Great Power Industry: You're a private company building an aircraft carrier?

“A carrier strike group needs at least three of these comprehensive supply ships,” Li Jianshe continued. “That way, one ship accompanies the carrier strike group and can be replenished at any time, one is on its way back to port, and one is on its way here…”

The naval leaders had complicated expressions. They all said that the navy was a money pit, and they now understood that feeling all too well. Building an aircraft carrier battle group required a huge investment. Even preparing three "nannies" for the carrier battle group was necessary, so that they could provide support whenever needed.

This would be impossible without the support of a strong national power!

"Yes, build one first, equip it, and conduct various tests. If there are no problems, then build two more," said Leader Zhang.

Starting construction on three ships at once is too risky. What if the navy finds that this type of replenishment ship is not suitable for its use after it has been put into service? Wouldn't that be a waste? Therefore, we can't rush it. Over the years, the navy has been used to taking small steps and moving quickly. It is not easy to adapt to this kind of rapid progress all at once.

"Please rest assured, leaders. Although this is our first time building a comprehensive supply ship, we have the experience of refitting that old Russian comprehensive supply ship, and all the designs are very mature," Qin Chuan said.

The Laiyang Group played a crucial role in bringing back the 30,000-ton supply ship from the Russians back then. They not only helped bring back the supply ship, but they also participated in the entire refit process and have thoroughly mastered the equipment on the supply ship, such as the supply gantry.

“Well, we trust Laiyang Group’s technology. Now, let’s move on to the second product,” said Director Zhang.

"Alright, leaders, this second type is for the naval forces composed of destroyer and frigate formations." Li Jianshe continued, "This type of comprehensive supply ship is 178 meters long, 25 meters wide, and has a maximum displacement of over 20,000 tons. It can carry 10,500 tons of fuel, 250 tons of fresh water, and 680 tons of dry cargo, including food and ammunition supplies..."

This type of replenishment ship has reduced its tonnage by half and its replenishment capacity has also been greatly reduced. If it were to replenish an aircraft carrier battle group, several ships would be needed at once. However, as a support ship for a destroyer and frigate battle group, it would be perfectly adequate, ensuring the needs of the battle group for long-term navigation and combat.

"What about the speed?" a leader asked.

"The speed also depends on its power system. Our plan is to equip it with a diesel-gas hybrid power system, which means transplanting the power system of the 052C, which can allow it to run at 25 knots. However... I guess the leaders will have objections to this kind of drive. If the leaders think it is too extravagant, we can also replace it with a medium-speed diesel engine. In that case, the speed may not even be enough for 20 knots."

"Of course we prefer advanced propulsion systems, but that also means increased construction and operating costs. Let's stick with medium-speed diesel engines. After all, our navy's budget isn't very sufficient yet. The money saved can be used to build more Type 055 destroyers."

"Yes." Li Jianshe knew that the naval leaders did not value these auxiliary vessels very much. It would be uneconomical if the price was too high, so they had to save money. Diesel engines were fine; as long as the gas turbine was removed from the design drawings, it would be fine.

In fact, even with diesel-gas turbine combined cycle power, the diesel engine is mainly used for normal navigation. Only when high-speed navigation is required will the gas turbine be turned on, and the fuel will be consumed at an alarming rate...

"Let's move on to close-in weapon systems. As a supply ship, it only needs to have limited self-defense capabilities. Currently, the navy has two types of close-in weapon systems: one is a copy of the AK-630 naval gun, and the other is the domestically developed Type 730 naval gun..."

"About 630."

This copy of the naval gun is cheap, while the domestically developed Type 730 is expensive because it uses many advanced technologies. The navy even wants to save money on this kind of thing!

However, this kind of money-saving behavior is not surprising when looking at the world. When a certain country's navy was building new warships, it simply removed the naval guns from the old warships and installed them, just to save money on the naval guns.

"Alright, leaders, that's basically the situation. If anyone has any requests, please feel free to raise them. Otherwise, the design plan is now frozen," Li Jianshe concluded.

Previously, almost all of the navy's equipment was designed by Institute 701. Now, it's finally Li Jianshe's turn to design it for his private organization. This is a new beginning, and he is very excited.

"Yes, the Navy is very satisfied with this type of supply ship. You should freeze the design plan and submit it to the Navy for review. Once the review is approved, construction should begin soon." Leader Zhang nodded.

"Report." Just then, a secretary walked in: "We just received news that a Japanese maritime patrol plane was causing trouble in the southern seas, but it has been driven away by the fighter jets that I scrambled from Zhubi Island..."

Since the reclamation in the southern sea area, the effect has been very significant. In case of any situation, we can take off directly from the south and react very quickly. If we take off from Qiongzhou, we simply won't be able to keep up!

At this moment, everyone had complicated expressions.

"Thanks to our land reclamation and island building, the south has become increasingly lively in recent years," Leader Zhang remarked with emotion.

"Yes, these clowns will always step forward and cause us trouble..."

Everyone was deeply moved.

"Distinguished leaders, it would be impolite not to reciprocate!"

All eyes turned to Qin Chuan: "President Qin, do you mean we should send an aircraft carrier battle group over there?"

"Don't use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Two Type 052C destroyers and one supply ship will suffice."

The group looked at each other, then shook their heads: "President Qin, your plan is very constructive, but... I'm afraid it's unlikely! Although we've built a batch, the number allocated to each fleet is still not much, and we're already stretched thin for routine combat patrols. This kind of mission..."

The British only have a few Type 45 destroyers, yet they still come here to conduct freedom of navigation operations all the time. In the end, we're just used to being cautious, afraid of provoking others. Actually, protesting a thousand times is not as effective as sending a warship over. After all, sending a warship is the language that those clowns can understand.

However... Qin Chuan could understand his superiors' concerns, after all, the country was not yet powerful enough to warrant such considerations.

"How about we test-fire a Type 31 rocket?" Qin Chuan said. "This rocket has been in service with the troops for many years. In the past, we always kept it a secret. Now, we can definitely conduct a test launch. We can choose the landing point in the South Pacific Ocean, around 10 degrees south latitude and 140 degrees west longitude."

Everyone's eyes lit up.