Episode 345: Production Facilities Go Boom
“Construction of the super-large construction docks has begun. Three docks in total. In addition, three more large construction docks. That will make a total of six large construction docks.”
Construction of massive docks began on the coast near Fortress Two (Black Iron).
These were for the construction of Great Battleships and Aircraft Carriers, as well as for the additional construction of the current mainstay Hringhorni-class Battleships and Naglfar-class Aircraft Carriers.
Here, in order to rapidly enhance naval power, it was decided to expand the construction facilities as well.
“If possible, I’d like to be able to operate the 2nd and 3rd Fleets simultaneously, but I don’t think we have enough resources for that…”
“Immediate deployment is unlikely. Unless no problems arise in the surrounding areas, perhaps. However, it is unlikely that nothing will happen in either the other continents or the Northern Continent. Dealing with it will require considerable resources. Prioritizing fleet construction will make it difficult to respond to sudden events.”
However, as ＜Ringo＞ said, the resource production volume is not high enough to continuously produce large ships. Building huge battleships and aircraft carriers requires hundreds of thousands of tons of Iron. With the current production volume, it is impossible to keep all the construction docks running at all times.
Of course, part of the problem is that the construction speed is too fast.
“Please adjust that as you see fit. The first Great Battleship will be assigned to escort ＜The Tree＞ and the Northern Continent, right? Deployment will be from the second ship onwards?”
“Yes, Ma’am. The first ship is expected to collect operational data and discover defects early, so we plan to operate it around ＜The Tree＞.”
And ＜Ringo＞ had casually carried out the reinforcement of ＜The Tree＞’s forces. In principle, there is a solid pretext that the first ship will be used for test operations, though.
“Okay. Next is the satellite, but…”
Eve muttered while sitting in the command seat, turning her gaze to Akane and Olive, who were working busily.
In theory, they can work without moving their bodies, but it seems that actually moving their hands provides better stimulation to the Brain Unit, so they often move around unless it is an emergency.
“The production of satellites and spaceplanes is going smoothly… Since there are few launch sites, we’ll increase them. If we’re going to deploy them all at once, we’ll need a lot of launch pads. And since they’re spaceplanes, we’ll need a place to recover the returned aircraft…”
Eve nodded, scrolling through the documents.
Olive, who had created the documents, was glancing at her Onee-sama, looking anxious.
“Well, it takes time to get them into geostationary orbit. Ah, we’re also adding a concealment function so they can’t be seen from the ground. Well, that’s a given. The more there are, the higher the chance of being discovered.”
All of the satellites scheduled for deployment this time are equipped with stealth functions. This is to hide the satellites from Threat Creatures or other hostile creatures, or other civilizations.
They are equipped with active stealth shields on the ground surface to make them difficult to see, and the structure is sloped to prevent stellar light from being reflected towards the ground.
In addition, the entire structure is covered with an electromagnetic wave absorbing film to minimize the emission and reflection of electromagnetic waves.
Of course, the communication system is also designed to minimize the use of radio waves.
“If we’re this careful, well, they shouldn’t be visible. If we get taken down with this, we’re done for.”
The maximum concealment that can be achieved with the current Tech Tree is being applied. Of course, if cost is disregarded, we can still aim higher, but the number of operational units would be severely limited.
This is a so-called response with maximum cost performance.
“At this point, I want a mass driver or an orbital Elevator…”
Eve muttered as she checked the launch details.
Launching using spaceplanes is costly, and the launch weight is severely restricted.
Compared to a launch mechanism that can be accelerated on the ground or using rails, rockets are expensive and have a low orbital insertion weight.
Of course, compared to the construction cost of advanced structures such as orbital Elevators, it cannot be said to be unequivocally high cost.
“But an orbital Elevator would be too conspicuous…”
Due to its structure, an orbital Elevator requires a structure to be connected to geostationary orbit. In short, it is very conspicuous.
There is also the problem that it is vulnerable to attacks from hostile forces.
“Mass drivers can only launch cargo that can withstand acceleration. For the time being, we will have to use rockets for launches.”
A mass driver is a facility that launches cargo into space by throwing cargo accelerated at a ground facility into the air.
Since it is necessary to ensure the planetary escape velocity by calculating the resistance of the atmosphere, the ejection speed is extremely high.
Usually, it is accelerated on a circular loop of rails, but the acceleration and centrifugal force generated during acceleration place a tremendous load on the target cargo.
Depending on the radius of the circular rail, a centrifugal force of 1,000G to 2,000G is applied, so living organisms and precision equipment cannot be launched.
Of course, it is a facility that will be absolutely necessary in the future for transporting materials that do not have problems even if excessive G is applied.
“If the satellite operation goes well, we might consider getting our hands on a mass driver. If we can secure a full-fledged base on land, we need to consider that as well…”
“If there are no hostile forces of comparable scale in the surrounding area, operation should be possible.”
While talking about such future prospects, Eve displays a world map.
“If we’re going to dispatch a fleet, we need to set up sea routes as well. How far have we investigated?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We have surveyed approximately 3,000km of the surrounding sea area.”
Along with ＜Ringo＞’s answer, the surveyed area was added to the map.
3,000km is a very long distance for a human being.
But on this planetary scale, it is not a significant area.
It is a size that can be said to be almost uninvestigated.
“We put the sea area on the back burner…”
“Onee-sama, Onee-sama! If we’re going to do a full-scale survey, I’d like to release buoys and dispatch survey machines! What do you think!”
Asahi raised her hand and shouted as if she had been waiting for this moment, to Eve who was tilting her head.
“Ah, that’s right. Originally, we were trying not to get involved because we wanted to be careful and not be discovered. ＜Ringo＞, what do you think?”
“Yes, Ma’am. With the current defense capabilities, we believe we can respond even if there is some kind of intervention. We don’t think there will be any problems with using automated machines extensively for surveys.”
Eve nodded at ＜Ringo＞’s answer.
In order to avoid contact with Threat Creatures and other hostile forces, they had been careful to deal with areas other than the Northern Continent.
But it was time to remove those shackles.
＜The Tree＞ has grown that much.
“Okay. Asahi, I’ll leave the investigation to you. Akane, can you help?”
“Yes, Onee-sama. No problem.”
“Alright, let’s get started right away! I’m going to release buoys in areas where the ocean currents are unclear! Should we also fly the Solar-Powered Reconnaissance Aircraft (Swift)!”
Asahi, who had received Eve’s permission, began to issue instructions excitedly.
The Solar-Powered Reconnaissance Aircraft (Swift) has been repeatedly updated and continues to exchange a large amount of information in ＜The Tree＞’s airspace, serving as an aerial infrastructure.
However, as its role is being shifted to artificial satellites and large Drones, the number of operational aircraft has been increasing.
Those surplus aircraft will be diverted to marine surveys.
“＜Ringo＞, can I increase the production of ＜Kestrel＞! It’s perfect for marine surveys!”
“Permission granted. I will open production line 5-16. Adjust as appropriate.”
“Oh, generous!”
The stealth reconnaissance aircraft SSRF-1 [Kestrel] is a flying boat. The power source is a microwave receiving system.
It is not flashy, but it may be a little dazzling in terms of radio waves.
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