Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 206



Only Krnovel

Episode 206 – Unmanned Tank

It was a shame that I didn’t get to see the completed self-propelled battleship.

“It’s a shame. If only I had come a little earlier, I could have seen the real thing. What do you think?”

“I don’t know much about tactics or strategy, but I saw Dr. Kim Beom-jun’s research team conducting a test run. What is it? It was like a giant transforming robot floating on the ocean.”

“A transforming robot?”

“Yes. It looked like something like an aircraft carrier fighter lift lifting a self-propelled gun onto the deck, and the gun was positioned on the deck and fired.”

“Oh, I’m looking forward to it. I’m curious to see the self-propelled guns in full formation.”

“The self-propelled howitzers should be delivered from Korea by now. You’ll be spending the winter here anyway, right?”

“I think so, unless something special comes up.”

“You will be able to see it before the end of winter. The researcher said that after the completion, they will conduct test firings and maintenance here. Would you like to stop by OSS-ART while you are at it?”

“Of course I have to go. I’m really looking forward to it. Haha.”

I took the MV-280 with my party and headed to OP5 Island where OSS-ART is located.

OSS-LAND, seen from the sky, looked like a huge ocean base and fortress.

There were five OPs (forward bases) surrounding the outer perimeter of the central main island.

Wind turbines were seen spinning everywhere, and the main island’s air force base and nuclear power plant were also visible. And on the roofs of all the buildings, the sun and panels were twinkling.

Looking at that appearance, I could feel that Director Kim Wan-jun had put a lot of effort into it.

“Sir, what is that? Is that something that surrounds the outside of each building?”

“Oh, it’s an automatic water barrier.”

“Didn’t you say that you raised the ground to prepare for sea level rise and tsunamis?”

“Of course, we did that. We built separate water barriers around important facilities to prepare for any unexpected large-scale disasters. Even if all the glaciers in the North and South Poles melt, those facilities will be safe.”

I was clapping my hands in admiration.

“Even if all the glaciers melt? Oh, sir. That’s great. It’s sturdy. Haha.”

“Sir, I knew you’d like it. Other people might say it’s useless, but it’s a waste of money. Haha.”

It might seem strange to be worrying about global warming at a time when the Little Ice Age is upon us. The law of the universe is that when something is taken to an extreme, it tends to fall to the opposite extreme.

It was just a matter of timing. That timing was the vibration of the Earth and the Universe.

The size of the wave is beyond human power to measure, but I thought it wouldn’t be strange if it happened tomorrow.

As the MV-280 aircraft landed on runway OP5, Dr. Kim Beom-jun and his researchers were there to greet us. Seeing their faces, I felt both happy and anxious at the same time.

This was because we had previously announced that the development and test flights of the unmanned fighter jet, which had been the fruit of research, had been completed, and even the cockpit for ground control had been completed.

What made me most happy was that I could pilot the fighter jet myself from the cockpit on the ground.

Five FA-50 light attack aircraft were visible on one side of the runway. Each one had a pilot in the cockpit.

But something was a little strange.

“Doctor, is there a pilot on board?”

“Oh, I put a mannequin there so that the enemy in close range during an aerial battle wouldn’t notice that it was a drone.”

“oh!”

“If manned and unmanned fighter jets are deployed together, there is also the intention to prevent the enemy from distinguishing between unmanned and manned aircraft.”

“Oh, that’s good. Haha.”

“And, sir, look over there.”

When I looked at the direction that Dr. Kim Beom-jun was pointing, there was a K2 Black Panther tank. As Dr. Kim gave instructions through the radio, the Black Panther tank began to move.

Three Black Panther tanks moved in front of us, moving back and forth, rotating their turrets, and lowering their hydropneumatic suspensions.

“Surely not, a tank too?”

“Yes. The tank is also completely unmanned. Everything from maneuvering to firing can be done from the remote control room.”

“oh ···.”

“It was strange that they didn’t use tanks when they were making difficult fighters unmanned. And they also made armored vehicles for ammunition supply and fuel supply unmanned.”

“That’s great. Thank you for your hard work.”

“What is the maximum control distance?”

“In open areas, it is over 50km, but considering the complex terrain, we have developed a separate communication relay drone. When the relay drone is launched, it can be remotely controlled up to 150km.”

“Wow~ This is going to change the landscape of ground warfare.”

“Haha, I don’t know much about tactics, but I think it’s an advantage to be able to wage war without losing skilled elite tankers.”

“So, what about the fighter’s control range?”

“That is… If you use a communications satellite, you can extend it to thousands of kilometers. If you don’t use a communications satellite, the maximum distance is about 350 kilometers.”

“…”

“If we develop a separate aircraft for communication relay instead of a satellite, communication relay is possible, but the efficiency is low.”

“Hmm… It falls short of the FA-50’s combat radius of 440km.”

“Yes, there are limits to borrowing American satellites.”

