Great warships

Chapter 1271: Ah San's Journey to an Aircraft Carrier is So Bumpy

At Cochin Shipyard, construction is still going on in full swing.

Many people are laughing at Indians, saying that whatever Indians do is a joke. So, Indians also want to prove themselves and let the world see that when they do things, they are quite serious, and quite seriously funny!

Such as now.

It took Asan only half a month to consolidate the foundation and build the railway. He successfully built one, no, four three-kilometer railways. For Asan, this was definitely a miracle. Under normal circumstances, it would take Asan at least a year!
When the railway was completed, Sunil came to the shipyard again with great interest. Looking at the brand new foundation, his face was full of smiles: "Great, in this way, our 10,000-ton gantry crane can be driven all the way to the side of the Chaori Wang! This is a miracle created by us, the Indians, and also a miracle of the world!"

Alex still frowned. "Now, we can drive the 10,000-ton gantry crane over, but we can't guarantee that the gantry crane can lift this section and move it back. Accidents may happen at any time."

The track has been laid and the empty gantry crane can be driven over. However, this does not mean that everything will be fine. When the gantry crane slowly moves back with a section weighing more than 10,000 tons, every meter will be thrilling.

"What kind of accident could happen?" Sunil said, "We must not have any more accidents. This is an order!"

Order?

You can command me, can you command this gantry crane?

Alex was very dissatisfied, but he couldn't say anything. After all, Sunil was the leader and he was just working for him. He had to obey the leader's orders.

"Now, start moving the gantry crane!"

Under everyone's nervous gaze, the gantry crane began to move slowly, leaving the original track little by little. When it passed the track joint and moved onto the newly laid track by Asan, countless people cheered.

Awesome, awesome!
Their gantry cranes can not only be used on the docks, but also on the slipways along the way. This gantry crane can serve the entire shipyard, which is amazing!

Why didn’t I think of doing this before?

Amid the cheers of countless people, Alex was still very cautious. He knew that driving on the track laid by his own team was no big deal. As long as the track was the same as the original standard, it could withstand the weight of a 10,000-ton gantry crane. The key was the road ahead. For example, there would be two bends along the way, and then he would need to drive to the beach. He didn't know whether the roadbed there could withstand it.

We can only take one step at a time.

"Why is it so slow?" Sunil was a little impatient. A healthy snail could outrun it, so couldn't it go faster?

Alex shook his head: "No, we have to put safety first. We can't go fast, we have to go slow!"

Sunil didn't say anything else, but just watched with a dark face. The gantry crane moved little by little, which made Sunil want to go up and give it a push.

The gantry crane slowly passed the first bend, no problem!
Alex was secretly delighted, it seemed that the operation of the gantry crane was not that complicated, the quality of the Eastern gantry cranes was still good... No, it had nothing to do with the quality of the gantry crane, it was all because of the good operation of our Indians!

The gantry crane slowly passed the second bend and moved towards the beach bit by bit.

When the sun rose high overhead, the gantry crane finally moved to the side of the section cut out from the Hyper Sun King. The portal frame was placed on both sides of the Hyper Sun King, covering it.

Next, it’s time to lift it!
A large number of hooks have been welded on both sides of the segments cut from the Super Sun King. After all, it is impossible to pass through from the bottom, so it can only be hung from the side. These hooks are connected to countless steel cables, and then hung on the large hook of the gantry crane.

By the time all this was done, it was already past three in the afternoon.

As the sun gradually set, Alex couldn't help but ask, "Should we wait until tomorrow?"

"No, today, we must take this segment away today. Tonight, our news will announce this good news to the world. We absolutely cannot bear to continue waiting. This is too painful!"

Alex was helpless, knowing that it was useless to say anything now, and could only give orders in fear.

"Attention, everyone, prepare to lift!"

The steel cables of the gantry crane began to tighten slowly, little by little, and Alex's heart tightened little by little. When all the steel cables were tightened, the huge sections of the hull of the Ultra Sun King made a creaking sound, which made people feel a little soft-hearted.

Will the lifting process cause the ship to deform? Will it be impossible to dock once it is lifted?

Many worries flashed through Alex's mind, but now, these worries were meaningless. He had to do the task at hand first and make sure no accidents happened.

"Get up, get up!"

Many people cheered as they watched the segmented bottom, weighing more than 10,000 tons, gradually separate from the beach.

Lifting it up is the first step. If the gantry crane does not have such a large lifting capacity, everything will be in vain. The quality of this oriental gantry crane is really good!
"Attention, prepare to move to the left!"

Because their cutting work was very tight, the front and rear sections of the Super Sun King had not been completely cleaned. Fortunately, the gantry crane was wide enough to move the sections horizontally first, and then move forward to take the sections away.

