Chapter 230: Naglufar
“I can’t believe it turned out like this so quickly…”
“How do you like it, Ma’am?”
As Commander Eve gazed down in astonishment, Ringo proudly introduced the new addition.
“The Aircraft Carrier, Naglufar. It can carry up to 180 aircraft. We did our best!”
“It’s incredible…”
From what she could gather, it seemed that the carrier could accommodate approximately 180 aircraft, each about 18 meters in length. Additionally, it could also carry a considerable number of helicopters and multi-legged tanks. The optimized equipment for unmanned operations allowed for such a remarkable capacity.
“The flagship is the battleship Flinghorni. We have two Panas-class cruisers, four Nygra-class cruisers, six Hedgehog-class destroyers, and four Armadillo-class destroyers. These are the vessels belonging to the First Fleet of The Tree.”
“I know… All the resources we’ve accumulated have been used up in one go. The construction materials for combat ships are on a completely different scale…”
Most of the resources produced by The Tree had been funneled into the construction of battleships and aircraft carriers. Of course, a sufficient amount of resources had been allocated to mining facilities, allowing for a quick recovery in the short term.
“All of them are newly built ships, and we’ve incorporated new models of cruisers and destroyers. We need a sufficient testing period for further construction in the future.”
“Ah… With this, perhaps trade would have progressed more smoothly…”
Eve sighed deeply, recalling the hardships they had faced. Though, to be fair, she herself hadn’t particularly struggled. With such a massive fleet, for instance, if they had approached the Kingdom of Repuitari, they could have forced a complete surrender without the hassle of negotiations. But they wouldn’t do that.
“Will you utilize this for future diplomatic activities?”
“Who knows? It depends on the civilization of the other party. If we provoke them carelessly, it could lead to a troublesome alliance.”
A formidable military force could intimidate opponents. If mishandled, it could even lead to a coalition against them. Eve had learned from past experiences that gunboat diplomacy required careful handling of their cards to avoid severely twisting relations with others.
Demonstrating an appropriate level of strength was the most effective approach.
“Well then, let’s celebrate the fleet’s assembly for now. You’ll show us the fleet maneuvers later, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We will also hold a naval review, and the operations at sea will be conducted as training. In fact, accurately simulating the vibrations experienced during navigation is quite difficult, so practical experience is essential.”
Eve nodded at Ringo’s words. It was practically impossible to reveal everything through simulations. Even if it were computationally possible, the results would only be accurate if all conditions matched the real world.
Ringo had skillfully distilled the information, correlating computational results with test outcomes to define a lightweight simulation function. Still, it was likely beyond the comprehension of a single human.
“Alright. Then today, let’s observe. If anyone is free, let’s call them over. This fleet will be utilized for various purposes in the future.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll prepare some tea.”
◇◇◇◇
Everyone gathered in the observation room of The Tree Fortress, surrounding a round table and chatting excitedly.
“By the way, it’s been a while since we all gathered like this to do something together.”
“Gathering during the day has become rare. Everyone is usually busy with their own tasks.”
Akane responded to Eve’s musing. Indeed, Eve recalled the recent circumstances. She often collaborated with Ringo on policy formulation, while each of the sisters linked with their respective strategic and tactical AIs to gather information, resulting in fewer opportunities to work together face-to-face.
They still gathered in Eve’s bed at night, but that was a usual occurrence, so it didn’t count.
“Well, today is a special occasion to unveil The Tree’s regular fleet. Let’s all enjoy the observation together.”
“Yay!”
Currently, they were on The Tree’s observation deck. The sea surface was about 50 meters below. The entire area was glass-enclosed and weatherproof, allowing them to see the outside scenery from every angle except the back.
However, even from that height, it was impossible to discern the details of the fleet with the naked eye. Maneuvering the fleet within visible range would be too dangerous.
“Here’s the footage from the drones deployed above.”
Ringo displayed an overhead view of the fleet in motion.
The First Fleet was currently forming a circular formation while cruising at high speed. The battleship Flinghorni led the way, followed closely by the aircraft carrier Naglufar. Surrounding these two were the Panas-class and Nygra-class cruisers, with Hedgehog-class and Armadillo-class destroyers forming the outer ring.
“What a magnificent circular formation!”
Eve was ecstatic at the sight, and Ringo appeared quite satisfied as well.
Both Flinghorni and Naglufar primarily utilized water jet propulsion. They had multiple nozzles beneath the water’s surface, allowing them to adjust the water flow for maximum acceleration at all times. As a result, despite their massive size, they could achieve impressive speeds.
At that moment, they were already exceeding 70 kilometers per hour.
“Ringo, it seems like we can accelerate even more. Are we going to do that today?”
Olive, who had been reviewing the specifications, asked Ringo. She had been working with Asahi on designing a land battleship recently, so she was not fully aware of the specifications for surface vessels.
“Yes, that’s the plan. The cruising speed seems fine, so next, we’ll test the high-speed navigation mode.”
Both Flinghorni and Naglufar were equipped with nuclear fusion reactors, converting the vast amounts of electrical energy generated into propulsion via plasma jet turbines. By operating these at full capacity, they could achieve astonishing acceleration.
“Disengage the circular formation. Each ship, retreat to its designated position.”
However, due to the nature of water jet propulsion, operating at full capacity would result in a massive water flow being expelled from the nozzles. Especially when running at full power, efficiency was disregarded, making it difficult to maintain formation. The turbulent water flow would prevent the vessels behind from maintaining their speed.
“Engine output is increasing.”
A white wake appeared behind the side-by-side Flinghorni and Naglufar, and simultaneously, their cruising speed began to rise rapidly.
“Speed has surpassed 80 kilometers per hour, and acceleration is ongoing. All sensor readings are normal. Structural deformation values are within expected ranges.”
The massive ships accelerated, surpassing the maximum speed of the somewhat older Hedgehog-class destroyers, and still had room to spare.
“The Hedgehog-class may need speed upgrades or replacements.”
“Yes, Ma’am. The high-speed navigation is performing as expected. We plan to use this speed as a benchmark for future upgrades and replacements of each ship.”
The hull structure had sufficient capacity, and they could carry a large amount of heavy hydrogen fuel. This allowed them to maintain maximum speed for extended periods, necessitating a review of the entire fleet to align with this capability. Fortunately, with microwave power transmission, they could supply navigation energy almost indefinitely.
They could operate as a high-speed strike fleet.
“Finally, we will conduct the full deployment of aircraft from the aircraft carrier Naglufar.”
The deck of Naglufar, having slightly reduced speed for stable navigation, unfolded, revealing four electromagnetic catapults.
“Oh, the carrier-based aircraft!”
“Continuous launch! My hands are itching!”
Utsugi and Erika, who excelled in commanding automated machinery, became excited at the sight. In fact, the tactical AI controlling the carrier-based aircraft was based on the U-class and E-class systems they had developed.
As the two of them eagerly watched the monitor, aircraft were launched one after another from the catapults. The launch speed was about one aircraft every three seconds. With four systems in operation, the deployment of 180 aircraft was completed in just over two minutes.
Eve was aware of the catalog specifications, but seeing it in action was astonishing. Such speed was only possible because there were no living humans aboard.
The area around Naglufar was enveloped in a thick white mist, created by the coolant that had evaporated and then recondensed.
“180 aircraft have been successfully deployed. No particular issues have been observed. The heat dissipation functions are operating normally.”
“Wow, that’s overwhelming…”
The ability to deploy 180 combat aircraft in just a few minutes meant that even if a wyvern were to attack, they could easily shoot it down. Of course, this was anticipated in their calculations of combat power, so it was to be expected.