However, this shortcoming is not hidden for the Phantom-4 bomber, which is definitely the most important military aircraft of this era.

Just imagine, when a large-scale war is breaking out, and hundreds of bombers suddenly fly over the heads of two armies.

The bombs that were being dropped one after another, and the hum of the planes that coiled around the ears, were enough to destroy the enemy's psychic defenses.

You know, trench warfare in World War I can be seen almost everywhere. Trenches, on the other hand, can defend against enemy machine guns and artillery, but not from bombardment from the sky.

When Australasia used aircraft during the stalemate of the war, it might have been able to change the tide of the war in one fell swoop.

Arthur attached great importance to the Phantom-4 bomber, so he also decided to order 500 bombers directly.

The Phantom-4 bomber is the most expensive of the three military aircraft, costing a whopping $31,035.

This also means that the cost of 500 bombers has reached 15.5 million Australian dollars, which is the most expensive of the three types of military aircraft.

Adding up to all the orders for the three types of military aircraft, Arthur will order 1,100 military aircraft at a total cost of more than $32.75 million, which is close to catching up with the previous year's government military spending.

Still, it's certainly cost-effective to spend that money. With the purchase of these 1,100 aircraft, the total number of military aircraft in Australasia has reached more than 1,700, more than all other countries combined.

This also means that Australasia's air force strength is currently the strongest in the world, and there has even been a very exaggerated fault.

Needless to say, air supremacy was important in war, and the air superiority of Australasia would be of great help to the Allies in future wars.

As for the already backward 123rd generation military aircraft in Australasia, in fact, they can also be sold to the allies of the Entente at a lower price.

Anyway, for the Entente countries, the backward third-generation aircraft in Australasia are also relatively advanced for them.

They can also use the aircraft sold in Australasia to study the technology and improve their own aircraft.

It's just that Australasia's aviation industry has been developing for so long that it has already attracted more than one-third of the world's aerodynamics-related talents.

Other countries that want to surpass Australasia in terms of aircraft will not only need to work harder in terms of talent, but also need the help of some top scientists.

But the problem is that other countries are working on aircraft, and Australasia is even more on aircraft.

Unless research in Australasia is blocked, it will be up to Arthur to overtake in the corners of aircraft research.

The good news is that Australasia's military academy has developed over the years, and there is no shortage of pilots.

Even if 1,100 aircraft are purchased in one go this time, the corresponding pilots can be equipped in a short time.

However, if we want the Air Force to form combat effectiveness, I am afraid that it will take a period of training.

According to the data given by the aviation laboratory, all 1,100 aircraft will be built, and it will be at the end of next year at the earliest.

However, fortunately, there are quite a few training aircraft in the Aviation Laboratory and the Aviation Academy of the Royal Military College, and as long as their engines are replaced with the latest improved aircraft engines, they can be used for training.

Combined with the training time of these pilots, from the end of 1914 to the beginning of 1915, the air force was able to form combat effectiveness, and even if the war broke out as scheduled, the air force would be fully able to participate in the war.

The order for trucks was only the tip of the iceberg of the arms race among the countries of Europe in 1913. Even if the Australasian Air Force had taken a stunning lead, Arthur would not have considered himself ahead of the arms race.

Speaking of which, it is necessary to mention the current exaggerated state of the arms race in the countries of Europe.

The naval laws enacted by various countries are like farts, because the actual number of warships built has already far exceeded the provisions of the promulgated naval laws.

So far, in just half a year, Germany has started the construction of five battleships and three battlecruisers, and it is said that at least one more capital battleship will be built.

The British, naturally, would not back down,-for-tat, and started construction of seven battleships and six battlecruisers.

Britain and Germany built twice as many capital warships in a year as the navies of a great power like Australasia.

This is enough to prove the exaggerated industrial strength of Britain and Germany, but it also proves the status quo in disguise, that is, the financial situation of Britain and Germany will definitely not be good.

You know, the cost of a warship is only one of them. After building a warship, it is also necessary to undertake the daily maintenance of the warship, the replenishment of weapons and equipment, and the training costs of soldiers.

Australasia itself only has three battleships and two battlecruisers, which is already a lot of money, not to mention dozens of capital warships of Britain and Germany.

As can be seen from the data for the whole year of 1902, the European powers are now generally in a state of financial deficit.

Only Britain and France, whose finances were still in good shape, and it was the latter's large number of colonies that were able to barely maintain fiscal equilibrium.

Germany, which did not have a large colony, was in a very poor financial situation.

Of course, the financial situation of Russia, Austria-Hungary and other powers was not very good, and they were all in debt.

