Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Will it flip?

There's a real possibility, since the 105 tank gun is also a high-pressure tank gun, with considerable recoil. If we're not careful, it really might flip over.

However, if we put our minds to it, there's always a solution.

"We need an efficient muzzle brake to reduce recoil, which will allow the 8x8 to handle it. Ultimately, we want to be able to fire at nine o'clock and three o'clock without flipping. Of course, that's something for later, as I said, it's just a provision."

Firing forward and backward is manageable, after all, the vehicle body is eight meters long, and the eight tires provide enough support. But if we fire from the two sides, that's another story. Without reducing the recoil, it could flip over in a matter of seconds.

"Yeah, do we really need that much power?"

Currently, the Dongfeng and Jiefang trucks on the road only have a few dozen horsepower. Steyr was introduced, and there are five models with different configurations, ranging from naturally aspirated to turbocharged to intercooled, with power ranging from 200 horsepower to 370 horsepower.

The most basic model is the WD615.00 diesel engine, a naturally aspirated engine with a power of 200 horsepower and a torque output of 623 Nm at 1400 rpm. The WD615.61 model adds a wastegate turbocharger to the basic model, increasing the fuel injection volume and boosting the power from 200 horsepower to 260 horsepower, and the torque also increases to 829 Nm, which is already sufficient. As for the 370 horsepower model, it's mainly used in high-altitude areas, with the power only decreasing by about 10%, and it can still perform well even at altitudes above 5,000 meters.

This kind of high-horsepower engine can haul one or two hundred tons of cargo, it's practically a road train. Now, our twenty-ton wheeled infantry fighting vehicle actually needs such powerful power?

Qin Yang smiled: "High? I think it's not enough."

Steyr can carry more than a hundred tons, but it still crawls on flat ground. On uphill sections, once it's forced to stop, it's even impossible to restart and climb the slope. It can only retreat to the bottom of the slope. What about a wheeled infantry fighting vehicle? It needs to be able to move quickly no matter where it is.

In fact, three or four hundred horsepower is low. Western infantry fighting vehicles start at 500 horsepower, and some even have 700 horsepower. Of course, we don't need to think about those for now, since we don't have that technology domestically.

In fact, the later Type 09 infantry fighting vehicle is equipped with a Deutz engine. In the East, Deutz engines are also a unique presence. Deutz entered the East very early, and it's also an air-cooled engine. This type of engine doesn't need coolant, making it very suitable for military use. Therefore, many military vehicles in China are equipped with it, such as the Type 63 infantry fighting vehicle, which was replaced with this engine on Qin Yang's suggestion.

Even Benz heavy trucks are planning to switch to this engine. However, the maximum power is only 240 kilowatts, which still doesn't meet Qin Yang's requirements.

"Can we slightly reduce the power and use Deutz's air-cooled diesel engine?" Someone asked.

Compared to water-cooled diesel engines, air-cooled diesel engines are practically a BUG. They can operate smoothly whether in the desert or on the plateau. In the severe winter, there's no need to worry about the water jacket being burst by the coolant. Moreover, it heats up quickly after starting, reaching the required operating temperature in a few minutes. Also, since it doesn't need coolant, its normal operating temperature can reach more than 140 degrees Celsius, making it more efficient.

Air-cooled diesel engines have advantages everywhere. However, Deutz engines didn't stick with air-cooling. In the later stages, they also switched to water-cooling because this type of diesel engine is not easy to meet environmental standards.

As for China, it also synchronously improved with Deutz engines. The Deutz BF6M1015FC engine used on the Type 09 infantry fighting vehicle is a water-cooled engine with a power of 330 kilowatts, providing ample power for the vehicle to travel at 100 kilometers per hour on the road and 56 kilometers per hour off-road.

Unfortunately, it's only the 1980s now, and China doesn't have this kind of advanced engine. We can only choose the best among the worst and use the Steyr engine for the time being.

"No, the 8x8 has high power requirements. What I said is already the bottom line. When we upgrade it in the future, we will definitely need a 400-500 horsepower engine. We can temporarily use the 370 horsepower Steyr engine, and reserve the transmission system to support the power demand of 500 horsepower, to avoid future modifications."

It's not just the engine, but also the transmission system, which needs to be able to withstand enough power.

In later generations, China's Type 09 infantry fighting vehicle uses side transmission, which is a very good system. Starting from the engine in the front, the power is distributed to both sides and transmitted to the rear through the drive shafts on both sides. The advantage of doing this is, of course, saving height.

Normal infantry fighting vehicles use central transmission like trucks. The power output from the engine is transmitted backward through the drive shaft, and then transmitted to both sides separately. In this way, there needs to be a main drive shaft in the center, which means that the vehicle floor will be raised by a certain amount of space.

With side transmission, each side only needs to transmit half of the power. The key is that side transmission doesn't take up the space of the central floor. As for the bulging packages on the sides, they can be used as seating space for the occupants in the vehicle without any waste.

However, this kind of side transmission is not easy to implement, so everyone has never thought about it. Since the plan is to modify it based on the Benz heavy truck, it's naturally an ordinary central transmission.

Looking at the serious expressions of the crowd, Qin Yang threw out this trump card: "In order to reduce the height of the floor inside the compartment and leave more space for the occupants inside, we will adopt side transmission."

"What is side transmission?"

"Is it Benz technology?"

Qin Yang explained, and the crowd was stunned. This is a completely new technical route.

"President Qin, in this way, we are not using any Benz heavy truck technology. If we develop this side transmission ourselves, are we confident?"

Wheeled infantry fighting vehicles in various countries are almost all modified using truck technology. President Qin actually wants to start from scratch. The engine is one thing, but the transmission system also needs to be developed by ourselves. If this cannot be developed, the entire project may be ruined.

"Weren't you very confident in me just now?" Qin Yang looked at the crowd: "Why are you lacking confidence now?"