Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

The mood of the people at the scene varied.

Old Zhu remained silent, watching the tank drive towards the target range. His heart was full of anticipation, hoping this shot would display the might of the Chinese people and let foreigners know that China's military industrial technology was also impressive!

Zhang Wenshu was also full of anticipation. Although the armor-piercing projectile was not developed by their Institute 201, it would still bring glory to the Chinese people. Of course, the others at Institute 201 did not share this sentiment.

They hoped for a complete success, but also felt a sense of loss. How could a gun factory, Factory 960, steal the limelight from them, the cannon makers!

As for Institute 208 and the others, they were just watching the show. If the shot was good, they would applaud; if it was bad, they would definitely sneer. See? How can gun makers play with cannons? This is not a field you can dabble in!

Robert and the others were full of anticipation. If the penetrator rod didn't break, it would mean a huge leap in liquid-phase sintering technology! Even providing Factory 960 with a CNC machine tool specifically for cutting sabot was worthwhile!

Amidst the complex gazes of the crowd, the tank stopped in front of the first target and began preparing to fire.

"Armor-piercing projectile loaded!"

"Breech closed!"

"Ammunition selection knob adjusted to armor-piercing projectile!"

"Attention, ready... fire!"

As Zhang Yong issued the order to fire, the gunner next to him pressed the button hard.

Boom!

The tank body swayed backward, and a ball of fire burst from the muzzle!

The cannon is the god of war, what a magnificent sight!

At this moment, watching the fiery ball gradually expand and the airflow around the muzzle being stirred up, everyone's hearts surged. This L7 tank gun could withstand higher chamber pressure, so the propellant charge was also larger, resulting in such a huge commotion at the muzzle!

Then, two pieces of debris tumbled down from the front of the fireball. Everyone knew that these were the sabot that had completed the task of sealing the gun bore gas. As the sabot landed, the tungsten alloy penetrator rod in the center slammed into the first steel plate!

Although it was said to be point-blank range, considering that the fin-stabilized discarding sabot armor-piercing projectile had to discard the sabot when it flew out, and also to prevent the muzzle blast from affecting the target, the muzzle was two or three meters away from the target. However, now, this distance was negligible. The penetrator rod arrived almost instantly!

The sharp warhead plunged into the steel plate at a speed of over 1,500 meters per second. The warhead and the steel plate rubbed violently, and the heat generated quickly melted the steel plate. The molten steel splashed around, and then the warhead pierced the first steel plate! Just like eating soup dumplings, the molten steel also splashed forward!

From the side, the center of the steel plate looked like a ball of fire blooming! The fireball quickly expanded on both sides of the steel plate, and then enveloped the entire steel plate.

The penetrator rod passed through the first steel plate and continued to plunge into the second steel plate. Thus, the second fireball bloomed.

The distance between the two steel plates was just enough for the fireball to be released. At this time, one fireball after another bloomed continuously, connecting with the initial fireball from the muzzle, just like a bubble dragon, or a snake game, getting longer and longer.

If it were a whole steel ingot, there would not be such an eye-catching scene. Now, this scene stunned everyone.

This bubble dragon composed of fireballs extended to the eleventh one before finally stopping. The fireballs gradually disappeared, and black smoke rose upward, but everyone's eyes were still fixed there, as if the magnificent scene had left a residual image on their retinas.

"This has penetrated at least ten layers of steel plates!" Secretary Song said, "Each layer is thirty millimeters, which is a solid three hundred millimeters. According to the British friends, this is more difficult than directly penetrating a three hundred millimeter steel ingot."

As the highest leader at the scene, Secretary Song's words immediately elicited a chorus of agreement.

"That's right, that's right, we've launched another big satellite!"

"Factory 960 has never let us down. From now on, the development of our military industry will depend on Factory 960!"

"Amazing, Engineer Qin is indeed a genius!"

"Secretary Song leads well. Thanks to Secretary Song's personal presence today, we were able to achieve this result!"

Leader Pan was dumbfounded. Now that the result was out, just like yesterday, he was a clown again. He was a free laborer for Qin Yang again! Originally, he planned to watch Qin Yang's joke, but now he helped Qin Yang expand his reputation!

Today, Secretary Song was present. When he goes back and reports, even the old leaders will probably know of Qin Yang's existence! In the future, in the country, who else with no sense dares to make things difficult for Qin Yang?

Amidst a burst of flattery, Robert ran up.

In fact, since it could penetrate ten steel plates, it was enough to show that the penetrator rod did not break in the middle. However, Robert was still not at ease and wanted to see it for himself.

The tungsten alloy penetrator rod landed between the tenth and eleventh steel plates, with a shallow mark left on the eleventh steel plate. That was made by the penetrator rod using up its last bit of kinetic energy as its speed gradually decreased during flight.

The penetrator rod landed on the grass below, black all over, slowly cooling with molten metal droplets. The surrounding weeds were burning, it was unknown whether they were ignited by the flames or by the hot penetrator rod.

"It's too powerful, the penetration depth at point-blank range should be above three hundred and ten millimeters!" Robert said with emotion: "This hand-ground penetrator rod did not break, Factory 960's craftsmanship is completely mature!"

"This penetrator rod is not only mature in craftsmanship, but also has a high velocity retention due to the removal of the steel jacket. Now, let's test the penetration depth at a distance of one hundred meters, I don't think it will be worse than now," Qin Yang said.

The projectile will be subjected to air resistance during flight, and the speed will become lower and lower. It doesn't matter for grenades that rely on internal explosives to kill the enemy, but it will have a great impact on armor-piercing projectiles that rely on kinetic energy to kill. The lower the speed, the smaller the penetration depth!

"There's no need to test one hundred meters, let's directly test five hundred meters," Robert said.

Hearing the foreigner make this request, a small flame of hope rose in Leader Pan's heart again. Will the projectile miss the target when testing at five hundred meters?

Even if it misses the target, it's still a minor flaw! After all, it's not that the armor-piercing projectile is not powerful, but that the aiming is not good.

"Five hundred meters? Of course, but are you sure?" Qin Yang looked at Robert: "Our fire control system can only guarantee accuracy up to five hundred meters. We'll fire one more and call it a day!"

Robert swallowed: "Qin, can we have the remaining three shells?"

The penetrator rod material, sabot, propellant cartridge, etc. were all provided by the British, so it was reasonable for them to want these. However, Qin Yang immediately refused: "Of course not! We will send the remaining three to the national range for the 69-3 tank to test. If you want the technology, please send us the machine tool as soon as possible!"

Armor-piercing projectile separates after firing

Multi-layered target