Chapter 81

According to reason, the development of a weapon system is a very complex matter. The Americans spent at least ten years researching laser-guided bombs. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, and after three generations of improvements, they finally shone brightly in the Gulf War.

However, how long did Hu Wenhai spend on this laser guidance system? At most, it probably took no more than a week.

Is this strange? Actually, not at all. Hu Wenhai's approach, which should be a common phenomenon in the Chinese industrial sector over the next few decades, is to substitute industrial quality for military quality. Without a foundation, he used mature commercial solutions; without military products, he used civilian products; without military production lines, he used civilian production lines; and without money...

Oh, without money, there's nothing that can be done.

Currently, all components of this infrared guidance kit are imported from the United States, and the integration plan and software also utilize the ideas and algorithms of industrial control computers from the future. Not just Hu Wenhai, but if you go back twenty years, grab a manufacturer of laser rangefinders, change the software, and you can mass-produce laser-guided weapons.

Of course, in the 1980s China, this is undoubtedly high technology.

The entire laser guidance head test took two days. Hu Wenhai initially optimized the guidance law for the guided bomb, and the gyroscope in the guidance head operated normally. It can be said that the land testing is almost ready.

"Mr. Hu, are we really going to drop this guided bomb?" Bai Shi looked at the results of the past two days' work with some regret. To fit the entire guidance head into the bomb, he had spent a lot of effort.

It was like seeing a domino setup he had arranged himself; the thought of it being knocked down made him a bit reluctant.

"There's a CCD, two microcontrollers, and an analog-to-digital converter inside..." Bai Shi clicked his teeth and shook his head. "The cost is at least a thousand yuan. Can the military afford it?"

"Just a thousand yuan or so. Without considering its tactical value, just the cost of the conventional firepower it can replace, how many large-caliber artillery shells can you buy for a thousand yuan?"

Hu Wenhai, without lifting his head, was performing the final program confirmation and said nonchalantly, "Using precision-guided weapons is actually more cost-effective, not more expensive. Remember this."

As he spoke, the command lines on the Macintosh computer screen stopped scrolling and returned a "right" word, indicating that the entire system was ready.

Hu Wenhai unplugged the data cable from the serial port on the back of the Macintosh computer, which was connected to the drone, and then clapped his hands. Deng Renliang and Bai Rong, Bai Shi's subordinates, ran over and began to refuel the drone and make the final preparations for the flight.

In the operation shed next to the runway, a flight school instructor was already ready, familiarizing himself with the control panel, which was slightly different from the simulator.

In the distance, about 200 to 300 meters from the runway, a trench had been dug, and a breastwork had been built to ensure that people standing inside could only expose their heads. Digging such a pit in the cold winter of Northeast China was no easy task, but it was necessary for the safety of the personnel during the weapon test.

At this moment, Hu Shiwu and a group of old men were already enthusiastically sitting on stools in the trench. Hu Wenhai personally supervised Deng Renliang and Bai Rong to complete the final pre-flight checks of the drone, applied for takeoff permission from the airport, and with his command, the flight school instructor easily lifted the drone off the ground.

Seeing the drone gradually fly towards the airport until it was no longer visible in the sky, Hu Wenhai and Bai Shi and the others ran back to the trench.

"Oh, where is this plane going to drop the bomb? I think it should be near our factory. What if it goes so far and gets lost?" Bai Quanyi watched the plane fly away, not knowing where it was going or the detailed plan for the live bomb drop, and couldn't help but complain.

"Haha, do you think the missile is like you, that it can run away?" Wang Deyang had been brushing up on the basics of laser guidance over the past two days and was now the most enthusiastic old man about this test: "That's high technology. Even if you lose the missile, it won't get lost. Besides, if it doesn't fly far, how can we show the power of our laser guidance?"

"You're wrong! Flying far is to test the performance of inertial guidance and stand-off weapons, not related to laser guidance!"

"How is it not related? In the end, it still tests the ability of the laser guidance head to detect the target?"

...

Hu Wenhai looked at these old men helplessly, not knowing how to evaluate them. They liked to bicker, but it wasn't really that. This was probably a way of communication within this small team, just a bit unconventional.

Moreover, despite their tendency to mock and argue with each other, in these seemingly trivial behaviors, the old men seemed to discover some issues or help integrate their knowledge.

