Romanian Eagle

The latest website: In the test site, a tank has just passed through the puddle of water, and then climbed a steep slope with great effort. Then continue to turn over a ditch, and continue to run happily in the muddy and complicated testing ground.

On the side of the test site, rows of officers held binoculars to carefully observe the driving conditions of the tank.

"It looks pretty good."

Hoffman, who put down the telescope, gave a good evaluation of the running tank prototype.

And Hulk, who heard Huffman's evaluation, finally put his heart in his stomach.

Speaking of which, Hulk, who is the designer of this tank, does not know that the prototype car is super high and overweight, and that the tanks are all designed by him. But in order to highlight the performance of the tank, these are inevitable results. It's like adding more water to the noodles, and adding more water to the noodles. For higher performance, adding this system and that system, the weight and height will exceed the standard.

But so far, it seems that the results of exceeding the standard are not bad. At least Lieutenant General Hoffmann, who is the main person in charge of the acceptance work, is very satisfied with the performance of the new tank.

After the test run of the tank at the proving ground was over, Hoffman immediately stepped forward and asked the experimenter who had just gotten off the car. "how do you feel?"

"It's very good, it's much better than our previous tanks, the bump is the least, and it's better than the previous R10. When going up steep slopes, I obviously felt that the tank's power was not exhausted, and it should be able to output more output. High power. Reversing speed is also good, the only thing I am not used to is that the turret does not rotate as fast as the light one.”

However, thinking that this is a medium tank and the weight of the turret is not the same level, the test driver who answered couldn't help shaking his head and smiling.

The test driver's answer made Hoffman a lot more determined. By all accounts, this is an excellent tank. The three most important tanks are firepower, protection, and maneuverability. It is the tank that he and Romania need.

"How is it, Hoffman."

Major General Antonescu of the Second Armored Division also came over to ask at this time. How could the new tank be missing him this time? Although the training of the 2nd Armored Division is in full swing, the new equipment is related to him, so he must come and see for himself. So when Hoffman asked about the test drivers, the current No. 2 figure in the Romanian Armored Forces had to come up and ask.

"The test drive went well."

Hoffman's words made Antonescu very happy,

Who doesn't want their equipment to get better and better, and many of the Jackal IV tanks currently equipped by the Second Armored Division are second-hand equipment used by the First Division. Although the Jackal IV tank is still not outdated, it does not want to use a better one. And the time for the equipment to be finalized is still uncertain, but at least it represents the hope of changing clothes, right?

"What do you think, Lieutenant General Huffman."

After the two returned, Admiral Freiit asked about his evaluation of the tank. As the chief of the general staff, he is dealing with all kinds of opportunities. Of course, his understanding of tanks is not as clear as Hoffman's, so this can only be evaluated by the father of the Romanian armored forces.

And Freyte's words made everyone present hold their breath. Because Hoffman's decision will represent the question of whether this tank can be put into service, which is not only a major event for the Armored Research Institute, but also a major event for the military.

Hoffman, who was watched by everyone, replied slowly. "At present, it seems that this tank has no obvious shortcomings, so further military use evaluation is needed. I think it can be produced on a small scale so that officers and soldiers can provide evaluation."

Hoffman's words completely relieved Hulk, because it represented Hoffman's approval of the tank. The small-scale trial of the military is an inevitable process for every equipment, and it is impossible to avoid any equipment.

After getting Hoffman's confirmation, Admiral Freiit turned his head and asked Helk next to him. "So how much do you expect the tank to cost?"

As the main designer, Hulk is of course very knowledgeable about production costs, so he said. "I expect the small-scale cost to be around 20-220,000 lei, and if mass-produced the price will come down."

Hulk's words made every officer present frown. One word, expensive. Two words, really expensive. Three words, really fucking expensive.

At present, the military purchase price of the Romanian Jackal IV tank is only 61,000 lei. The cost of this new tank is three or four times higher than that, which is unreasonable.

Seeing that the military personnel were frowning, Hulk quickly explained. "The new tank adopts a lot of new technologies, and the cost is much higher than before. However, its performance advantage is absolutely unmatched by the Jackal Tank. It can be said that there is no opponent in the tanks currently being developed by various countries."

However, Hulk's words did not reassure everyone, and Hoffman frowned and said. "Even if it is mass-produced, the cost will be reduced by at most 20-25%, which is still too expensive for the military."

Take the Jackal Tank as an example, and the total output of the improved version is less than 1,000. This is the longest-equipped tank in Romania, from World War I to the present.

At this time, the generals, including Hoffman, who made the main tank the protagonist of the battlefield, never thought about the idea of ​​producing tens of thousands of tanks for a single tank, let alone 100,000 or hundreds of thousands. Therefore, there is an abnormal resistance from the bottom of my heart to the problem that the cost is too high.

"Okay, this issue should be up to me to decide."

Fareit stood up and said as the scene became unusually quiet. "Since this cost cannot be reduced, we will order a little less. Then prepare 18 vehicles for use in two companies, and then prepare them on a large scale according to their response."

The scene came alive again as Fleet made a decision. Among them, Hoffman and Antonescu are the most urgent. Because this new tank will inevitably involve how to equip it, whether one division is equipped with one company, or all are allocated to one division.

According to Antonescu's idea, at that time, one division was equipped with one company, so that at least the troops could be familiar with the new equipment first. As for Hoffman, of course, he wanted to focus on the equipment first, and by the way, touch the usage of the new equipment and organize a training outline or something.

However, due to Antone Scula's inferior face, Hoffman, who was concerned about his face, could only accept that each division should train one company first.

After the two had divided up the equipment that had not yet left the factory, Freiit called Hoffman to his side and said in a low voice. "Tell you a piece of news, the proposal to form an armored army has been passed, and a new armored division is going to be formed this year."

Hoffmann was pleasantly surprised by the succession of good news from Admiral Freiette.

Previously, Hoffman felt the increase of Romanian tank forces, and proposed to form an armored army with two to three armored or motorized divisions, as an iron fist of Romanian assault forces in the future, to smash the enemy's defense line. Such a military-level establishment will have 500-700 tanks, and the opponent is absolutely unstoppable.

Unexpectedly, this request was approved by the above, and a new armored division will be formed. This news is enough to make Hoffman happy.

The establishment of the Panzer Army will also represent the military's confirmation that tanks have become the protagonists of the battlefield, so expanding its establishment is also a matter of course, so this proposal must also be approved by His Majesty. Otherwise, how can the military have the money to add personnel to its procurement equipment.

Of course, as a later generation, Eder will certainly not refuse this request. He has been preparing for World War II and has always been very accommodating to increase the protagonist of the future battlefield. The report was therefore approved very quickly. It also approved the formation of the 3rd Armored Division, which Admiral Freiit entrained.

As the first person in the military, Admiral Freiit will naturally inform Hoffman of this news.

The reason why I chose to say this news at the proving ground is that Hoffman can do a better job. With the expansion of the armored establishment, all kinds of problems will inevitably be involved, all of which need to be solved by Hoffman, the chief in charge of the armored force. And Freiette's announcement this time can be regarded as a reward for him.

Of course, next, he and Hoffman will both have a busy schedule. The appearance of new armored divisions means that a fierce competition awaits them.