Weapons Preparation, Changes in Hope Village

In modern warfare, ships ranging from small destroyers and frigates to large cruisers and aircraft carriers do not choose to carry short-range ballistic missiles, but instead opt for anti-ship missiles.

The reason for choosing anti-ship missiles is simple.

The battleship has vanished!

What is the hallmark of a battleship? A massive ship with Giant Cannon and heavy armor!

Judging from the power of the mainstream anti-ship missiles currently in service, more than 90% of the models are only able to scratch the surface when facing ancient World War II battleships.

If battleships still existed, perhaps the Maozi Kirov-class battleships' idea of equipping them with ballistic missiles could have been further developed, but now that they've disappeared, it's all just empty talk.

Given that battleships have such a significant advantage, what if they didn't disappear and were equipped with missiles? The reason this line of thinking is flawed is quite simple.

In modern times, due to the large number of sophisticated components and the complexity of technology, the cost per unit volume of weapons is far greater than that of World War II.

Similarly, the larger the displacement of a warship, the higher its cost.

Given that battleships are comparable in size to aircraft carriers, building a modern battleship with a displacement similar to that of an aircraft carrier would require more powerful radar and more sophisticated instruments due to its larger size.

Its hull cost is not necessarily cheaper than that of an aircraft carrier, and with its large number and variety of missiles, it is fully capable of competing with the overall cost of an aircraft carrier.

In addition, since ships sail on the sea, their ability to detect surface ships is relatively weak due to the curvature of the Earth.

Without air and space coordination, you have to get close enough to engage in missile exchanges! Even the major powers don't have the funds or the guts to send such expensive battleships to engage in close-range missile exchanges with the enemy.

Therefore, with battleships withdrawing from the battlefield and the "skin" of various ships becoming thinner and thinner, choosing high-yield missiles became meaningless, even heavy anti-ship missiles weighed only 500 kilograms.

Furthermore, in modern warfare, ballistic missiles have better delivery vehicles, such as nuclear submarines, which are both convenient and stable.

On the other hand, the launch environment for ballistic missiles is extremely poor.

If a hot start is used, with the missile launched directly from the deck, then the entire ship's electronic equipment could be exposed to the missile's exhaust plume.

If a cold launch is used, the missile must be ejected to a very high position before it can ignite, and the swaying of the ship platform will seriously affect the ejection accuracy, ultimately greatly reducing the missile's accuracy.

This led to the inevitable result of the development of technological weapons.

However, if the situation were to be shifted to an ocean of wasteland, then the actual circumstances would need to be taken into full consideration when considering such issues.

Short-range ballistic missiles, also known as Tactical Missile.

They are generally used in ground-to-ground combat, carrying conventional warheads, and are mainly used to attack fixed and mobile targets in the enemy's operational and tactical depth, beyond the range of ground artillery.

The R-3 Short-Range Ballistic Missile is 7.1 meters long, 0.82 meters in diameter, weighs 3,050 kilograms at launch, uses solid propellant, has a range of 320 kilometers, a speed of 960 m/s, and is equipped with a digital calculator and an autonomous inertial control system. It also has aerodynamic rudders at the tail.

Thanks to advanced technology, without considering any modifications, the effective blast radius is 165 meters, and the maximum blast radius is 310 meters.

Compared to Tactical Missile of similar specifications on Earth, the R-3 is undoubtedly smaller, faster, and more powerful.

Unfortunately, this data was still far from what Su Mo wanted! "Everyone on the ocean is constantly moving. It's very possible that the enemy was still within range before my missile was launched, but by the time it arrives, they've already left."

"If I choose to strike when the enemy is 250 kilometers away, the missile's arrival time will be..."

"4 minutes and 30 seconds!"

"Based on the assumption that everyone is in a wooden boat, and disregarding wind direction, the enemy would be at least 400 meters away after four and a half minutes, far beyond the missile's blast radius."

After some calculations, looking at the range of the R-3 missile and the estimated distance, Su Mo substituted the equations and did some calculations, gradually getting a clue.

