Li Haiying no longer spoke, this kind of truth has been mentioned by Marshal Li Tingkai, chief of the General Staff, to these high-ranking generals many times, and this is also the main reason why he has always emphasized the ease of production of equipment.

Luoyang Heavy Group's VT401E is the best choice, but the design of the North Heavy Industries Company, Jiangxia Ordnance Industry Group Corporation, Shenzhou and Wuzhou Companies also have some merits, such as the turret layout and ammunition rack setting of the North Heavy Industry Company is more reasonable, while the design of the Steyr Company has a 20mm coaxial gun installed on the side of the turret gun, and the tank will be easier to deal with some lightly armored targets. In addition, the frontal armor of the turret of the prototype designed by Jiangxia Company is as thick as 100 mm, and its protective performance is the best among several prototypes.

The consequence, of course, was that the vehicle was overweight, with a total combat weight of up to 46 tons, and with a BMW 650 hp diesel engine, its speed barely met the minimum design requirement of 45 kilometers per hour.

"Colonel Li Guohao, the final design is a matter for the Army's armament department. But you have to be clear that the new tank will have to be tested and finalized by the end of the year, and mass production will begin. According to the above requirements, we need to start installing this new tank in December, and we must complete the refitting and formation of at least 5 armored divisions by October next year, which is an order from the High Command. Li Haiying had no choice but to reluctantly agree to the choice of the army's equipment department, which is now very eager for the formation, equipment, and training of armored units.

Inside the huge tank assembly workshop, the cranes on the beams creak and rattle slowly. On the production line, dozens of tank hulls are lined up, turrets and guns welded with homogeneous armor steel are lifted to the installation position by overhead cranes, and workers in rust and oil-stained overalls, like worker ants, repeat the rigid installation work every day.

After visiting the tank assembly workshop of Luoyang Heavy Machinery Company, Li Guohao, accompanied by Qian Yonghe, deputy general manager of the company, went to the tank test site. Not far away, on a long flatbed wagon on the special train line, tanks painted in desert camouflage have been loaded onto it, waiting to be shipped out, and the tanks produced from here are continuously transported from here to several major battlefields in China.

"Colonel Li, now the daily output of our tank production line has been almost adjusted to the optimum, and last month, the company produced a total of tanks...... If you want to increase production, unless you want to increase the production line. ”

"The main reason is that the top management originally believed that each of the five tank factories in the country had a production line, and the annual output of 10,000 tanks was used to meet the needs of a modern war. The problem is that after the outbreak of war, the size and strength of the army, after emergency mobilization, expanded almost fourfold to 8.2 million people. We cannot allow these young people to go into battle without tanks and armoured vehicles, which would be irresponsible for their lives. ”

"Sir, the production of Type 02 tanks has reached its limit, and even if a new production line is built, it will not be able to be completed in the short term. You know that the Type 02 tank is at the expense of producibility in exchange for the protection of the crew, you must know that one of our Type 02 tanks weighs 46 tons, and the tonnage alone is equivalent to the original two 'Shepherd Dog tanks, and the structure is ...... complex," said Huang Xiaoyun, chief engineer of the tank factory on the side.

"That's why you're anxious to see the kind of bidding failure design restarted with the 'Shepherd'?" Qian Yonghe asked, "The production of that kind of tank can be used to use the original production line of the obsolete Shepherd Dog Tank and the Type 92 Tank. ”

"It's natural, we have to provide as much cover as possible for the soldiers on the front line, even if it is a steel box that can be moved, which can reduce a lot of unnecessary casualties. Especially in the Eastern European theater, our troops had to use weakly defended tanks such as the old Type 92 tanks to charge into battle against the Panzer Group of the West Frankish Kingdom. In the Battle of Kyiv, we lost more than 200 Type 92 tanks in one day......"

"You're saying that the above really agreed?" Looking at Li Guoyong, Qian Yonghe still made waves in his heart.

After the outbreak of the war, the chief of the equipment division in charge of the tank production plan had realized that the technical and technological complexity of the production of the Type 02 tank could lead to production problems, so he began to work with the Luoyang Heavy Machinery Manufacturing Company to design the "easy to produce" tank, but so far the War Department has not put forward clear requirements for this.

The manufacture of those prototypes of the Type 98 "Shepherd Dog" tank was decided by the company for the sake of Li Guoyong's face, and it was nothing more than a matter of spending 200,000 yuan on research and development. Establishing a good relationship with the head of the production planning department of the equipment bureau is something that the company's management values more.

Now, will this tank really be mass-produced?

Seeing the two green-painted tanks parked at the test site, Li Guoyong was finally settled.

In terms of appearance, this tank looks very much like a "sheepdog", but if you look closely, the size of this tank is larger than that of the "sheepdog", and the turret has also become a lot larger, the caliber of the main gun should still be 75 mm, the caliber of the barrel has increased to 56 times, and the armor-piercing ability is stronger than that of the sheepdog tank.

"The main purpose of this tank design idea is to make use of the 92 and 98 tank production lines that have been eliminated. The chassis is common to the Type 98 tank, except that a pair of load-bearing wheels are added. In addition, the car body adopts a simple box-shaped structure, which increases the volume of the interior part of the car, which is very suitable for the large-scale production of automatic welding production lines. Huang Xiaoyun explained, "However, in the end, it lost to the Type 02 tank in the army procurement bid. ”

"Can it be equipped with a 90mm tank gun?" Li Guoyong asked with a slight frown.

"A 90-mm tank gun requires a load of at least 40 tons or more, and this tank chassis cannot withstand such a large weight. We did the math, 83 mm to 85 mm tank guns are its maximum capacity, but the army does not have tank guns of this caliber. ”

"Oh, this aspect can be coordinated, and the current 75mm tank gun can also be used on the battlefield. What about its defense capabilities and mobility? ”

"The turret has 120 mm frontal armor, 70 mm on the sides, 50 mm at the rear, weighs 32 tons, has a 620 horsepower diesel engine, and the maximum speed on the road can reach more than 55 kilometers per hour......," Huang Xiaoyun reported a set of data.

"That's it! Mr. Qian, these two tanks will complete the preliminary tests as soon as possible, and I will personally report to General Li after you have prepared the materials. Li Guoyong said in an affirmative tone......

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