After the money was paid, Olof was quite efficient. In less than a week, the disassembled Warthog A-10 attack aircraft was delivered to Fu Haoran's private hangar.
Olof rubbed his hands together, a greasy smile plastered on his face, "Sir, you've inspected the goods. If you need anything, just let me know. I have plenty of good stuff."
Fu Haoran climbed the boarding stairs and entered the cabin. He glanced around, and his face instantly darkened.
The cabin was completely empty. Apart from the engines and the basic fuselage frame, the avionics system, flight control computer, and even the basic instrument panel had all been removed, leaving only the bare cockpit shell.
He turned and stepped off the plane, making no attempt to hide his displeasure. "This is different from the prototype I saw at the cemetery. Besides the weapons, why were the avionics and flight control systems completely removed?"
Olof's smile didn't fade at all. He calmly pulled a Ministry of Defense document from his briefcase, pointed to the clauses, and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but the order is to dismantle all classified equipment. This is all I can give you in the end."
Fu Haoran knew perfectly well that the old man was talking nonsense.
As an old relic from the 1970s, even after several upgrades, the core technologies of the A-10 are already commonplace. In fact, because its cannons are too heavy and large, the original manufacturer didn't even install fire control radar. As the cheapest ground attack aircraft in the United States military, what classified equipment could it possibly have?
Olof's plan was to sell the dismantled avionics and flight control systems separately, taking advantage of the fact that Orlov, a "low-ranking major general who wasn't paid by Congress," had no other source of funding than to scavenge from aircraft graveyards.
Fu Haoran was too lazy to expose his lie, and simply gave him a cold glance. "Don't worry, this is the first and last time I'll buy something from you."
Olof chuckled, "Hahaha, sir, don't be ridiculous. You have no other way to buy fighter jets besides me. Are you going to build them yourself?"
Olof was not flustered at all. In his eyes, this poor major general had no other choice but to come to him.
What he didn't know was that Fu Haoran had planned from the very beginning to focus on developing and using the technology himself.
Looking at the assembled A-10 attack aircraft, Priest Kallen's mechanical eye swept across the fuselage and quickly obtained a complete set of parameters.
"Top speed 833 km/h, service ceiling 13,700 meters..."
Kallen had to admit that, in some respects, this "native" aircraft did have its merits; judging from the data alone, it was quite excellent.
It's worth noting that the top speed of the Land Speeder is only 350 kilometers per hour, making this aircraft only slightly inferior to the Valkyrie gunboat.
However, considering that this technology originated from a "remote" planet, Kallen still gave it a positive assessment.
However, he had an even bolder conjecture.
"Perhaps this isn't a remote planet or some unknown Garden World at all, but a world that still retains some of humanity's advanced technology?"
Despite her doubts, Kallen didn't pay much attention to it.
Such planets were not uncommon during the Great Crusade.
Kallen put away her analysis and said, "Sir, this aircraft is indeed excellent, but it's only a single one; it can't take down Cole's steel army."
"I don't expect to win the whole war with just one plane," Fu Haoran smiled. "What I need is a weapons platform that can be modified and repaired at any time."
Lucifer's emerald eyes swept over the aircraft, her tone flat. "This planet has more advanced stealth fighters, faster and better protected. Why choose this old relic?"
"Not the most advanced, just the most suitable." Fu Haoran tapped the external hardpoints under the wing. "The A-10A has 11 external hardpoints, a maximum payload of 7 tons, and superior firepower sustainability and mission flexibility compared to the Valkyrie gunboat."
" The Valkyrie isn't designed specifically for ground attack; its main weapons are machine guns and rocket pods. It can only carry two missiles, four at most, so it's not suited for ground attack," Fu Haoran continued. "This thing is different; it was born to open tank canisters."
"Moreover, we don't have the STC for Valkyrie gunships, so we can't mass-produce them. Every one that gets destroyed is one less we have, and we simply can't afford to keep losing them. We can only buy them from the Forge World, which is a long-term solution that can't address our immediate needs."
"It's mainly because we don't have money," Lucifer suddenly added.
Fu Haoran:...
Fu Haoran admitted that he was a little broke and poor... but please don't tell me the absolute truth.
Fu Haoran glared at her. "What do you know? This is called being thrifty. I'm trying to increase revenue and reduce expenditure!"
As a competent subordinate, Priest Kallen quickly changed the subject. "Sir, we actually have a better option; the Stormbird Transport is the best choice."
Fu Haoran shook his head. " The Stormbird Transport is capable of this task, but it's our strategic trump card. Using it occasionally is fine, but using it as a conventional weapon would be too wasteful. If it's destroyed in battle, it would be a huge loss."
Fu Haoran looked at the A-10 attack aircraft again and said with satisfaction, "So this old relic is most suitable for our current situation—it's inexpensive, plentiful, and easy to reverse engineer."