It seems that loading conventional warheads, which are standard equipment on missiles, is not feasible; the blast radius is too small, and even with the addition of a launch compartment, it won't be that large.

It's very possible that once it's fired, it will make a loud noise and trigger a fireworks display.

Therefore, when it came to the deployment of explosives, after looking at the Explosive Pack in the base, Su Mo's heart sank, and he immediately decided on another Technology Tree that the shelter would advance in the remaining ten days or so.

Moreover, this TnT is not conventional trinitrotoluene, but a super explosive incorporating Psionic Water and enhanced nitric acid! "Based on the power of Yellow Explosive with Psionic Water added, if I could replace all the explosives in the missile with higher-quality TnT of the same weight, the power would be even more terrifying."

Theoretically, the explosion of one kilogram of TNT can generate 4.2 million joules of energy.

"Including the 100%-300% increase in Psionic Water, the 50% increase in enhanced nitric acid, and the 5%-30% increase in modules, one kilogram of TnT will reach 18 million joules of energy."

"Considering the expansion efficiency of the explosive and the impact force, this value may be even higher. We need to convert it to the blast radius of an equivalent explosive and substitute it into the calculation."

Equivalent calculation is not difficult.

After some calculations, Su Mo discovered that TnT with this characteristic could increase the effective kill range from 300 meters to 1.4 kilometers or even higher under the same equivalent. Su Mo's heart could no longer remain calm and began to pound like a drum.

A blast radius of 1.4 kilometers. Goodness, what does that mean? The legendary M388 nuclear artillery shell, which is said to have a damage radius greater than its range, actually only has a kill radius of 500 meters.

As for missiles that are normally deployed, without considering nuclear or hydrogen-powered missiles, very few can exceed one kilometer.

But now, all it takes is the addition of magical psionic energy, and that's all it takes to stir things up.

The power of the bomb will then undergo a qualitative change.

"No, we absolutely cannot sell Psionic Water casually anymore, otherwise it might fall into the wrong hands."

"This could very well lead to unimaginable disasters!"

The Psionic Water before the upgrade produced such terrifying effects when added to regular weapons; as for how much better the upgraded version would be, Su Mo couldn't help but shudder.

In a world where equivalence is justice, we should join the upgraded TnT at all costs.

Even the Dongfeng-17 launched in front of the Kobold Castle is probably no match for this specially made super missile.

Shaking his head, he dismissed these thoughts that only warmongers would have, and turned a new page. Su Mo began to study how to make it.

Su Mo didn't know the specific reasons, but now that he had decided to trade with the authorities, Su Mo wasn't worried about the intricacies involved. He went straight to the machine tool and took out the bionic robot he had previously used to manufacture Nitrated Guncotton.

After several uses and entries into the ruins, the machine gun ammunition in the shelter has been completely used up.

There are 1,500 rounds of rifle ammunition and 400 rounds of pistol ammunition remaining.

Considering the upcoming deal with the Tundra Shelter, and the fact that after setting sail and before reaching the New Continent, there wouldn't be much extra time to manufacture ammunition.

In terms of quantity, Su Mo waved his hand and directly set a huge number.

Fifty machine guns, and 800,000 rounds of ammunition!

Two hundred rifles, and 500,000 rounds of ammunition!

One hundred handguns and 30,000 rounds of ammunition!

The total number of bullets is 1.33 million, with a total weight of 14.1 tons. For a destroyer with a carrying capacity of over 1,000 tons, this is a drop in the ocean!

As for the raw materials used to manufacture these munitions, a plan was in place, and Su Mo quickly arranged the remaining tasks for today.

The teaching bionic robots began to mass-produce Nitrated Guncotton, which was eventually converted into ammunition and stored.

He instructed the collection team from Hope Village to go to the Saltpeter Camp and mine natural Saltpeter Mine in large quantities.

Continue using Connie the Female Lion Man's panel to learn about the game features available to the alien races and to investigate their current movements.

The three tasks filled up my entire workday.

After carefully storing the notebook containing the crazy plan in the Storage Space and clearing the clutter off the workbench, Su Mo began teaching again.

