Hearts of Iron: Fighting Ghosts

Interlude: The Republic Military Industries' Woes

The Republic Military Industries is the proud developer of the unmanned combat vehicle of San Magnolia.

The RMI's technological prowess is unmatched within the Republic, boasting talents and geniuses from all fields and employing numerous excellent engineers.

In such a place, they were once again faced with an impossible demand from a high-ranking official, reminiscent of the early days of the Juggernaut development.

"Eight 210-centimeter cannons!? And they need to be delivered by the end of next year!?!?"

Correction. It wasn't just an impossible demand; it was a reckless demand of the highest order.

The 210 cm cannons, historically ordered due to a slip of the Marshal's hand mistaking the unit for millimeters, were unprecedented behemoths. Unbeknownst to them, it was three times the caliber of the cutting-edge AI developed by the Giadian Empire, which deemed the 80 cm cannon as the "structural limit."

"Can we really do this!? This is impossible!!"

An enraged chief engineer crumpled the specifications and hurled them to the ground. But the work didn't vanish just because the specifications were wrinkled. It just made the design documents harder to read.

"But if we can't do this, we might... end up dead, huh..." one of the engineers blurted.

The year was 2141, and the storm of the purge was at its peak. If they couldn't make this happen, they didn't think they'd lose their lives physically, but they would undoubtedly be fired and left wandering. They still had families to support, beloved children to care for. They absolutely wanted to avoid such a fate.

"HEY! Everyone, get up! Wasting time won't make this request disappear! Let's start with simulations for now!"

And thus, the door to the thorny path was opened.

First, simulations were conducted in the virtual space according to the specifications. They couldn't just create it in the real world right away. They had to ensure success first, then proceed to build the actual thing. The results of the first simulation were dismal. The material was steel, the method was casting, and the bullet was lead. The result was an explosion due to insufficient barrel strength.

Second attempt, the material was cemented carbide, method still casting, bullet still lead. Failure due to insufficient bullet strength. Third attempt, material cemented carbide alloy, method casting, bullet tungsten alloy. Resulted in the barrel detaching due to insufficient mount strength.

Fourth attempt, fifth attempt, sixth attempt.........

And after over a thousand simulations, they reached the optimal conclusion.

The material for the barrel, which would withstand the pressure of gunpowder, was a sturdy alloy. The breechblock, which controlled excessive recoil and prevented detachment from the mount, was made of rare and resilient molybdenum alloy. The mount, which supported all the weight with its feet on the ground and resisted metal fatigue, was made of titanium, which is resistant to deformation.

It took several weeks to reach this point. Exhausted, they threw themselves into simulations, forgetting about sleep and food, discussing which materials were best, how to design the structure to absorb recoil, and how to ensure the bullets would be delivered accurately.

But the real hell was yet to come.

First of all, as mentioned earlier, the materials were almost unobtainable within the Republic. In fact, they were rare metals globally, and to build eight of them domestically required collecting every last bit, whether from personal possessions or wherever else they could find them, and using them all up. When this was conveyed to the Marshal, fortunately or unfortunately... at least it was fortunate for the engineers... the Marshal had strong connections with steel companies and managed to gather an unprecedented quantity.