Chapter 67 New Toys for the Military Part 1 (Imperial Ruthenian Army)

General Staff Building.

Alexander visited this place two days ago to discuss the reorganization of the Imperial Ruthenia Armed Forces. But now, he has come again to discuss the new military assets for the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force.

He’ll meet with the Chief of Staff of the Ruthenian Army along with military contractors that will submit a new design for their light and heavy tanks. Then with the Chief of Staff of the Ruthenian Navy and Coast Guard for surface warships and submarines. Lastly with the Chief of Staff of the Ruthenia Air Force for the new fighter, bomber, and reconnaissance aircraft.

Alexander has drawn new military designs straight out of the Cold War. He knew that with the inception of the CNC machine that he has been working on for months, Alexander would be able to make his drawing a reality.

In one of the meeting rooms of the General Staff Building. Alexander entered and was welcomed with salutations.

“At ease, gentleman,” Alexander simply said as he walked over to his seat and sat.

The military officials and military contractors returned to their seats.

He looked around the room before looking down at a piece of paper that was placed on the table. It’s a file containing sophisticated schematics of the new tanks the Army wants to introduce.-.

As always, it’s a pre-WW2-era tank with different tonnages. There are a lot of them but one thing that caught his attention is their weight. The light tanks have a weight of under 10 tons, the medium tanks are 20 long tons, and the heavy tanks are 30 to 45 tons.

The first thing that comes to mind is what’s with classification? Alexander was sure that he’d get his answer as soon as he asked about this.

“Your Majesty, what you’re seeing in that file is the new light tanks, medium tanks, and heavy tanks for the Imperial Ruthenian Army.  It would fare equally to Deutch and Britannia’s battle tanks. We’ve also accounted for every aspect when designing a tank by looking at the past war in the Black Continent and the Rutho-Yamato War where tanks were used in combat,” General Zhukov said, waving his hand to the three personnel that are with them in the room.

“If you have questions, feel free to ask the representatives of the companies who will build the tanks, introduce yourself.”

One of them stood.

“Your Majesty, it’s an honor to meet you in person. My name is Kornev Sergei Danilovich, the representative of the Voronov Industries.”

“Your Majesty, the name’s Yugov Radoslav Yurievich, the representative of the Astrov Heavy Industries.”

“Your Majesty, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Pevtsov Nikodim Alekseevich, the representative of the MOKO Group.”

Alexander nodded at all the representatives before turning back to General Zhukov.

“So this three are the companies who will build our new battle tanks, is that correct General?”

“They are indeed the ones, sir” General Zhukov said, nodding in confirmation.

“I understand, let’s get to business. First, I want to ask why they are light tanks, medium tanks, and heavy tanks? What’s the difference between them?”

Yugov stepped forward and answered “A light tank is a type of tank that was originally created for quick maneuvers both inside and outside of battle, outmaneuvering bigger tanks. It is designed for improved tactical mobility, ease of transport, and logistics. It is smaller in size, has thinner armor, and a weaker main gun, whereas heavy tanks sported large guns and thick armor at the expense of mobility. Medium tanks were a middle ground between the two, offering somewhat increased armor while still maintaining decent mobility,” he finished.

“So each has their own strengths and weaknesses huh?” Alexander pursed his lips, so that’s their difference huh? Then Alexander remembered something about tanks used in WW2.

“How about we design a tank that has the mobility of a light tank armed with a gun of a heavy tank and weighs as much as a medium tank?”

Yugo’s eyes widened in surprise. “What are you talking about, Your Majesty? Is there such a thing?”

“Well, according to your definition, there is a thing. They are called medium tanks,” Alexander said.

Prior to MBTs, tanks were categorized according to their objectives and compromises, as Yugov mentioned earlier. Tank designs did not have to sacrifice these attributes, though, thanks to developments in engine, armor, and suspension. MBTs weigh about as much as a medium tank but have the speed and mobility of a light tank and the guns and armor of a heavy tank. As a result, one MBT can serve all objectives, eliminating the need to develop separate tanks for them.