Of course, Fu Haoran was also aware of the shortcomings of this thing.
Although it's touted as an aerial tank, the armor level of its aluminum alloy fuselage is nowhere near that of a real tank.
Any anti-aircraft weapon in the Warhammer World could easily destroy it.
But that's not important.
Even the most advanced weapons will become expendable in the face of the impending Horus Heresy.
Even in the fortieth millennium that followed, in the face of the Chaos invasion, the Orks, the Necrons, and the Tyranids, all weapons ultimately became expendable.
"My lord, if I may be so bold, the biggest problem right now is the lack of suitable weapons," Priest Kallen said, looking at the empty weapon slots.
Fu Haoran took out Data Pad and handed it to him. "Take a look at this weapon, does it look familiar?"
Kallen took the flatbed and discovered it was a seven-barreled Gatling gun. The entire system weighed about 1.8 tons, and its dimensions, mounting location, and center of gravity were clearly marked.
However, in Kallen's view, these figures alone were insufficient to penetrate the armor of the Leman Russ Battle Tank. They couldn't possibly rely on those meager missile bays to solve the problem, could they?
etc.
Kallen's prosthetic eye scanned the blueprints, frantically calculating and filtering, finally arriving at the answer, "Sir, you want to replace it with the Avenger Gatling Cannon specifically for the Knight Mech?!"
"Yes, that's it."
That's right, Fu Haoran never intended to use the original 30mm autocannon from the beginning.
Using machine guns from the 2K World to attack main battle tanks from the Warhammer World is hardly effective.
Fu Haoran had his eye on the Avenger Gatling Cannon, a massive Assault Cannon that uses powerful large-caliber shells; a single salvo can break through defenses, suppress an advance, or destroy vehicles.
Fu Haoran's initial goal was to find a platform for the Avenger Gatling Cannon.
He also considered equipping his own knight mech with this cannon to deal with Kallen Cole's steel torrent.
However, the Knight Mech is not powerful enough to take on hundreds of enemies in one attack. Its ion shield only projects energy fields to deflect or weaken attacks, providing additional defense, but it cannot ignore attacks like the Void Shield.
Moreover, the Void Shield can also fail due to overload.
But mounting the Avenger Gatling Cannon on an A-10 attack aircraft is a different story.
Good books and good stories accompany you every day.
The A-10 attack aircraft can leverage its high speed to employ hit-and-run tactics.
Fu Haoran had someone bring out the Avenger Gatling gun he had redeemed from the system; Priest Kallen was already somewhat immune to it.
The governor he serves can even procure a complete Knight mech; what's so strange about him having an Avenger Gatling?
He stepped forward, his prosthetic eye scanning the size and mounting position of the machine gun, then comparing it with the data of the A-10's machine gun bay, and was somewhat taken aback.
The dimensions fit perfectly, requiring no additional modifications to the fuselage; simply removing the redundant armor allows for direct insertion.
Even more impressively, the Avenger Gatling Cannon, after its armor is removed, weighs only 1.2 tons, which is lighter than the original 1.8-ton GAU-8.
Kallen quickly tapped the Data Pad, recalculated the vehicle's center of gravity, and soon concluded. "Sir, the center of gravity is perfectly matched; no additional weight adjustments are needed. The weight saved allows us to carry an extra four hundred rounds of ammunition!"
"According to my calculations, this Avenger Gatling can melt through the frontal armor of Leman Russ from 2000 meters away."
Fu Haoran was very satisfied with this.
Kinetic weapons tens of thousands of years from now will have extremely high structural integration and lightweight design will be the norm. Although the principle is the same, the bullets will be a completely different system.
Fu Haoran didn't notice was that Kallen looked at the machine gun, then at the A-10 attack aircraft in front of her, and became completely certain of her judgment.
"It seems my assumptions were too conservative. Perhaps humanity, in the nascent stages of Dark Age of Technology, had already designed the compatibility logic for this weapon platform!"
"The governor brought us here to retrieve the sacred technologies of humanity's lost Dark Age of Technology!"
Kallen even recalled the scene she had seen at the Davis Monsen aircraft graveyard: hundreds of attack aircraft of the same model, neatly parked in the desert, just sitting there abandoned.
Kallen froze completely.
Omnissiah above!
In the Empire, even retired Valkyrie are dismantled and their parts recycled for Relic. For this world to be able to scrap Dark Age of Technology aircraft in bulk—what else could it be but the nascent stage of the Dark Age of Technology?
"Don't just stand there." Fu Haoran patted him on the shoulder and slapped the modification plan into his hand. "You're in charge of adapting and installing the machine gun, and you'll do a complete modification to the fuselage."
"All original armor was removed. Without increasing the overall weight, the fuselage skin was replaced with Plastisteel and Plasteel, and the cockpit's armored tub was completely replaced with the best Plasteel."
