On a cold winter day, the north wind howls. At the indoor shooting test range of the Clumber-Heisen factory, Nikolai looked heroic and imposing in a gray training suit, armed with an armed belt, and a shiny black freestyle assault rifle in his hand. Four hundred feet in front of her, a square, silvery-white metal object stood on the target. I saw that this ace pilot was calm, straightened up, the butt of the gun was close to his shoulder, and the target, crosshair, and eyes were three points and one line...... The sound of gunfire rang out, crisp and pleasant, with a mysterious rhythm. Thirty-two rounds of ammunition, corresponding to thirty-two jingles, the gun on target, this is the normal level of outstanding graduates of the Bathton Military Academy!

After firing a magazine, Nikolai put down the superior assault rifle and picked up a large-caliber shotgun with a simple construction and heavy feel from the table next to him. This guy is armed with two bullets, a short-range shotgun that can deal with small targets, and a steel bullet that has a long range against large animals, and is as powerful as a small-caliber machine gun, and one shot is enough to blow the head of a large animal to pieces.

Using this shotgun, Nikolai fired six rounds of steel bullets in succession. Against the huge recoil, the gun is still on the target, but the sound from the target position has changed from "dingdong" to "dongdong".

Amid Weiss's praise, Nikolai waited quietly for the worker to bring the silver piece of metal. After 32 rounds of assault rifle rounds and 6 shotgun rounds, the metal was pitted and flattened, but not a single part of it was completely penetrated.

Looking at this half-human-sized, two-finger-thick piece of metal, Nikolai thought for a moment, weighed its weight in his hand repeatedly, and then said, "Very good, this should be the lightweight, strong metal material we have always wanted, maybe ...... Its only downside is that it's too expensive. If the whole aircraft were to be used, even at 1,000 pounds per aircraft, it would double the cost of the fighter. ”

In response to Nikolai's concerns, Weiss explained: "The cost is expensive because it is still in the trial production stage of small batches, and many links are laboratory technology, and when we find a commercial method suitable for large-scale production, the unit price will drop by 80-90%. In that case, the cost of the whole machine will increase by about 20-30%, which is completely acceptable compared to the increase in protection efficiency. ”

"What do they think?" Nikolai was referring to the metallurgists at the Ulster University of Technology, something Weiss had done in passing the last time he visited her in Liberty City.

"It is the product of the combination of theory and practice, and it seems to have reached the perfect balance of hardness and toughness...... We have filed a patent application. Weiss replied firmly.

Looking at this old partner who looked like a miser but actually invested a lot of money in public welfare, Nikolai crossed his waist and said: "Don't expect the Star Group to be as bold as Grumman, they are very cautious in their estimates of business prospects and expected profits, and their thirst for new technologies is far less intense than Grumman's when their market share is ideal." ”

Weiss smiled and said: "One invests in the present, the other invests in the future, and the price is of course different." From a commercial point of view, we're not in a hurry to sell new material technology, but if the situation deteriorates, the federal army will demand a new all-metal aircraft far more than a freestyle assault rifle — and I mean value, not quantity. ”

Nikolai put down the piece of metal: "If it weren't for the threat of the Norman Empire, we really wouldn't have needed to develop new materials so urgently, from this point of view, it seems that the ambitions of the Normans are driving the scientific and technological progress of the Federation?" They always want to swallow up the world. What's the point of having every inch of the planet owned by them? Even if they get it, what can they do? Do they want to sprinkle lamb chops with gold leaf? ”

"The difficulty of reviving a group of people who are deeply trapped in greedy desires is tantamount to getting the beast to give up killing." Weissdau.

Noroman's ambitions are well known, and further exploration becomes a question of social philosophy. Next, Weiss changed his words: "The material is fine, we are going to make a prototype next, what do you think of the plan?" ”

"If you need to be financially supported by Star Group, then you need a detailed feasibility report. If you're raising your own funds to verify it, you can do it now. Nikolai said it very bluntly.

Due to the anger of President Leealde, she reluctantly left the Star Group, but not really left, but as the marketing director they sent to Lorraine, responsible for coordinating the promotion of new metal materials and aircraft applications. In order to facilitate the work, they also specially sent two technical experts to help, forming a small team headed by Nikolai. This is contrary to the instructions issued by President Leibold to the Planetary Sky Group in his anger, and the Star Group's "yin and yang violations" can be understood as a judgment of the true relationship between the father and daughter, and at the same time make decisions from the protection of their own interests.

