The Rise Of Australasia

The warship approached the vicinity of the battleship in about 40 minutes, meaning the radar’s calculation error was very small, at most a couple of hundred meters.

Such radar was already very important for the army, navy, and air force, and it could markedly change the existing modes of combat, greatly enhancing the military’s combat capability.

Even if the radar’s range was only about 24 kilometers, it still did not conceal the significance of existing radars.

Of course, if the radar’s range were farther, that would be even better. The farther the calculable range, the greater the change to the military’s combat strength.

Although he was very excited inside, the radar test had to continue. After all, the purpose of this test was to calculate the radar’s actual range and effectiveness, and at this point, it was only half done.

To test the radar’s performance, the navy had mobilized about ten warships, coming from different positions at different speeds towards the battleship.

After over ten minutes, Tesla’s assistant transmitted more good news again, "Two warships are sailing this way at different speeds."

Tesla and his assistant quickly calculated and eventually determined that the two warships were located 18 nautical miles to the north and 24 nautical miles to the south, sailing at 15 and 21 knots, respectively.

Tesla had his assistant note down the calculated distances and speeds before he started to monitor the other warships.

The test lasted for over three hours and was successfully completed before dark, returning smoothly to the Royal Shipyard.

The excitement in the eyes of several generals was a clear indicator of the test’s results. Whether it was Commander-in-Chief Andrew of the navy or Defense Minister Thomas, the look in their eyes towards Tesla was filled with excitement, like that of a man enchanted by an alluring lady.

If Arthur had not been present, these fellows would have probably begun a new round of clamoring around Tesla to get their hands on the radar.

You see, even though the relationship between the three branches of the army, navy, and air force in Australasia was not that bad, the annual scramble for military funds was an unavoidable topic.

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The Ministry of Defense was divided into the army, navy, and air force Headquarters, and the struggle for the military budget every year was always a hot topic of discussion.

For now, the navy still took the lion’s share, with last year’s budget allocation for the navy at about 35%, the army at 33%, and the air force at only about 25%.

As for the remaining roughly 7%, naturally it was used for the daily maintenance of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff.

This amount of funds was actually not insignificant – last year’s military budget was close to 50 million Australian dollars, with a 4% share amounting to a full 2 million Australian dollars.

No wonder the final test results of the radar made these men eager; even Arthur, who had long understood the radar’s role, was somewhat surprised looking at the final data from the radar test.

The final result of the R1 radar test showed an effective monitoring distance of about 35 kilometers, with a maximum detection range of 50 kilometers; all 15 participating warships appeared on the radar screen and, for the most part, remained stable on the screen without loss during the test.

More importantly, the errors in distance and speed of the warships monitored by the radar were not large, with the errors in speed calculations all within 500 meters.

What did such test data mean? At least within 35 kilometers, the radar could detect the enemy’s traces and even calculate the enemy’s distance, speed, and direction based on this, enabling one’s own side to prepare in advance.

However, equipping the existing radar across all branches of the army, navy, and air force was too difficult; it would at least need some improvements to be fitted into the army and air force.

Based on the current size of the radar, it was clear it was not something current airplanes could carry.

To equip an airplane with radar, either the frequency of the transmitter must be reduced to shrink the radar’s size, or it has to be improved in some way - in any case, the radar must be made smaller.

How to improve the radar so that it can be properly equipped across the army, navy, and air force is a significant factor in whether radar could be widely applied and improve the combat capabilities of the Australasian military.

Looking at the generals who were already eager, Arthur turned his gaze to Tesla and asked a crucial question, "Tesla, when can the current radar be fully equipped by the army, navy, and air force?" @@novelbin@@

Tesla replied at ease, "Your Majesty, the radar you see now is specifically prepared by the Research Center for detecting large warships.

Such a radar can detect farther distances, but its drawback is its larger size. It will clearly be impossible to equip the army and air force, at least until the radar’s size can be reduced to less than half, then it can be mounted on airplanes."

Arthur nodded, not surprised by Tesla’s response.

Like missiles, radars also divided into antiship, antiair, and antiland. The radar’s use in the army, navy, and air force meant that the distances and objects to be detected differed.

Different purposes naturally require different improvements to the radar; one radar serving three different branches is fundamentally impossible.

But the foundation of an effective radar was already laid, and based on this, making improvements to separately develop antiair and antiland radars would not be difficult.

This was akin to having the basic missile technology, after which developing antiship missiles and antiair missiles would become easier.

Tesla’s response seemed to pour cold water on the generals’ excitement. Apart from Commander-in-Chief Andrew of the navy who remained excited, the level of eagerness had dwindled among the rest, including Defense Minister Thomas.