Being able to command the first light mechanized armored division in a Southeast Asian country, Ding Huimin has reason to be happy. However, there is a reason for having such "sophisticated" weapons and equipment.

First of all, the tanks aided by the United States are not as advanced as they seem.

For example, the M41 light tank, with its small combat radius and weak protection, is not equipped with radar and infrared searchlight equipment, and can only effectively deal with slow-moving targets in weather conditions with good visibility.

Because of this, all M41s in the U.S. military establishment have been replaced by more advanced M551 Sheridan tanks, and the replaced M41s have either been scrapped or used as targets or offered to countries with which the United States has military cooperation. From the end of World War II to the present, half of the total production of M41 tanks has been provided to numerous allies, and more than 24 countries around the world have received it through direct or indirect military assistance programs.

Secondly, many of the parts and components of these tanks replaced from the active forces of the US military are nearing the end of their service life, and they must first give an order to the US military industrial complex when receiving assistance. Moreover, if we want the troops to form combat effectiveness, if we want the officers and men to be proficient in the performance of the tank, and if we want to train the tacit understanding between the commander, the artillery commander, and the driver, we must have enough time for practical operation.

In addition to practicing their own tactical moves, they also need to cooperate with other troops to practice cooperative operations, which is also very depleting of the tank's motorcycle hours. This means that in the future, the engine, the barrel, the track, the transmission, the cardan shaft, the clutch will have to be constantly replaced...... and other main accessories, you need to keep throwing money up.

The reason why the national army does not have large-scale equipment is, first, that there is not so much money, and second, that there is not so much systematic education. High-quality soldiers who can master these equipment after one or two years of training.

In fact, raise this light armorer. The "industrial investment department" is also very difficult.

To save as much money as possible. The former "National Defense Industry Committee" of the Industrial Investment Corporation, now the "Defense Equipment Demand Committee," had no choice but to organize more than 20 enterprises to negotiate with several major US arms companies, introduce technology and drawings, and produce some parts and components that they can produce.

The Fourth Tactical Region Command even carried out technical cooperation with Phu Quoc University of Technology, inviting a technical group composed of more than 30 experts and professors to go deep into the tank battalions of the 27th Division to study on the spot ways to reduce the loss of tank training motorcycle hours.

Given that most of the training subjects are completed in the low-speed phase, such as step-to-tank coordination, crossing obstacles, and so on. The technical team came up with an "external power pack" scheme.

The civil heavy truck diesel engine with relatively low maintenance cost is used as the power source, which is composed of a civil heavy truck diesel engine, a front clutch, a front 2 rear 2 four-speed planetary transmission, a multi-stage planetary reducer, a universal coupling, a basin angle tooth deceleration direction changer, a single-stage planetary reducer, a rear clutch and a gear coupling.

Mounted on the outside of the tank, the output shaft was connected directly to the tracked driving wheels. The bottom bracket is connected with the fixed frame of the tank body by a mortise and tenon structure and a positioning cone, and the upper part is fixed to the tank body by an explosive bolt. The driver controls the throttle and gear shift of the external power pack through the fly-by-wire system, and fine-tunes the throttle of the external power pack to synchronize the speed of the left and right external power packs.

This solution can reduce wear and tear and save money on training. In addition, it can realize the quick disassembly of the external power pack in wartime, which will not increase the preparation time for actual combat.

And the "external power pack" is not a high-precision technology, and the maintenance work is completely outsourced to the auto repair shop or machinery factory in the industrial village, and those workers are very good at repairing civilian diesel engines. There is no need to add a complete set of logistics maintenance equipment, let alone form an additional "external power pack" maintenance and maintenance force.

The 27th Division was to go to the battlefield to fight the North Vietnamese People's Army in the future. Intelligence indicates that North Vietnam is forming tank regiments, most likely armed with the most advanced Soviet-style tanks. Regardless of firepower and protection, the M41 and M47 replaced by the Yankees are no match.

Li Weimin didn't want the only armored unit he had to become a target for others, so he motioned for Ding Huimin to sit down, and said in a homely manner: "After the 27th Division has formed combat effectiveness, it will be more than enough to deal with the backward equipment of the Southern Liberation guerrillas. In order to increase the actual combat experience, in the future, various battalions can be sent to Dong Ta, Tien Giang, Long An, Ben Tre and other provinces in turn to participate in military operations organized by the Department of Defense or the US Military Assistance Command.

However, compared to the armored units of the North Vietnamese People's Army, which are being formed, the existing equipment looks somewhat backward. It may not be possible to penetrate the opponent with a few shots, and the opponent may only need one armor-piercing bullet to knock us out.

As we all know, the pressure on defense is so great and the funding is so tight that it is not realistic to purchase a brand new tank. With the existing industrial system and technical strength, it is unlikely that an advanced tank will be developed independently. The only thing that can be done is to carry out a complete modernization of the existing equipment. ”

The boss is the boss, and he sees it so far.