It can only be said that every team works in different ways. After decades of cooperation, they had established a special incentive mechanism to ensure the enthusiasm of each member.

This made Hu Wenhai somewhat reflective. In fact, we are not lacking in advanced management methods. The development of Western management methods may ultimately be no different from these old men chatting here. The difference is that they can form theories and replicate success, while we often blindly believe in Western theories and successes and can easily transplant them into Chinese society.

A clear issue is that many companies' ISO systems are actually for certification purposes. Some companies that manage according to the ISO system are not as good as some Chinese bosses' "rustic methods." A lot of time is wasted in the bureaucratic process of document circulation, and the efficiency is not as high as when the boss personally goes down to find problems. In the end, is it that our bosses are "rustic," or that the ISO system is not suitable for our reality? This is probably unclear.

But with the advent of the post-Fordist manufacturing era, the fact is that many Western factories are beginning to repeat some seemingly "rustic" management methods. Assembly lines are fading, and collaborative assembly is rising, emphasizing teamwork over individual responsibility...

So the key is to look at everyone's specific situation. As Chairman Mao said, "Without investigation, there is no right to speak."

Hu Wenhai listened to the old men chatting and paid attention to the phone line he had pulled over. After about ten minutes, the phone on the ground suddenly rang, and the originally noisy scene instantly became so quiet that a leaf falling could be heard.

"Hello, this is Hu Wenhai."

"Oh, has the control antenna been switched to the airport? How is it? Are the two systems connecting normally? Great!"

Hu Wenhai waved his fist forcefully. This was the first experiment of the day, remote relay control. The drone flew towards the airport and entered the control range of the airport antenna before it was out of the control panel's range. The airport then relayed the control signals and video, allowing the control panel to continue operating.

The success of this experiment, although it seemed to be just a matter of pulling an antenna to the airport, was actually a significant step towards solving the communication relay for drones!

With communication relay drones, the formation of a battlefield information network is not far off. To put it vividly, as long as a wireless base station is thrown into the sky, it's like stepping into the door of information warfare.

However, this experiment was not the main event of the day. As Hu Wenhai relayed the information, everyone in the trench soon understood that the drone had already flown ten kilometers from the takeoff runway.

Cough, well, a mere ten kilometers of launch distance can hardly be called a stand-off weapon. The JSOWs of various countries have a range of at least a hundred kilometers to be called stand-off weapons.

However, it was also out of necessity that Hu Wenhai's toy had only a ten-kilometer range. On one hand, the carrier was an immature drone, and on the other hand, he used industrial-grade gyroscopes.

Yes, without high-precision gyroscopes to ensure the heading, if the bomb were launched from a hundred kilometers away, it might not know where it would end up.

But there's no need to worry. In terms of military-grade gyroscopes, the gap between China and the world is not significant. It's just that Hu Wenhai's Xinke factory couldn't buy military-grade products...

Following Hu Wenhai's command, the drone, which had already corrected its heading ten kilometers away, received the order from the control panel and suddenly felt lighter. The guided bomb hidden in its belly dropped out.

The hidden wings of the guided bomb suddenly popped out, and the four tail fins at the rear also stood up. Under the effect of the wings, the olive-shaped bomb did not plunge to the ground but instead wobbled forward like a stuffed sparrow.

At first, the speed of the guided bomb was not very fast, but as its altitude continuously decreased, potential energy was converted into kinetic energy, and soon the fat bomb swept across the sky of Xiucheng Airport, continuing to fly towards the Xinke factory in the predetermined direction.

"Old Bai, turn on the laser target indicator!" Hu Wenhai, hearing the radar monitoring information from the airport, quickly ordered Bai Shi to remotely activate the laser target indicator placed on the runway.

Invisible near-infrared laser illuminated the target drawn with chalk at the end of the runway. No one knew if the bomb, which had already descended to an altitude of 3,000 meters, could detect the scattered laser on the ground.

After a short while, the people hiding in the trench suddenly heard a hissing sound, which was initially very faint but quickly became sharp!

Suddenly, Bai Rong, who had sharp eyes, pointed to a direction in the sky, opened her mouth, and shouted loudly, "Quick, quick, look!"