Plastisteel and Plasteel, as the main armor materials for mankind 30,000 years from now, are far superior to 2K armor.
After simple calculations, Kallen concluded that after the modification, the total weight of the fuselage would decrease rather than increase, and the protection performance could theoretically double, maximizing the original model's "thick-skinned" advantage.
"Replacing the armor alone isn't enough." Fu Haoran knocked on the cockpit window. "I originally looked down on this outdated avionics system, but since they won't leave it for me, let's just go for it and replace it with new ones."
Fu Haoran thought about it and realized that Amerikan couldn't be relied on, so he could only look for alternatives in China.
Fu Haoran quickly finalized the upgrade plan: replacing the radar with a domestically produced low-altitude penetration radar and terrain-following system, and adding infrared/radar warning and automatic chaff deployment kits, giving this old Warthog a battlefield survivability that is a generation ahead of the original.
The underwing pylons are also designed with interfaces for the modification of Melta Missile and rocket pods, allowing for future firepower upgrades.
"If this combat test proves effective, we can definitely consider setting up our own production line and forming a large-scale 'Warthog licking' squadron. Then I'll see who dares to flaunt their armored formations in front of me!"
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital, in a confidential meeting room of the National Security Bureau.
Professor Qin Zhengfeng was slumped over the table, with a thick stack of blueprints for parts he had obtained from various suppliers in front of him.
He had been working for two whole days and nights, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Old Zhou from the Third Bureau of State Security pushed open the door and handed over a cup of hot water. "Old Qin, how's it going? What exactly is this blueprint for?"
Qin Zhengfeng took off his reading glasses and rubbed his sore eyes. "Not going well. So far, all I can confirm is that this is definitely not some kind of industrial cutting equipment!"
"This convergent cavity is used to focus high-energy jets!"
"But there's one thing I just can't understand."
Professor Qin pointed to the cavity structure on the blueprint and explained, "At the moment of launch, the cavity must withstand temperatures exceeding ten thousand degrees Celsius and pressures of hundreds of megapascals!"
"Even the best military-grade steel in our country would melt instantly at this temperature, let alone the ordinary alloys he sourced from civilian processing plants!"
"To put it bluntly, once this thing is fired, it will definitely explode in the barrel, and the person who fires it will be blown to pieces on the spot. It's no different from suicide!"
"Are you sure?" Old Zhou was a little confused. All that effort, just to build a suicide weapon?
"I've been calculating all night! There's absolutely no mistake!" Qin Zhengfeng slammed the calculation paper on the table. "This kind of directed energy anti-armor weapon has core technologies far beyond our current level. Not to mention civilian materials, even the most advanced aerospace materials wouldn't be able to withstand it!"
Old Zhou's face darkened further. "The problem is, this thing is already in mass production. Dozens of factories in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong are working in three shifts to keep up with the demand. The order volume is staggering. Our intelligence indicates that the target has already sent out inspection personnel."
Qin Zhengfeng froze in his chair. He had worked in the military industry his whole life and had never seen anything like this before.
Knowing full well that they would explode upon manufacture, why still mass-produce them?
He frantically searched through all the blueprints and finally discovered an even more horrifying fact: all the factories had received were peripheral parts such as the outer shell, heat sink, and bracket; the most crucial fusion chamber and focusing crystal were not being produced by any of the factories.
"Unless... the core components are all prepared by the client themselves?"
"Yes, that must be it!"
After hearing this, Old Zhou felt a chill run down his spine.
Just how many secrets is Fu Haoran hiding?
Just as Qin Zhengfeng was about to write his report, Old Zhou's phone suddenly rang.
After hanging up the phone, Old Zhou's expression became even more strange. "Lao Qin, there's new information. Fu Haoran just signed a multi-million dollar contract to hire a top domestic avionics team to perform a complete avionics upgrade on a retired United States military A-10 attack aircraft."
Qin Zhengfeng was also stunned.
First they developed suicide anti-armor weapons, and now they're upgrading the avionics of an outdated, retired attack aircraft?
What exactly is this supposed to be?
Qin Zhengfeng stared at the blueprints spread across the table, gritting his teeth as he said, word by word, "Unless he possesses materials technology that we completely cannot comprehend, capable of withstanding this level of high temperature and pressure, otherwise, all of these things together would be a mobile arsenal ready to explode at any moment!"
Just then, Old Zhou remembered something and added, "Oh, right, he just hired a recent graduate as an inspection assistant, named Cheng Beixiao. He has a clean background, just an ordinary English major graduate. Our people have already started working with him. Do you want to go check him out?"
Qin Zhengfeng immediately became interested. "Let's go take a look. An ordinary recent graduate inspecting a batch of 'suicide weapon' parts—there's definitely something wrong with that."
"I want to see what Fu Haoran is making him do."