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

"Please rest assured, leaders!" Qin Chuan immediately understood the purpose of these people, but he had no choice but to smile and say, "Our gantry crane will be installed as soon as possible, and a large number of skilled shipbuilding workers are on their way. We will definitely not delay the Navy's construction schedule!"

"Hmm." Leader Zhang nodded: "You also want to build an aircraft carrier, where's the shipyard?"

"It's freezing cold, so digging the dock is difficult. We'll start next spring when the weather warms up!"

"We have to wait until next year? Won't that delay the construction schedule?"

"Of course not. Don't be fooled by the fact that we've only just started shipbuilding; we have a large group of experienced master craftsmen, so it definitely won't delay things."

"Hmm, how about we have a meeting to discuss the details?"

"Alright, leaders, let's go to the conference room at our Laiyang factory and discuss this in detail."

With the navy already at his doorstep, Qin Chuan couldn't avoid it any longer. He entered the conference room, but after only a few words about the dock, he turned to the catapult.

"Does your factory in Laiyang have the capability to replicate the catapult?"

"The principle of a catapult is not complicated, and its structure is also very simple. As long as the navy allocates funds, we can build it," Qin Chuan said. "However, steam catapults have too many flaws."

"Steam catapults have flaws? Tell me about them."

“Each catapult launch consumes a large amount of steam, which means a significant loss of fresh water. This poses a great challenge to the aircraft carrier’s fresh water production capabilities. After multiple catapult launches, the aircraft carrier will slow down due to insufficient steam, making it unable to meet the requirements for continued catapult launches. Moreover, maintenance is very troublesome, and malfunctions are common.”

Ordinary warships carry fresh water when they go to sea, but aircraft carriers have thousands of people eating, drinking, and using the facilities, so the demand for fresh water is too high. Therefore, they usually produce their own fresh water.

Before the invention of reverse osmosis membrane filtration technology, seawater desalination was done using the old method of boiling seawater to turn it into steam, which was then condensed back into water. This technology was quite resource-intensive, and the ability to produce fresh water on its own was not particularly strong.

The naval leaders were deep in thought.

These are indeed all problems!

"If you had said a few more words yesterday, we wouldn't have had to hold an all-night meeting to discuss this," Qin Jiantai complained, glancing at Qin Chuan.

"Second Uncle, I was dizzy when I got off the plane yesterday and didn't think about these things. Even if you asked me to say it yesterday, I couldn't answer it!"

"Okay, so you mean you don't approve of using catapults?"

"That's not quite right. Catapults are very helpful in enhancing the combat effectiveness of aircraft carriers. Look at the Americans, they all have catapult-equipped aircraft carriers. If we want to develop a powerful navy, we also need catapults. I wonder if any of you leaders have heard of electromagnetic catapults?"

Steam catapults use high-temperature, high-pressure steam to drive pistons, while electromagnetic catapults are essentially linear motors, but these linear motors require extremely strong thrust.

Qin Chuan gave a brief introduction and saw that the leaders present were somewhat confused. Okay, the objective was achieved.

The final choice is still yours!

"Electromagnetic catapults have many advantages. For example, they consume electricity, not steam, and their launch capability is continuously adjustable and highly reliable... The United States began researching these technologies in the 1980s, so why don't we get there in one step..."

Babbich, who had come with the naval leaders, had a gleam in his eyes; this was indeed new technology!

However… Qin Chuan never expected that before he could even say Ma Gong's name, the naval leader would speak up.

"If we develop an electromagnetic catapult, how many years will it take?"

"About ten years, I don't know the exact number."

How much will it cost?

“I don’t know about that…”

"Then what about your imitation of steam catapults?"

Well, the problem that had been troubling Qin Chuan for so long wasn't a problem at all for the naval leadership. Electromagnetic catapults were indeed advanced, but they cost money! And the navy's budget was barely enough to cover the costs!

When the idea of ​​building an aircraft carrier was first proposed, it was almost blocked due to funding issues. They finally agreed to a demand of 1 billion to build just the hull. Now, they want to continue spending money to develop the advanced electromagnetic catapult.

Where will the funding come from?

It would be better to survey and replicate a steam catapult. The technology is readily available; all we have is a pile of steel. We can just hand it over to Laiyang Factory to build!

We'll use the steam catapult first, and then we can modify it later when we have an electromagnetic catapult!

Converting steam to electric bombs isn't difficult; you can disassemble and reinstall them, and the size is even smaller. But if you were to pre-install electric bombs to convert them to steam, that would be an impossible task, since the steam would have to be brought in from the boiler room!

“Alright, we can take on this task then, but Mr. Babich has to stay.” Qin Chuan compromised.

"Of course, he was the one you found in the first place."

"During the development of the steam catapult, I also wanted to invite Mr. Babich to be the chief shipbuilder of our Type 052B destroyer."

China has already implemented a chief engineer system. When building a warship, not only does the navy send a military representative, but the shipyard also has to appoint a dedicated person to take overall responsibility.

The shipyard in Laiyang was just starting out and it was building the largest destroyer in the country. It needed an experienced person to oversee it, and Babich was the most suitable!

"Of course, by the way, you can also pay Mr. Babbage's salary."

Qin Chuan was speechless.

When needed, she's a sweetheart; when not needed, she's a bitter old hag?

When Babich first came, the Navy was incredibly excited and dragged him into Project 891, refusing to let him go. Now that Project 891 has come to an end and is about to enter the detailed design and construction phase, Babich is no longer of any use!

"That's natural." Qin Chuan nodded, not bothering to argue with the Navy. Babich was coming to be his chief shipbuilding engineer, leading a bunch of Russians to work, just like back in the Black Sea Shipyard days!

Just then, Yang Xue walked in: "I'm very sorry to disturb the meeting. We just received news that the 500 workers that Er Mao hired have arrived at the Capital International Airport."

Qin Chuan was stunned for a moment.

The workers were already at work; they were the ones who dismantled the scrap metal at the Nitka base, loaded it onto ships, and since they had nothing else to do, they naturally had to take a plane to the East.

Why didn't Najesta notify me beforehand?

Judging by the time, I must have boarded the plane while I was sleeping last night, so I guess I can't get in touch with him/her.

"The workers have arrived? Perfect timing, construction starts tomorrow! These workers have been building aircraft carriers all along, building our destroyers is a piece of cake for them!"

Everyone became excited.

“Ahem, Mr. Babich, would you like to come with Brother Chuan? These workers were brought by Najesta.”

“Okay.” Babbage nodded.