My Items Have an Upgrade Panel - Chapter 166

Chapter 166: Orders from the Navy and Air Force

Translator: End Less Fantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Under Tang Rui’s gaze, the J-io landed on the runway.

“Red Lotus, what’s going on?” Tang Rui asked Red Lotus. He wasn’t told that there’d be an arrival today.

“Master, this is the application Lin Chao submitted half an hour ago. This J-io is here to film a promotional video.”

Shooting a promotional video?

No wonder the J-10 had a pod attached to it. A short glance just now led him to believe it was an auxiliary fuel tank.

While he was talking to Red Lotus, the robot it was controlling had already arrived next to the J-io and placed the ladder next to the cockpit.

The hatch opened, and an Air Force colonel in a G-suit descended from the plane.

“Hello, President Tang. I’m Xu Cheng from Rooster Squadron.” The other party got off the plane and walked over.

Tang Rui thought that the voice sounded very familiar when he heard the colonel mention Rooster Squadron.

“Are you Rooster?” Tang Rui asked in surprise.

“Yes, that’s me.” Xu Cheng replied with a smile.

So, he was a familiar face.

Then there was little to be said. Tang Rui received the other party very warmly.

Through their conversation, he learned that the reason they weren’t keeping a low profile was that they wanted to promote the Special Operations Team and the small transport aircraft as part of a propaganda campaign.

Why were they doing this?

He could not keep a low profile anymore.

Although he didn’t want to reveal everything, he still needed to show something.

After all, the Americans had started forming alliances.

To continue development within the country, they couldn’t afford to be low-profile anymore.

Most importantly, it would serve as a show-of-strength to the international community.

The class monitor wanted to have a head-to-head with the study committee member.

“You ordinary students should be more careful when recruiting. Don’t blindly follow suit and take sides.

If he wanted to choose a side, he would have to look at the situation first.

This time, the promotional shoot wasn’t just for one combat aircraft as it had been before. It involved displaying various weapons from all branches of the military to showcase them to the public.

If you want to see, come on. This time, they’ll make you understand.

Xu Cheng had just arrived when the military sent another car over.

This time, the people who came were from the military’s propaganda department, responsible for shooting promotional videos of the Special Operations Team on the ground.

Xu Cheng was in charge of capturing footage of the small transport aircraft flying in the sky. They had different roles.

Tang Rui didn’t bother with the military’s side of things; Lin Chao handled that.

He took Xu Cheng to his office for tea while Red Lotus refueled the J-io. Afterward, the two of them left.

This time, Tang Rui would be flying the small transport aircraft, and Xu Cheng, as usual, would pilot the J-io for aerial footage. Both of them had experience with such shoots, so within half an hour of taking off, they had captured the required footage.

3/3

Under Tang Rui’s gaze, the J-io landed on the runway.

“Red Lotus, what’s going on?” Tang Rui asked. He hadn’t heard that someone was coming today.

“Master, this is a request submitted by Lin Chao half an hour ago. The J-io is here for a promotional shoot.”

“A promotional shoot? That explains why the J-10 is carrying a pod underneath. I didn’t notice it at first and thought it was an extra fuel tank.”

While talking to Red Lotus, a robot controlled by her set up a ladder next to the J-io.

The canopy opened, and an Air Force Colonel in an anti-G suit descended from it.

“General Tang, hello, I’m Xu Cheng from the Rooster Squadron,” he said as he walked over after getting off the aircraft.

Tang Rui found the voice familiar, and when Xu Cheng mentioned the Rooster Squadron, Tang Rui asked in surprise, “You’re the Rooster?”

“Yes, that’s me,” Xu Cheng replied with a smile.

So, he was a familiar face. With that, Tang Rui warmly welcomed him.

Through their conversation, he learned that the reason they weren’t keeping a low profile was that they wanted to promote the Special Operations Team and the small transport aircraft as part of a propaganda campaign.

Why were they doing this? They couldn’t remain low-profile anymore. Even though they didn’t want to reveal everything, they needed to show something. After all, even the Eagle Sauce had started forming alliances. To continue development within the country, they couldn’t afford to be low-profile anymore.