“We don’t need light tanks or heavy tanks, we just need one battle tank suitable for each role. That’s why I contacted an anonymous tank designer and he submitted his designs to me where I can present them to you,” Alexander said, picking up the engineering tube he had brought with him.

Alexander opened it and grabbed what was inside. It’s a blueprint for their new battle tank.

As he handed it to them, Alexander began speaking.

“As I’ve said earlier, this tank design was created by an anonymous person working under me. According to the specifications, the tank’s weight is 50 tons, a length of  6.946 meters, a width of 3.631 meters, and a height of 3.27 meters. The thickness of the armor is 258 mm sloped at a 65-degree angle. The main armament of the tank is 105 mm, and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun for the secondary armament. The tank is powered by a V12 air-cooled twin-turbo diesel engine with 750 brake horsepower and utilizes a torsion bar suspension,” Alexander presented.

The anonymous thing is a lie, Alexander was the one who designed it. After all, he doesn’t want to get unwanted attention that could disrupt the flow of the meeting asking how he designed it.

The tank he presented is based on M60 tanks that were introduced in the early stages of the cold war. Though he could’ve chosen other designs, he selected the M60 because of its feasibility at this world’s technological level. Even though it is based on the M60 tank, Alexander added some features to the tank such as the smoke dischargers, turret stabilization system, and a ballistic computer. With these features, Alexander just achieved ground superiority for the Ruthenia Empire as it’ll be thirty years…No, forty years ahead of this world’s existing tanks.

Of course, such new tanks with intricate parts require new production techniques that couldn’t be made by hand. Fortunately, the CNC machine that he has been working on for months is completed and is ready for its debut by the end of the month.

There is also another problem. In World War 2, there were so many variants of tanks introduced on the battlefield that caused a logistical nightmare for the arms producers. To solve this, Alexander will standardize the military equipment by focusing on only one variant and its derivative.

“Your Majesty, this is an excellent design but we don’t have the tools to create one,” Yugov said, glancing at his two competitors, who shared a meaningful glance, indicating it’s the same case as them.

“Don’t worry, we’ll provide the tools needed for the production by the end of the month. Also, I’ve not come here to discuss tanks, there are still designs I want to introduce to you all,” Alexander said, bringing another set of blueprints.

The schematics drawn in those blueprints is a new kind of Armored Personnel Carrier, the M113. He also drew designs of the LAV-25 and M2 Bradley for greater mobility and safety of the troops. M109 Paladin for self-propelled artillery and M198 howitzer to replace the outdated artillery pieces.

As for the light vehicle, Alexander chose the iconic and ubiquitous vehicle in the United States, the Humvee. Why? Well, since there was no WW1 in this world yet and the fact that each superpower is ramping up their war machine, it’ll be a more devastating world war 1 compared to his world. Alexander had to select a superior vehicle that could help his troops withstand the harsh nature of the battlefield, which in this case, the Humvees.

Now you might be wondering, why is Alexander introducing military equipment that is 40 or 50 years ahead of its time? Is this world really that capable of producing such technology?

The short answer is yes. The reason why it looks ahead of its time is that it has to undergo a design period and testing period. Those three periods could take, if not years, a decade to complete before it is put into service. Let’s take the M198 howitzer as an example. It was designed in 1969, tested in 1970, and entered service nine years later. See the point here? Alexander has the knowledge and thus eliminates the need for experimentation with the equipment, greatly saving him time. It’s like having the answer keys on an exam.

And with the advent of the CNC machine that he just finished, Alexander basically time jumped this world’s technological era to the 1960s.

In addition, Alexander chose them because they are battle-hardened and have already proven themselves capable and reliable in his original world. While the superpowers of this world are spending a huge chunk of money on developing experimental military projects, Ruthenia is just having its time producing cold war era technology one after another.

This is his way to ensure the Ruthenia Empire’s sovereignty and existence if world war 1 were to happen in the future.

One last problem, the proposals he submitted are the designs he created on his own, it’s not like he’s going to let these companies gain profits from his invention. Thus he implored a solution.

“Before we proceed with building the prototypes, I’d like to add something,” Alexander said, catching the attention of the three. “I would like to buy your companies,”