This method is also very common in ship construction. Many sections are built on the slipway and then moved horizontally to the dock for docking.

Now, this shouldn't be a difficult job.

The overhead crane on top of the gantry crane began to move horizontally, a little bit at a time, which made Sunil very impatient. At this rate, the aircraft carrier can only be moved a few hundred meters before dark!
However, he didn't dare to urge him any further, because he saw beads of sweat oozing from Alex's forehead, which showed that Alex was very nervous at the moment, and he couldn't create more pressure on Alex.

One centimeter, ten centimeters, one meter... segments of dozens of meters in width moved away from their original positions little by little. Everyone's eyes were fixed on this segment, fearing that something might go wrong with it.

The section and the original hull moved halfway away, the section and the original hull moved completely away!

When they saw the segmentation completely gone, everyone cheered. Okay, we can move forward next!
"Attention, prepare to switch to radial motion!" Alex hadn't finished speaking when he heard a cry of surprise: "Oh no, the left track is sinking!"

The weight of more than 10,000 tons would not be a big problem if it was firmly in the center of the gantry crane. But what about now? In order to move the sections horizontally, all of them were moved to the left side of the gantry crane.

Although the gantry crane can withstand it, their tracks can no longer bear it!
The left track was dropping at a speed visible to the naked eye and had completely sunk into the beach!

"Stop, put down the segment!"

Alex knew that he must not remain calm at this moment, but must use his brain to think of a solution, and he would definitely find a way to solve the problem!

"The foundation is soft, we need to strengthen it!"

As long as the sections are lowered, the gantry crane will not need to bear such a heavy weight and will naturally not continue to sink. The next step is to reinforce the foundation so that the track can withstand the weight of tens of thousands of tons.

how to solve this problem?

"Tear down the remaining aircraft carrier into sections and lay the removed steel plates underneath!"

On construction sites, you can often see steel plates used to pave the road, which allows a hundred-ton king to pass easily. Now, to withstand tens of thousands of tons, steel plates must also be used as pads. The steel plates of the aircraft carrier are dismantled and used as pads, and the deck steel is placed under the track. I don’t believe there will be any problems!
but……

If we want to do this, it will take another three to five days!

Sunil frowned. “Is there no better way?”

He had originally planned to announce the good news tonight, but it looks like he has to delay it again!

"This is the safest way. No matter what happens, we can't afford it." Alex said, "Anyway, the aircraft carrier project has been delayed until now, so we don't mind delaying it for a few more days."

"Okay." Sunil could only nod helplessly.

After returning from the shipyard, Sunil was still unable to calm down. The giant ships from the East seemed to appear before his eyes again. How could the Orientals build aircraft carriers one after another, while it was so difficult for him to build only one?
What went wrong?

"Sir Sunil, good news, good news!" At this moment, one of his men walked in. Sunil needed good news so badly!
"what news?"

"After receiving our funds, Da Mao immediately started building a nuclear submarine. The people we sent have been supervising there. Da Mao has indeed started construction!"

"This is really good news." Sunil nodded. Although the aircraft carrier project is progressing slowly, the nuclear submarine has made a major breakthrough. The Type 971 nuclear submarine is the most advanced in the world!

"Announce to the outside world that we have reached an agreement with Russia to lease a most advanced Type 971 nuclear submarine. This nuclear submarine will allow us to better control the ocean and effectively prevent foreign forces from entering our waters!"

"Yes."

"Humph, no matter how advanced the Oriental aircraft carrier is, it cannot survive the attack of the Type 971 nuclear submarine. Our strength is still the strongest!"

Sunil was immersed in his dream again.

East.

"Sir Nicholas, you are here so soon?"

"Of course, I'm here to sign the agreement. We already have sufficient funds, and our Type 949A nuclear submarine transformation plan can finally begin!" Nikolai looked at Kvasa with excitement on his face: "Just improve it according to your design!"

Just then, a familiar voice was heard from outside.

"Nikola, my friend, I'm so sorry, I had other things to do and couldn't pick you up."

"It's okay, Qin. I'm eager to see the Irkutsk after its renovation!"

"I am also looking forward to it. In fact, I am more curious about what kind of missile you will use to modify it so that it can exert greater power. But since you are unwilling to tell me, I will not ask."

"We'll tell you when the time is right." Nicholas said, "Who knows, we may still have it modified here. Now, modify the other parts first. I've brought the modification fee."

"Can this submarine be driven? If not, I will send a floating dock to retrieve it."

The Indians have invested money, and their Russian navy also has the funds to improve its nuclear submarines! In order to avoid the last situation, it is most appropriate to transform it in the East!

After saying these things, Nicholas suddenly thought of something.

