The war in the Far East had entered a costly offensive and defensive battle, and the vast majority of the soldiers of the Manchurian Army had already come to the fortress of Arthur, and they were sworn to conquer this fortress that could decide the fate of the war.

The Tsarist Russian Empire is also rushing to transfer troops to Lushun, and the current defenders of Lushun have exceeded 70,000 people.

Other than that, there is not much movement in the rest of the Far East. Both the island nation and the Tsarist Empire knew very well that the fate of Lushun was the key to deciding this war.

Before that, no matter how much territory was occupied, it was far less important than conquering a fortress in Arthur.

This war of attrition is bad news for the island nations and Russia, but good news for the British Empire, the United States, Australia and the German Empire.

The longer this war of attrition drags on, the greater the losses for the island nation and Russia. At the same time, it can also generate more demand for weapons, so that these countries watching the war can make a lot of money.

There was no better news for the German Empire, which was enemy on both sides, than for the attention of the Tsarist Empire to the Far East.

As long as the attention of the Tsarist Empire was dragged by the island nations in the Far East, a small France was not taken into account by the German Empire.

On the outskirts of the Capital Territory, July 1904.

It was originally an industrial area belonging to New South Wales, and after the establishment of the Capital Territory, it was divided into the Capital Territory, becoming the only industrial area in the Capital Territory and the most developed industrial area in Australia.

The industrial estate currently hosts Arthur's military factory, automobile and engine factories, as well as an aeronautical laboratory dedicated to the development of aircraft.

It can be said that this industrial area carries Arthur's hope for Australia's revival, and the technology born will also affect the whole of Australia.

What can make Arthur personally dispatched is naturally a major event that can affect the whole of Australia.

Yes, since the successful construction of the AU-1 airship more than a year ago, Theodor Kerber and Ludwig Durr have been involved in the development of the aircraft.

To this end, Arthur deliberately allocated them £100,000 in research funding and many of the talents they had used to win over the Victoria Prize.

At present, the Australian aviation research laboratory has more than ten well-known European aeronautical experts and aerodynamics experts, as well as dozens of outstanding talents in all aspects of aircraft and airships.

It can be said that Australia is home to at least one fifth of the world's top aviation talent, and that number and proportion are constantly increasing.

Although it is true that the Wright brothers were the builders of the first aircraft, they can only rely on their own power until they pay attention to it.

Australia has used the power of a country to develop aviation, and the speed and results achieved are definitely not comparable to the Wright brothers.

When Arthur arrived at the aeronautical laboratory, two experts, Teodor Kerber and Ludwig Dürr, were already waiting outside the laboratory with great respect.

Standing on either side were dozens of experts and scholars, who were also very respectful to Arthur.

Actually, this is normal. Even the airship with the fastest progress at the moment has not attracted the attention of the world, let alone the aircraft in the deserted exploration period.

Although these experts have some research on this aspect, no one supports them, and they have no benefit other than nominally becoming pioneers in the aviation industry.

If it weren't for Australia taking them in and providing them with job opportunities, I'm afraid most of these people would have to give up their favorite industries.

Thanks to the joint efforts of these experts, Australia's first aircraft was also born.

Unlike the Wright brothers' original Flyer 1 and Flyer 2, the goal of the Australian aircraft was to take to the skies smoothly from the beginning.

To this end, Arthur racked his brains, frantically recalling the appearance and design of later aircraft in World War I and World War, and then gave the sketches he drew to Theodor Kerber and Ludwig Dürr for their reference.

Unexpectedly, Theodor Kerber and Ludwig Dürr thought for a long time and actually built an airplane according to the design sketch.

Of course, the plane in front of me is already an improved version after many tests, and naturally it is not as simple as it was at the beginning.

Arthur looked at Theodor Kerber, who understood and quickly explained, "Your Highness, this is the final product that we have obtained after many experiments and improvements based on the design sketch you gave. Our aircraft adopts a single-engine, single-seat, two-wing design, using a new gasoline engine specially developed by Mr. Diesel, and is expected to reach about 150 km to 220 km. ”

"To enhance the range of this aircraft, we have added two auxiliary fuel tanks on both sides of the aircraft. This gives the aircraft a total range of more than 700 kilometers. Without these two fuel tanks, the range of the aircraft may only be about 400 kilometers. Theodor Kerber explains.

Arthur nodded.

He is still very satisfied with the speed of development of the aircraft and the data on the current finished product. After all, this is a completely new idea for everyone, and it will take much longer to make it a reality.

Judging by the current data, this is at least the result of the Wright brothers' research on airplanes for several years.

Before the U.S. military took notice, the Wright brothers' development process was slow. It is not surprising that Australia will use its national power to overtake in a quick corner.

"Can this plane be flown now?" Arthurio asked with interest.

Arthur has seen a lot of various large aircraft in later generations, but Arthur, who is still in the exploration stage, has only seen pictures.

This also made Arthur very interested in the plane that stopped in front of him, what is the difference between such an aircraft and the afterlife?

"Of course, Your Highness." Theodor Kerber nodded and said, "Because there is no systematic way to train pilots, the only people who can fly the fighter are the ones who are most familiar with this fighter. Please wait a moment, there is still some preparation to be done before the plane officially takes off. ”

Arthur nodded, motioning for Theodor Kerber to get busy.

The real man who flew the plane was not Theodor Kerber, but Ludwig Dürr.

For no other reason, Ludwig Dürr was the designer of the aircraft's balancing system, and he was most familiar with the aircraft's control system, so he was naturally the most suitable person to fly the aircraft.

After about half an hour of preparation, Ludwig Durr put on his goggles and asked Arthur to take off.

The first is to ask for support!

(End of chapter)