Nguyen Zhiren muttered: "Chairman, in terms of the number of equipment, the IDF and the West German Defense Forces are equipped with M41 and M47 several times more than ours; In terms of external pressure, one is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and the other is at the forefront of the Cold War, and the situation is more dangerous than ours. In other words, their need to modernize these two tanks is more urgent than ours. ”

Chen Runwei said by inference: "Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines are also equipped, can you ask through diplomatic channels whether they are interested in cooperative research and development." ”

Chen Shiguo nodded: "Cooperative research and development and equal sharing of funds can greatly reduce our pressure." ”

With a national vision and the ability to measure input and returns from an economic point of view, these excellent qualities of officers of the "industrial investment department" are not possessed by the top echelons of the national army.

Although they are not at home, they know that oil and rice are expensive, and Li Weimin is very pleased, and said thoughtfully: "Judging from the current situation, great changes may occur in Saigon in the next period of time. My relationship with President Yan is too complicated, and it is inappropriate to take any position in the face of great changes. I plan to take a group trip in the middle of next month to avoid this storm. The matter of joint research and development was entrusted to me, and the main members of the 'Defense Equipment Committee' accompanied me. ”

"The chairman is out of the house, a top two, we will come up with a set of plans as soon as possible, to be precise, the overall requirements for upgrading."

"What a top trick, but I'm still more confident in whether we can reach a cooperation."

Li Weimin looked sideways at Chen Shiguo, and said with a smug smile: "A research and development team of the University of Technology developed a new type of armor that can be plugged in some time ago. The simplicity of structure, light weight, small size, and inexpensiveness can significantly improve the resistance of tanks and armored personnel carriers to armor-piercing shells, which can be used as a bargaining chip, and Israel and West Germany will certainly be interested. ”

"Great, can we equip it?"

"You are training, you have not yet formed combat effectiveness, and you will be equipped in real combat in the future."

Ruan Zhiren glared at Ding Huimin fiercely, and said angrily: "Of course, good things must be kept secret, if we show our hole cards, won't we suffer when we talk about cooperation with others?" ”

"Oh." Ding Huimin smiled awkwardly and sat on the side without saying anything.

Brigadier General Li Liangquan, commander of the Tactical Zone Air Force, made the fourth report under Chen Runwei's signal, and he said with an embarrassed face: "Chairman, Mr. Guo, after the Army withdraws, the remaining Nationalist troops in our defense zone will be the 64th and 74th Tactical Wings of the 4th Air Force Air Division stationed at Chanuo Airport. Phu Quoc Airlines provided the co-repair, Bo Liao Petrochemical provided aviation fuel, Can Tho Industrial Village provided logistical supplies such as food, daily necessities and medicines, and many military officers' families even worked in the industrial village.

Saigon, fearing that the 4th Air Division would be eaten by us, has ordered them to move to Bien Hoa Air Base by the end of next month. The 4th Tactical Zone cannot be without air strike forces, and we have repeatedly approached the Military Advisory Group and the Military Support Command, who agree with our views and do not want to interfere in Saigon's internal affairs at this sensitive time, and have suggested that we apply for military aid in the model of the 27th Division. ”

Providing aid to Saigon is a loss of money, equipment is given away in vain, and the cost of the military advisers in charge of training is borne by the United States. Funding for training, salaries for officers and soldiers, ammunition and fuel supplies, and even uniforms are all covered.

The aid to the "industrial investment system" is different, the equipment is given away for free, spare parts, ammunition, and fuel...... All of this has to be paid by the industrial investment company, and even the salary of the consultant has to be borne by the industrial investment company, which is called "service expenditure".

In the same way as dealing with the South Liberation and North Vietnam, and also resisting the expansion of the Soviet and Russian camps, why do you always let the "industrial investment system" be the main culprit?

Li Liangquan knew this very well, and he didn't want to be the commander of this nominal air force all the time, so he was very embarrassed.

Li Weimin could understand his feelings, weighed it slightly, and said sideways: "Mr. Guo, you came forward to talk to the US side about this matter and told them that the industrial investment company has undertaken too many obligations, and it is really unable to form another division-sized aviation team. In addition, there are more and more U.S. troops stationed in Vietnam, for example, the Military Aid Command can promote enterprises in industrial villages to provide one-stop logistics and supply services for various U.S. military units in Vietnam.

Then, we can not only set up another division-sized air force, but also accept a number of destroyers, frigates, and patrol boats to undertake the defense of the six provinces in an all-round way, comprehensively promote the political and economic reform of the Jinou Peninsula, reduce the pressure on Saigon, and then achieve the ultimate goal of further reducing aid to Vietnam. ”

It sounds ridiculous that the stewards should ask for help in such a reasonable way, but it is normal and natural to resist the expansion of the Soviet Russian camp and ensure that South Vietnam is not occupied by North Vietnam.

Chen Shiguo felt that this condition was too low, and couldn't help reminding: "Chairman, the US troops stationed in Vietnam are now less than 10,000 people, and even if we give all the logistics supply orders, our profits may not be able to support an air fleet." ”

Li Weimin patted his thigh and said with a meaningful smile: "Less than 10,000 now does not mean that it will be less than 10,000 forever, and as the situation continues to deteriorate, it is only a matter of time before the United States fully intervenes." If we don't make this war money, will we let Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan earn it? (To be continued.) )