Moreover, showcasing their own capabilities was not just for internal purposes but also for other countries to see.

The squad leader had to talk to the head of the student union. Ordinary students should stand out and not blindly follow others. If you want to join, first assess the situation.

This time, the promotional shoot wasn’t just for one combat aircraft as it had been before. It involved displaying various weapons from all branches of the military to showcase them to the public.

If you want to see, come on. This time, they’ll make you understand.

As soon as Xu Cheng arrived, the military sent a car. This time, the military’s propaganda department was responsible for shooting promotional videos of the Special Operations Team on the ground.

Xu Cheng was in charge of capturing footage of the small transport aircraft flying in the sky. They had different roles.

Tang Rui didn’t bother with the military’s side of things; Lin Chao handled that. He took Xu Cheng to his office for tea while Red Lotus refueled the J-io. Afterward, the two of them left.

This time, Tang Rui would be flying the small transport aircraft, and Xu Cheng, as usual, would pilot the J-10 for aerial footage.

Both of them had experience with such shoots, so within half an hour of taking off, they had captured the required footage.

“Mission complete, I must go now. General Tang, if you have time, please visit us.”

“Sure, I’ll come when 1 have time.”

“Then it’s a deal; I’ll leave now. See you next time.”

“Good, see you next time.”

After the brief exchange, they parted ways.

After their brief exchange, they parted ways. Tang Rui piloted the small transport aircraft to the Special Operations Team’s camp, where they coordinated with the military’s propaganda department for staged scenes.

There were only two sets of shots: one of the Special Operations Team parachuting and another of them running out of the rear compartment.

Soon, the promotional materials were complete.

Tang Rui was planning to meet with Han Shu to continue discussing the equipment for the Mechanized Infantry Division when Lin Chao suddenly called him.

“Brother Lin, is there anything else?”

“Come to my place. The military has a new order for you.”

Hearing the new order, Tang Rui’s eyes lit up.

They arrived at Lin Chao’s office.

The other party took out a file and handed it to him.

“Here are all the order documents, including orders from the Navy and Air

Force. Take a look.”

Lin Chao passed the file folder to Tang Rui and provided only a brief explanation.

Tang Rui nodded and began examining the orders.

There were two types of orders from the Navy. One was a direct purchase order, which was to buy diving equipment.

Alright then.

The frogmen must have seen his diving equipment when they came to protect him on his vacation to Hainan.

He just wanted to have a good time and didn’t take things seriously.

Who would have thought that the Navy would place an order for 200 sets without even asking for the price?

The second Navy order was for research purposes, related to the Frogman team’s needs, and involved designing a small submarine capable of carrying 8-12 people, with a range of 200 nautical miles, a maximum submersion depth of 500 meters, and the ability to carry two torpedoes or depth charges if possible.

The small submarine’s primary purpose was to support the Frogman team’s underwater infiltration, so its combat capabilities weren’t a priority.

Tang Rui wasn’t particularly concerned about these Navy orders.

He could easily fulfill them and believed that the small submarine’s design would be straightforward.

The navy also stated that as long it passed their inspection, they would directly place an order 10 small submarines.

Tang Rui then turned his attention to the Air Force’s order, which was quite significant.

This was a big deal.

It involved 24 sixth-generation fighter aircraft and various associated components. This was equivalent to a fully equipped squadron.

The Air Force was making a huge investment.

They would start with a large squadron. Whether they would continue equipping it in the later stages would depend on the situation.

How much did a sixth-generation fighter jet cost?

On Tang Rui’s side, if only the cost was counted, it was about 720 million. But adding the cost of the employees and the money earned, then a sixth-generation console would be sold for at least 1 billion.

This was enough to buy two J-20S, which was very expensive.

However, the problem was that even if other countries paid in dollars, they could not buy a sixth-generation fighter.

There was only one such shop in the world.

But after Tang Rui finished reading this order, he frowned.

Excluding Red Lotus’s smart factory, Tang Rui knew that producing 24 of these aircraft would take at least one and a half years at their current production capacity.