"Qin, some of the parts needed for the Type 971 nuclear submarine we built for Ah San are no longer available because the supporting manufacturers have gone bankrupt. I wonder if you can help produce it?"

"Of course, no problem." Qin Tao said with a smile: "In fact, many parts inside can be replaced with more modern parts, which will greatly improve the performance of the submarine. For example, the combat command system on the submarine can use our products..."

Nicholas nodded: "Okay."

Of course, Nicholas knew that leasing a Type 971 nuclear submarine to India would bring a lot of trouble to the East, so he had to give the East some benefits. For example, handing over some key subsystems on the nuclear submarine to the East would allow the East to make money on the one hand, and on the other hand, it would also allow the East to gain a sense of security.

As for Ah San's interests? Who cares?

"We will purchase the parts we cannot produce from you. Price is not an issue."

"We will definitely give you the lowest price."

"Qin, there seems to be a big move in your shipyard recently. What are you doing?"

"Well, it's a secret."

Nicholas smiled and said, "In fact, we are not very interested in what you are going to build, but the Americans may not be interested. The US reconnaissance satellites are always flying over your heads. You'd better be careful."

"What can we do about it? We can't put a cover on the dock. If the Americans want to see it, let them see it."

Across the ocean.

"Although they have just started to build the bottom, I am sure that they are going to build a warship of the same type as the 003!" Brian said, "I have been paying attention to their 003 aircraft carrier since it was built. I am sure I am right."

"So, the Orientals are finally going to continue to build the same type of warships? What are they going to do? They already have three aircraft carriers, isn't that enough?"

Austin's voice was loud and full of dissatisfaction: "We must tell the Orientals that they have built too many aircraft carriers and have seriously undermined world peace!"

"Tell the Orientals? Will it work?" Brian had a sneer on his face. "In their Qiongzhou Shipyard, the 052DL destroyers are being built in batches! The 055-ton destroyers are also being started, launched, and put into service. Their strength has soared rapidly in just a few years. What's the point of us blaming them? We must take practical action!"

"What practical action?"

"At present, what our navy needs is mature warships that can be equipped in large quantities. I think we should quickly complete the construction of Burke-3 destroyers. At least of them are needed to maintain the strength of our navy."

Well, back to the old ways again.

Over the years, the U.S. Navy has had almost no correct path and has been constantly making choices and re-choosing.

At first, Swift firmly supported the Burke 3 project, but soon found that this missile destroyer could not compete with the Eastern 055, so he came up with the CGX project. However, this project was too expensive, and the congressional masters have been stuck with funding. Now, they have returned to the old way! Continue to develop the Burke 3 destroyer.

At least this one is ready-made and can be tinkered with as quickly as possible!
"In recent years, our navy's equipment has been aging and can no longer gain an advantage over the East. Various advanced technologies have wasted a lot of money and have not matured quickly. Only by developing our Burke-3 destroyers as soon as possible can we update our fleet as soon as possible. As for aircraft carriers, the Ford-class aircraft carrier is too far away. We might as well continue to develop the previous aircraft carriers..."

As Swift's assistant, Brian had always been under Swift's aura. Now that Swift is gone, Brian has a bigger stage and began to put forward his theory.

Pragmatic theory: Everything is based on the principle of getting it done as quickly as possible and saving money!
"No, no, we can't give up the CGX cruiser!" At this moment, someone nearby spoke up: "The Easterners' warships have a quality advantage over us, not a quantity advantage. Even if they build warships for another five years, they can't catch up with the number of our warships. However, the quality of their warships is very high, especially the 055!"

The U.S. Navy certainly has a huge advantage in terms of fleet size, ranking first in the world, but they also have a lot of things to deal with, and it is impossible for them all to gather in the East. Therefore, they simply cannot form an overwhelming advantage over the East, not even in terms of numbers!
Brian is a pragmatist and strongly disagrees with the approach of pursuing quality rather than quantity.

"What's the point of high quality? Our DDG-1000 was designed to have a quality advantage, but what happened?" Brian retorted, "If we take out the money for three DDG-1000s, we can build six Burke 3s!"

"Alas, our manufacturing costs are still too high." At this moment, someone sighed.

The East does not have much money, but it builds warships one after another because it has a huge cost advantage that other countries cannot match.

"I feel like it would be the best idea to let the Orientals build the warships. With the money we spend on one ship, they can build two, or even three!"

No one present spoke.

The current dilemma faced by the US Navy is that the construction cost is too high! The East can build a fleet that they envy with less than one-tenth of their money!
However, this is not something that their navy can control, and it does not only appear in their navy's equipment. The equipment of the air force, army, or any other branch of the military will face this problem.

The meeting lasted a day without any results, and Brian suddenly understood how Swift felt at the time.

(End of this chapter)