"My personal suggestion is to use the design drawings of the Falcon, make a prototype with a new metal material, and then test it." Although the Falcon is small in size and its total weight is not much larger than that of those agricultural seeders, this is a standard military aircraft, and the prototype test after replacing the main material is not much different from the original prototype test, which means that there is a huge risk in the test flight stage, and the test pilots are required to be experienced and technically solid. The pilots that Nikolai helped recruit were technically qualified, but they were not up to the level of test pilots, and President Leebold had already had a liver burst a while ago, if he knew that his baby daughter was in Lorraine to help test fly a new plane, although it would not be enough to hang Weiss up and beat him, but the old father's mood should still be considerate.

Nikolai thought for a while: "If you want to be more efficient, it is best to use your agricultural aircraft as a blueprint for prototype trial production, although this kind of aircraft is slow and has poor maneuverability, but as long as the performance of the new metal material does not change much, it also proves the feasibility of combining this new material with the aircraft, and then let the Star Group take it to the fighter jet for testing." Although it will take longer in two steps, I think it should be more secure. ”

This is a good suggestion, Weiss thought to himself, especially since the risk of the second stage was transferred to the Star Group, and besides, he remembered that the first all-metal aircraft on Earth was not a fighter, but an attack aircraft used to carry out ground attack missions, speed and maneuverability were secondary, mainly requiring the fuselage to be strong enough to withstand the attack of small-caliber guns on the ground.

"Or we can design a monoplane from existing production equipment and components." After some thought, Nikolai came up with a new proposal.

In the field of firearms design, Weiss gives the impression of a genius designer, and in terms of aerodynamics, it seems that the same is true, otherwise the Normans would not have caught him and Nikolai to improve their flying machines, but in fact, he is more like a well-known "Mr. Dongguo", and the various design plans and improvement suggestions he put forward require technicians to go through repeated practical tests and adjustments before they can be put into practice. However, in this era, at least in the Federation, there are few people who can be called real aerodynamics experts, but there are a large number of people who spend their days immersed in the study of generators, batteries and other equipment combined with Xingyuan Stone, and they are out-and-out electrical experts.

Nikolai clearly had a kind of fascination with Weiss, and she smiled and said, "As long as the two of us join forces, what can't be done?" ”

Weiss scratched his head with a wry smile: "Okay! I agree with you, but there is one request......"

Before Weiss finished speaking, Nikolai waved his hand impatiently: "Got it, got it!" You can't be a test pilot! You can't be watched by others flying a plane! This can't, that can't, what's the fun of such a life? ”

Standing in just the right position, Weiss reached out and touched the guy who was as angry as a pufferfish: "Anyway, it's better for someone to worry about it every day than for no one to worry about it!" Besides, his motivation is for your safety, not to restrain your nature, otherwise, you would still be here to talk to me? ”

"When did you become a nagging uncle!" Nikolai rolled his eyes at him angrily, then picked up the freestyle assault rifle and bullets from the table again, and vented his frustration by shooting at the target.

Weiss stood aside and watched her ravage the target, his thoughts wandering into the distance: compared with ordinary aircraft that follow aerodynamics, the new fighter using the Star Source Stone can get rid of the gravitational pull of this planet to a large extent, fly to an altitude several times the normal ceiling, and carry several times the weight of an ordinary aircraft, except for being expensive, it seems to have no obvious defects, so it is regarded by the Normans as a "dagger of the gods" that can change the tide of the war, but in the Battle of Fries at the end of the war, the Normans invested more than 200 new fighters, There was no way to stop the Union fighters that covered the sky, and even in one-on-one situations, there was a record of being shot down by Union fighters, thanks to the efforts of ace pilots such as Nikolai - through the test of captured Norman fighters, they found a very important situation, that is, in the case of using Star Source Stone to provide floating power, whether wearing heavy armor or light equipment, the Norman hybrid aircraft is not as maneuverable as a purely aerodynamic propeller aircraft. Pilots of the same level can use the "Falcon" in the air combat test to completely defeat the new Norman fighters, if it were not for the "Falcon" equipped with machine guns that can only penetrate the thick armor of enemy aircraft at a very close range, in the sky above the Fries, the Norman flying units are not only unable to turn the tide, but will also be skewered by the opponent and roasted on the fire.

However, with the importance and sensitivity of the Normans to military technology, and the lessons of the Battle of Fries, they could not ignore it, and the relevant work would not stop with the signing of the armistice. Therefore, it is unrealistic to hope that the improved version of the "Falcon" will continue to suppress the enemy and dominate the blue sky, on the one hand, it is necessary to constantly develop new technologies, and on the other hand, it is also necessary to find out the new direction of the enemy.