“Next, we’ll move on to the continuous landing and re-sortie test. Class-E Tactical AI ＜Heath＞ will control each aircraft from Naglfar. U-Class AI ＜Rochester＞ will control the ship itself.”
“Is this the first time we’re putting it into practical use?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It has performed well in simulations, so I have no concerns.”
Utsugi and Erika are watching the activities of the AI manufactured based on themselves.
Of course, even though it is the first operation, the actual machine test itself has been completed. This is the first test of all aircraft sortieing and all aircraft being recovered.
“It’s my first time seeing an aircraft carrier up close like this, so I’m excited. Do the aircraft land on the deck?”
“Yes, Ma’am. To be precise, we use the EM Tractor installed on the deck. It’s a device that synchronizes with the aircraft’s speed during descent and then secures it with electromagnets. The powerful magnetic force allows for forced landings even if the course deviates during rough weather.”
After that explanation, the actual landing of the carrier-based aircraft began.
The EM Tractor can move relatively freely on the entire deck of Naglfar. Multiple rails are prepared for movement.
The carrier-based aircraft enter the deck at a considerable speed. The landing gear is deployed, but this is used when a touch-and-go is necessary. The EM Tractor itself does not require landing gear.
After synchronizing the flight speed, the aircraft is secured with electromagnets. Once the specified holding force is exerted, the aircraft is handed over to the parallel storage arm.
The secured aircraft is pulled into the ship.
The time it takes is only 7 seconds. Furthermore, 3 seconds later, the following aircraft enters the deck. There are four entry routes for the EM Tractor. Each route can recover an aircraft into the ship in about 10 seconds.
Carrier-based aircraft are swallowed up by the deck one after another. There will probably be no opportunity for aircraft to enter in such an orderly manner during actual combat, but even so, the recovery speed is astonishing.
“The recovered aircraft are cooled with forced air, and each part is checked, weapons and ammunition are replenished, and fuel is refilled. The shortest time until re-sortie is 8 minutes. If it’s just refueling, it can be done in 5 minutes.”
The area around the jet engine in particular is very hot, so there is a risk of fire just by pulling it into the ship. The air is circulated in the hangar with a powerful exhaust system to prevent heat from building up.
The reloading device is connected, and ammunition is exchanged.
Jet Fuel is sent from the fuel hose all at once using a pump.
The series of operations are carried out one after another in an assembly line, and the aircraft that have completed the exchange and filling are pushed into the launch booth as they are.
“All aircraft recovered!”
“No problem! All operations confirmed normal!”
Utsugi and Erika are delighted to have confirmed that all aircraft have landed safely. They seem happy that the AI they created is working so hard.
The installed AI has not yet been named, so its learning ability is low, but it may be a good idea to name it after it has stabilized. Ultimately, the AI groups installed in Hringhorni and Naglfar will become the brains of ＜The Tree＞’s defense force.
“The time it took to recover all aircraft was approximately 500 seconds. Almost the theoretical value.”
“Oh… Considering that continuous re-sortie is possible, the deployable force feels like several times the number of aircraft. Hmm, I probably never had this much force even in my game days.”
Eve muttered that, but it was natural. In her game days, she quickly pacified the surrounding area and went into space. There were probably hostile maritime nations, but they must have been crushed by her civilization, which quickly took the upper hand. Since there were only AI-operated countries with limited abilities on the initial planet, that was all there was to it.
There was no need to bother preparing maritime forces.
“Well, whatever. What about underwater forces? What needs to be confirmed?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Submarines, which will be the main force, have little documentation and no operational record, so we are still in the process of trial and error. At this time, we are adjusting to release small submersibles in the event of an emergency and respond accordingly.”
“Sister. Now, we will begin launch training for the submersible ＜Bluefin＞ installed on Naglfar.”
This time, Ichigo reported that.
It seems that they have launched something like a research group centered on Ichigo because it is necessary to consider underwater defense to some extent.
Everyone’s judgment is that there seem to be many unknown threats in the sea. Therefore, ＜The Tree＞’s judgment is that mediocre submarines cannot even be used as shields.
For example, when it comes to the sea, there is ＜Rain Croin＞, but ordinary submarines cannot resist the threat of that at all. If you fire a salvo of torpedoes a few times, that’s the end of it. If it bites you, it will be crushed in an instant.
“Naglfar, commencing deployment of the assault submersible ＜Bluefin＞.”
At the rear of Naglfar, the launch bay provided on the side slides open wide. As the suspension rail protrudes, the submersible, Bluefin, suspended with its bow facing down, moves.
“Starting release.”
The Bluefin, moving along the rail in a connected state, is released in order.
With the force that makes it sound like “shupon,” the released Bluefin submerged into the water one after another.
“A rough release…”
“By dropping it in that shape, it can dive to about 15m below the surface at once. Recovery is done with a crane arm after reducing the sailing speed, so basically it will be released all the time during combat operations.”
As expected, it is not easy to recover the Bluefin moving underwater. At worst, it is assumed that it will be abandoned as is.
However, at this time, the expected enemies in the sea are ＜Rain Croin＞ and unknown Monsters. Since there have been no encounters with Monsters in the sea other than ＜Rain Croin＞, the priority is considerably lowered.
The situation is that they are improving the sailing speed of all ships on the assumption that they can somehow manage to escape with all their might.
“Bluefin, all boats have been released. Low-power acoustic communication, link completed. Next, laser communication link is being attempted… completed.”
“Oh. Acoustic communication. How far can it go?”
“If you increase the output, you can communicate on a scale of several thousand meters. However, in that case, the communication Sound Wave will reach a wide area, so it will usually be completely autonomous.”
Radio waves are significantly attenuated in the sea. Lasers are better than that, but they only reach a few hundred meters at best. Sound Waves can reach quite far, but especially low frequencies have no directivity, so the possibility of stimulating something (・)e(・)x(・)t(・)r(・)a(・)n(・)e(・)o(・)u(・)s(・) cannot be ruled out.
Therefore, the Bluefin will basically operate autonomously except for short distances.
“We considered various built-in furnaces, but at this time, we have determined that a Stirling engine using Burnstone is the most efficient. The energy density of Burnstone is very high, and it can generate tens to hundreds of times more thermal energy compared to the same volume of petroleum fuel.”
“…Huh? Does that mean that Bluefin is equipped with Burnstone?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Asahi was excited that it was ＜The Tree＞’s first magical engine, but we decided against full adoption because there is little operational experience. There are too many unknown characteristics regarding Burnstone.”
Come to think of it, I think they said that they were running vehicles using Stirling engines that used Burnstone in the Repuytari Kingdom. Perhaps they acquired some operational data there and adopted it as the power source for Bluefin this time.
“Theoretically, if we synthesize Burnstone on a ton scale, it would become a power source that could move a Battleship for years, but we haven’t allowed it yet because the impact of synthesizing huge Burnstone is unknown.”
“H-huh…”
Come to think of it, I had received a report that Burnstone can be attached to each other. The Burnstone exported to the Repuytari Kingdom is manufactured using that very characteristic.
However, as ＜Ringo＞ feared, there was a high possibility that if a huge Burnstone was created, it would ignite or explode due to its own weight, resulting in a dangerous situation.
After all, Asahi must not be left unattended. In an unexpected place, Eve renewed her determination.