This, however, could change if Red Lotus built a specific production line for the sixth-generation aircraft, or if it directly produced the key components and then let the employees assemble the aircraft.

Tang Rui thought about it and decided to use the second method, letting Red Lotus manufacture the key parts.

To expedite the process, Tang Rui decided to have Red Lotus manufacture key components.

He knew though, that all these were completely unnecessary.

Perhaps the sixth-generation fighter would be outdated in two years.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was worried about handing over the production to someone else, he wouldn’t have bothered to take this order.

“Brother Lin, I’ve accepted all the orders from the Navy. That’s not the issue.

“The problem lies with Air Force order. Our company is mainly engaged in research and development. It’s impossible for our employees to go to the workshop to assemble airplanes every day. That’ll be a complete waste of time.

“So, talk to the Air Force and ask them to send us a team of skilled workers over to participate in the final assembly of the sixth-generation aircraft.

“After this batch of 24 orders is complete, we won’t take any more. We’ll let someone else take over,” Tang Rui said to Lin Chao after putting down the file.

“Aren’t you going to take any more orders?” Lin Chao was surprised.

He knew the cost of a sixth-generation fighter and had a goal of making a small fortune out of it.

In the end, Tang Rui was only accepting one batch of orders.

He didn’t want the follow-up orders? He wanted to hand them over to someone else?

“There’s no need. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m worried about the first batch, 1 wouldn’t even want to take them. However, there was no other way. The sixth-generation fighter would probably be used as a sharp knife by the higher-ups.”

Tang Rui put on an expression as if he didn’t lack money and said arrogantly, as if it was completely his prerogative to accept the order.

“I understand. I’ll contact the Air Force. They should be very happy.”

Lin Chao did not say anything else.

ii

Is there anything else?”

“Nope.”

“Alright, I’ll be leaving first.”

Tang Rui came out from Lin Chao’s place and found Han Shu to continue discussing the previous problem.

Three staff officers and two persons in charge were in discussion for a long time.

Finally, the equipment configuration of the mechanized infantry regiment was set. It could even be said that this was not an infantry regiment.

This was because they had equipped this regiment with tanks, rocket launchers, self-propelled howitzers, armored vehicles, and fire support vehicles.

36 tanks, 10 rocket launchers, 10 self-propelled howitzers, 5 armored vehicles, and 10 fire support vehicles.

The firepower of this regiment could take on several divisions head-on.

But even so, Tang Rui still felt that this regiment was a little weak.

They lacked heavy firepower.

However, Han Shu convinced him that this was just a group. If he wanted to engage in heavy firepower, he could pull out a group alone.

Tang Rui thought it was right.

There was a limit to the strength of a regiment.

Even with heavy firepower, they did not have enough manpower.

However, if they were to form a regiment on their own, coupled with heavy firepower, the effect would be quite good. At the very least, it would be able to make up for the lack of firepower of the mechanized infantry.

Thus, when he returned to the laboratory, Tang Rui began to design the tank.

To be honest, he had never studied tanks before.

However, this was not a problem.

He asked Red Lotus to download the design and all the information about main battle tanks from the database.

Then, he let Red Lotus use her powerful computing power to continuously modify and adjust the model of the tank.

During this time, he added something else.

Actually, he had thought about putting the electromagnetic pulse cannon on it, and the effect would definitely be very cool. However, the problem was that the power consumption was not on the same level as an electromagnetic pulse rifle. Not unless there was a wire behind the tank that led directly to the nuclear power plant…

Otherwise…

Electromagnetic tanks were still a fantasy.

Since attack power could not be increased, then he could only make a move on defense power. This was something Tang Rui was still very good at.

If he really had to defend himself, the defense of a tank could make him as If he really had to defend himself, the defense of a tank could make him as strong as a battleship.

However, the cost of such a vehicle would be prohibitve.

It was an unsustainable option.

However, according to his plan, even if its defense was not as good as a battleship, it would be several times stronger than the current tanks.

At the very least, it had to be able to withstand the attacks of anti-tank missiles and armor-piercing bullets.

Otherwise, why would he build a tank?