeling speechless at the sight of the two H-6H bombers.

C810—now the navy’s JH-9 fighter-bomber, with its overall combat capabilities far surpassing the H-6 except for a lower maximum takeoff weight. Yet, the air force still clung to old things, which were technologically generations behind other aircraft in the final assembly hangar.

"Colonel Tian, why don’t you purchase a few more H-10s? They are much better in every way than this old thing,"

"H-10? What’s an H-10?"

"..."

Tian Zhan looked puzzled, and Xie Liaofu then realized that "Xuehu" was still highly classified, and those with lower clearance levels did not even know of its existence.

But Tian Zhan was not stupid. After searching his mind for the unfamiliar aircraft type, he immediately thought of that mysteriously commendable aircraft from two months ago. Could it be that it was not the H-20, but the H-10?

How powerful must the H-20 be, or could it be that there is no H-20 at all?!

Both parties tacitly skipped over this topic and continued discussing the work of the emergency rescue team stationed in Fukushima.

Since they were under the guise of firefighters, they naturally had to have firefighting equipment, and it was a pressing need.

Around Fukushima, there were several large forest parks. Although the range affected by the hydrogen bomb airburst was limited, there was still a possibility of fire, so there must be rapid-response firefighting equipment.

America was ready to dispatch seaplanes and firefighting aircraft modified from Boeing 747s, while Russia could deploy heavy-lift helicopters like the Mi-26 for firefighting. At that time, China mainly relied on ground resources and small unmanned drones, as they didn’t have such large equipment.

Ground facilities included firefighting tanks and firefighting rocket launchers. The former mainly employed Type 59 firefighting tanks and Type 59 obstacle removal vehicles, which not only provided strong protection but could also spray powerful jets of foam to extinguish fires and clear obstacles; the latter were modified from 122mm wheeled rocket launcher platforms, capable of firing rockets filled with fire-extinguishing agents that had a range of several kilometers.

In addition, there were some medium and large unmanned drones equipped with 250kg-class fire extinguishing bombs, achieving safe and efficient firefighting through a combination of ground and air operations.

But as they talked, Tian Zhan suddenly introduced a mysterious concept that even Xie Liaofu found surprising.

"A firefighting electromagnetic cannon? You’ve not only miniaturized electromagnetic cannons but also mounted them onto trucks?"

"Yes, we just developed the technology, and it’s still being refitted in Hubei."

"..."

...

Capital.

Academician She was passing by Lin Ju’s office when he heard a voice filled with confusion and bewilderment:

"When humanity cheers the conquest of nature, that is also when nature begins its punishment of humanity."

"Every object’s true essence is necessarily as thought conceives it, hence thought consists in bringing out the truth of its object."

He peered through the slightly ajar door and saw Lin Ju standing by the window, frowning as he read from a book. When She entered, Lin Ju had just reached the next line:

"A nation has hope when it has a group of people looking up at the stars.

Hey, I understand this one, Sir She, do you think we should carve this phrase on stone and place it in front of our headquarters? It would be rather fitting."

"How do you have the time to start studying Hegel? Have you stopped pursuing science to delve into philosophy?"

"Philosophy is a part of science too."

Lin Ju closed the book and honestly admitted that he hadn’t been able to make much sense of it.

"You’ve come at the right time, I’m planning to gather a group specifically to study sociology and philosophy in space, would the committee consider supporting it?"

"Are we preparing for space colonization already?"

Academician She pushed up his glasses. Lin Ju’s words made sense, of course, but starting so early still seemed somewhat poignant.

Lin Ju: "It’s already October 25th. The last two service modules of the March have been transported to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and both the Storm and the Glory spacecraft are in Qiongzhou. Before November 15th, all modules of the March will be installed.

In the next three to five years, just our company will have over 2000 working people in space, that’s like a small community."

Academician She: "I hadn’t really thought about it until you mentioned it... By the way, what’s the deal with the second phase of the March’s modification project?"

Lin Ju: "It mainly addresses the limitations of the March. You know, one of the big problems we initially faced was with the rotating mechanism. At the time, we couldn’t resolve the issues of airtightness and friction in the rotating segments, so the whole March is designed to rotate.

But now, the base has some new ideas that might solve it. Then we can tear down its axis pilot cabin and functional cabin, and continue expanding by installing more segments. The current March will be part of a new spaceship.

This way, its maximum occupancy can be raised to over 200 people. Everyone can take turns resting and exercising in the centrifuge. This will greatly improve both utility and expandability, and removes the March’s problems with thrust rotation deviation during deep space travel and poor observation conditions."

"Hmm..." The image of the Hermes spaceship from the classic science fiction movie "Mars Rescue," a long craft with a ring in the middle, immediately sprang to Academician She’s mind.

"What about the strength? Have you calculated the March’s own strength? And the centrifugal force when it rotates."

"The centrifugal force can be corrected by computers, and the strength is definitely enough. Think about why we wrapped it with heavy steel trusses. The multi-docking node cabins in the middle don’t need to be replaced, it’s a minor issue."