Dr. Kim Beom-jun was expressing the difficulties of using satellites in utilizing unmanned fighter jets.

“Operating a small number of aircraft is not a problem, but operating on a large scale poses various challenges, including frequency allocation through the ITU and FCC regulations.”

* ITU (International Telecommunication Union): International Telecommunication Union

* FCC (Federal Communications Commission): Federal Communications Commission

“Still, it is a meaningful achievement. Thank you for your hard work.”

Dr. Kim Beom-jun looked disappointed in himself because of the limitations of the unmanned fighter jet.

“Haha. Doctor, this alone is amazing. In order for the FA-50’s combat radius to be 440km, it would have to be equipped with one fuel tank. Even 350km is enough to make it tactically valuable.”

“…”

“350km is the distance from Seoul to Busan in a straight line. If we operate it together with an aircraft carrier, we can have a tremendous tactical advantage. I will try to solve the satellite problem.”

So far, our OSS has had no major problems using American satellites.

But if we succeeded in unmanning a standard fighter jet and discovered that we were using satellites to control it, it was clear that we would demand a large price or not allow it.

‘Do we have to launch satellites ourselves?’

“Doctor. If we mobilize the technology of South and North Korea, can we build and launch the communications satellite we need?”

“It is quite possible. The director of SaTRec is an alumnus. If the president makes the decision and resolves the political issues, we can proceed quickly.”

*SaTReC (Satellite Technology Research Center): Satellite research center under the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

“Okay, let’s give it a try. I want to try this out quickly first.”

While listening to Dr. Kim Beom-jun’s explanation, I headed to the ground control cockpit of the FA-50 unmanned fighter jet. It was for me to pilot it myself.

Upon entering the control room, a cockpit made to look exactly like a fighter jet’s cockpit was hanging inside a spherical structure.

“Doctor, please explain.”

“Yes. What you are seeing is a fighter jet simulation cockpit. It displays all the screens that you would see if you were on board an actual fighter jet.”

“…”

“Because it uses the cockpit of an actual airplane, it was designed so that pilots can adapt to it right away without any separate training.”

“So, is that round structure the cockpit that moves according to the plane’s attitude?”

“Yes. It is designed so that the pilot can feel the attitude and position of the aircraft as it is, since there is information that the pilot can sense. However, the gravitational acceleration is made to not exceed 2G.”

“Ah, now that I think about it, that’s another advantage of this device.”

“What is that?”

“Existing fighter pilots have limitations in maneuverability due to gravitational acceleration, and they also experience high fatigue. If they accelerate or maneuver rapidly, they may black out and pass out.”

“…”

“But since I don’t have to worry about that part by using this, I think I can apply new tactics.”

“As expected… It has advantages beyond pilot protection.”

“But doesn’t the cockpit look a little different?”

“Yes. It is a two-seater. We followed Commander Kim Woong’s opinion that a two-seater would be better for various uses, such as training and electronic warfare aircraft.”

“Thank goodness. Actually, this is my first time piloting a fighter jet, so I was worried… haha.”

I climbed into the remote control cockpit to fly the FA-50 aircraft myself. To prepare for any possible danger, another pilot rode with me to provide an explanation.

Thanks to practicing with flight simulations from time to time, I had no great fears about operating the aircraft.

As I entered the cockpit and lowered the canopy, the hangar door of the OP5 research lab was open, and the runway was in full view.

It felt like I was inside a VR game console I had purchased.

We prepared for takeoff, repeating the pre-takeoff checklist one by one. The pilot sitting in the back felt like a test tube.

During the process of preparing for takeoff, when I felt like I was slowing down a little, the pilot I was riding with carefully checked the process.

-Taxi~

As I positioned the aircraft in the middle of the runway, I began to sweat nervously. It didn’t feel like a remote-controlled cockpit at all.

As soon as the runway control officer gave the OK signal, I slowly raised the throttle. With a loud noise, the FA-50 light attack aircraft glided down the runway.

As I reached a speed where the fighter’s wings could generate enough lift, I slowly pulled back on the throttle, and my body began to slowly rise backwards.

The magnificent view of the blue sky began to unfold before my eyes. I cheered without realizing it.

– Hey yahoo~

The pilot’s communication sound was heard through the ITH worn on his head. (ITH – Integrated Tactical Helmet)

– Sir, you are doing well.

– It’s takeoff… The problem is landing.

– I can see that you are handling the throttle and stick, so landing is no problem. Don’t worry, I’m here, so adjust as you wish.

It was a unique experience to pilot the FA-50 (Block 55) light attack aircraft directly.

The simulator was so well-made that it was hard to describe it as perfect, to the point where it gave the illusion that you were actually flying through the sky.

As someone who mainly flew the light aircraft ICON A5, the cockpit, which implemented 2G of gravitational acceleration, felt like an airplane in the sky itself.

…