The first time, after enabling the AI learning function, Su Mo did it, and the robot learned it.

On the second try, the robot slowly followed the steps, with Su Mo sitting beside him providing guidance.

By the third and fourth time, even without Su Mo's help, the robot had completely mastered this simple chemical reaction, and its proportions were even more precise than Su Mo's.

Of course, just like the bionic robots in the shipyard, the robot's speed in preparing nitric acid from Saltpeter Mine, then taking the raw materials, manufacturing suitable Nitrated Guncotton, and letting it dry is still impressive.

Having already experienced the previous surprise, Su Mo was not in a hurry. After ensuring that the robot was working properly, he strode out of the base and headed towards Iron Stone Mountain.

"It feels so good to have people under my command. In the past, I had to do everything myself when mining Saltpeter Mine!"

Stepping out of the Underground Shelter, as Su Mo got closer to Iron Stone Mountain, he could feel the immense impact of the Hope Village villagers' activities on nature and on his own life.

Currently, the land within 300 meters on both sides of Shishan Mountain has been completely turned over by Rotary Tiller and planted with garlic sprouts, which have a shorter growth cycle, by the villagers who have been terrified of poverty and hunger.

Based on the growth rate and light efficiency of garlic sprouts on the wasteland, it's entirely possible to harvest another batch before the ocean arrives.

As you go further in, the shape of Iron Stone Mountain is gradually changing under the excavation, no longer resembling the original form created by Su Mo.

Within a 15-meter radius that is submerged by seawater for an extended period, there has been little change.

But once you surpass that level, the fruits of human wisdom will emerge!

Along the 18-meter-long gentle slope, a small platform is carved out every two meters or so.

The platform is a slightly concave terrain that allows it to receive full sunlight from the sky.

All we need to do is wait for the sea to come, then scoop the seawater out and place it on these platforms. Under the scorching sun, we can obtain the most important resource for sustaining human life: salt! The salt obtained from the treasure chests will eventually run out, once the Mutated Creature decreases, or the drop rate of treasure chests from other races decreases.

Salt will replace all other basic materials and become a strategic resource that all mankind must have.

Without iron, without copper, with less wood and less stone, the only downside will be that the development of the shelter will be slower.

But without salt, the torture of slowly progressing from low blood pressure to edema, decreased muscle tone, decreased nerve excitability, cerebral edema, and finally urinary retention, and even death, would absolutely drive a person insane!

"Not bad, not bad at all. Chen Shen has certainly lived up to my expectations."

"When we get to the New Continent, we can set up a base by the sea, making salt and fishing for aquatic animals, and gradually develop the business."

Thinking about how salt might become a form of currency in the future, Su Mo couldn't help but feel slightly excited.

With destroyers, occupying a stretch of coastline to build a shipyard is not a problem at all.

By leveraging the influence of ships and relying on the seaside, they can establish Underground Shelter, thereby gaining control of land, air, and sea in the future.

With such a rich battlefront, even the most cunning enemy would find it extremely difficult to handle! After passing through four or five salt-drying areas built on platforms, the altitude had climbed to 25 meters, and there were only about 15 meters left to the top of the mountain.

Upon arriving here, the terrain had become completely flat, and there were several caves that had been converted into storage rooms for different purposes.

However, before Su Mo could take a closer look, Chen Shen's figure appeared at the end of the road as he turned a corner.

"Hey, Big Brother Su, you're here! I was just saying I was going to come find you!"

"How strange! Yesterday, those dozen or so leaders of the management team at Zeus Shelter were so tough and unyielding, shouting about human rights, how we can't interfere just because of different national borders, and how we have no right to deprive them of their freedom across borders!"

"As a result, as soon as I got up this morning, all of these people, without exception, confessed with tears streaming down their faces, and even brought out quite a few good treasures!"

Although his face was full of doubt, Chen Shen's eyes suddenly lit up when he mentioned the treasure!

It's the last day of the Book Friends Circle event! As long as you post fanfiction with the keyword "Shelter," you'll get at least 500 coins—it's practically free, guys!