Russia, in particular, has a large land area and population, but its economy is relatively not very good.

If it weren't for the long-term loan from France and the continuous blood transfusion of the British Empire, I am afraid that Russia's financial situation would not be able to hold on to it in the first place.

Although the naval arms race is dominated by Britain and Germany, there will be no shortage of other countries of the Central and Entente powers.

As a country with a fairly good financial situation among the European powers, especially when it has clearly lagged behind in terms of dreadnoughts, the French have not been able to build ships too quickly, and in the past ten months or so this year, they have frantically started to build four battleships and four battle cruisers.

There is no way around it, the French have been slow to react with dreadnoughts.

If we don't make great efforts, I'm afraid that the French fleet will not be able to defeat even the Italian navy, let alone control the Mediterranean.

In the era of dreadnoughts, dreadnoughts were the strongest warships. Not to mention the fact that there is now the birth of super dreadnoughts, and if the French do not make great efforts on dreadnoughts, it is very likely to become an opportunity for the Allied countries to break through the blockade of the Entente.

It is worth mentioning that while building dreadnoughts on its own, France also lent large sums of money to Italy, a member of the Central Powers.

This allowed Italy to obtain enough funds to expand its army, and the Italians began to build three dreadnoughts and two battle cruisers, with a strong tendency to get rid of the last powers.

Although Austria-Hungary has only built one battleship this year, Austria-Hungary started construction last year and two dreadnoughts have entered the naval testing stage, after all, it will not be long before they can be officially put into service.

Needless to say, the Russian side naturally has two battleships and two battle cruisers ordered in Australasia very early, two of which have been officially commissioned this year, and two more have also entered the stage of naval aviation tests.

As a result, Arthur was surprised to find that Australasia's naval strength had been surpassed by all the great powers.

Australasia's position as a great power seems to be precarious, and there is a risk of being overtaken by a sub-power such as the island nation at any moment.

It is no exaggeration to say that at present, the naval strength of the world's major powers is changing dramatically every year, and they are all in the process of frantically expanding and catching up.

In these years, there are not many dreadnoughts, and they are embarrassed to be called a naval power. Without more than a dozen dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts, they are embarrassed to be called top powers.

The drawbacks of Australasia's suspension of naval development were also revealed at this moment, and if it did not catch up in the navy, I am afraid that Australasia's status as a great power, which had just been recognized for a few years, would also be abolished.

In October 1913, following a cabinet meeting following trucks and airplanes, Australasia officially announced its second naval expansion.

Under the terms of the Australasian Naval Expansion Act, Australasia's naval expansion was to begin in early 1914 for a period of five years.

During these five years, Australasia built at least two super-dreadnoughts and one battle cruiser each year, keeping Australasia's naval size at the level of ordinary powers.

If this five-year naval expansion plan could be carried out smoothly, then five years later, in early 1919, Australasia would have ten super dreadnoughts, three dreadnoughts, and seven battle cruisers, a proper naval power.

As soon as the naval expansion plan was announced, it immediately caused frenzied cheers and anticipation among Australasian people.

No one wants their country to be prosperous and strong, and in fact, most Australasian people want to see the government expand the navy again, which is not only a reflection of the country's strength, but also a better way to achieve the goal of protecting the country, protecting the nation, and protecting the people.

Although this naval expansion plan would skyrocket Australasia's military spending, with World War I looming, Arthur also understood that it would cost a lot to absorb losses during and after the war without spending a lot of money to prepare for the war.

Fortunately, Australasia joined the naval arms race relatively late, and there were no competitors, so the burden was not too great.

Even a number of British and French private banks have expressed their willingness to provide interest-free loans to Australasia to help their allies with naval expansion.

Especially after the French took out a loan to Italy, many French people were already angrily asking the government why they would lend money to their enemies.

If it were not for the French government's consistent hardline attitude to satisfy the people, I am afraid that the French government would have collapsed in a matter of minutes.

It is also because of this incident that many French people have asked the French government to focus on its allies, and if they have spare money, they will help their allies, not their enemies.

As a member of the Entente and an ally of France, Australasia naturally gained the attention of the French people.

After the announcement of Australasia's naval expansion plan, the French people openly stated that if the government wanted to lend to foreign countries, it should lend to Australasia and Russia.

In addition to France, Britain and Russia were also supportive of the expansion of the Australasian Navy.

The increased naval strength of Australasia could greatly relieve the naval pressure of the British Empire in the Indian Ocean.

It would also allow the British Empire to mobilize more troops from the Indian Ocean region to the Atlantic and coastal waters of Europe to participate in blockades and operations against the Central Powers.

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(End of chapter)