The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 396 The Pentagon Wants New Rifles

Although the former 10th Fleet's flagship, the light cruiser Yahagi, and several other warships had sunk in the An Min Army's air raid, the Yukikaze still received orders to set out to participate in Operation Sakyu-1, and inevitably entered the battlefield of the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

At the same time, more than 10,000 kilometers away from Cam Ranh Bay, on the other side of the earth, a small-scale debate was quietly unfolding at the Armalite Firearms Design Company in Texas.

Deputy General Manager Mel Johnson held a cup of black coffee, leaned against the window, looked at the scorching sun outside, but his mind was not relaxed at all.

The air in September is still so hot and humid that it seems like it can be ignited by a gunshot.

"Mr. Mel, look at this!" Young gun designer Eugene Stoner rushed into the office, his face flushed and waving a document in his hand.

"What's wrong now? The sky hasn't fallen yet, has it?" Johnson frowned, and roughly guessed why.

Eugene slammed the document on the table. "Are those Pentagon officials crazy? Did they get prostate inflammation from drinking too much coffee?!"

Johnson curled his lips, clearly accustomed to such cursing. He picked up the thick tender document, flipped through it, and narrowed his eyes. "A new requirement?"

Eugene took a breath and pointed at the document, reading out line by line. "First, the new rifle must have an effective range and lethality comparable to the M1 Garand. This means it must have a range of at least 700 meters and use full-caliber ammunition. Sounds reasonable, right?"

He paused, sneered, and turned to the next page. "But then, the new gun must be capable of fully automatic fire, and its rate of fire must be on par with the Thompson submachine gun—seven hundred rounds per minute!"

Johnson raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a fully automatic Garand? Those officers in suits and ties probably don't even have any idea of ​​the recoil."

"Isn't it just the shoulders of some Texas cowboys that can carry this thing? And it's not over yet."

Eugene hummed and continued, "The new gun must have the sustained firepower of a BAR automatic rifle, with a large 20- or even 30-round magazine. It must also be as maneuverable as an M1A1 carbine, light and flexible."

Johnson noticed that Eugene's face was filled with indignation, as if he was about to tear up the letter of intent and swallow it whole...

"A fully automatic gun that fires a high-powered rifle round, has the firepower of a squad machine gun, and weighs the same as a carbine? Is this a gun-making exercise or a magic trick?"

Johnson laughed so hard he nearly choked on his coffee. He shook his head. "Welcome to the free world's defense industry, young man. Here, every decision is the result of a million idiots getting together and compromising with each other."

Eugene sat down angrily, tilting his chair. "With them like this, can we still fight a war?"

"It's still possible." Johnson smiled and shrugged. "After all, they have plenty of bullets, powerful bombs, and enough money. If they really can't win, they'll ask us designers to take the blame and blame the weapons."

(Pentagon: Yes, the Annan War was lost because of the M14 and M16 designed by you rubbish designers. I am not at fault at all.)

"Or maybe those officials in the Pentagon themselves don't know what kind of new rifle they want, but that's the reality, isn't it? General Manager Mr. Pentium pays us a handsome salary, so we have to produce corresponding work results."

"Mr. Pentium wants Armalite Design to win the contract, so we have to give it our all, young man. More importantly, getting the military contract is Armalite's chance to truly shine."

In the previous bidding, the M1941 semi-automatic rifle designed by Johnson lost to Garand's M1. This time, he was invited by the synthesizer Pentium to serve as the deputy general manager who is actually in charge of general affairs. Naturally, he wanted to make a comeback.

Eugene was stunned. This was not the 21st century, and the atmosphere of racial discrimination within White Eagle was still very strong. It was not easy for a young man of Indian descent like him to get a high-paying job after leaving the army. He really could not and should not refuse the task assigned by General Manager Mr. Pentium.

"But how is this possible? Even the T1 rifle we're currently improving (the experimental new rifle developed based on the M14 under Zhang Chi's instruction) doesn't meet this standard."

Just like in history, the White Eagle Army officials themselves actually didn't know what their next generation rifle would look like, so they simply wanted it all, set all the indicators to the best, and then sent it directly to various gun factories across the country.

As a country with a huge number of civilian firearms, the civilian market in the United States is flooded with various weapons companies. Therefore, the Pentagon simply decided to try a few more times, just in case a genius design emerges.

"Our newly developed T bullet is very good." As a senior firearms designer, Johnson is still full of confidence in his new ammunition.

This double-base propellant formula, privately provided by Zhang Chi (from the system reward, see Chapter 266), shortens the traditional Springfield .30-06 rifle cartridge (7.62x63mm) to a new 7.62x51mm ammunition. While reducing recoil and weight, the initial velocity and bullet weight do not decrease significantly.

The secret lies in the fact that the new propellant formula can maintain sufficient chamber pressure while reducing the charge.

"Yes, our T-round provides a guarantee for fully automatic fire. At least in fully automatic mode, soldiers won't fire bullets directly into the air. However, the T-round is 7.62x51mm, not the .30 Carbine (7.62x33mm) nor the .25 Remington Buckshot (6.5x52mm) on the civilian market. Our T1 rifle is a big guy, and its mobility is simply not comparable to the M1A1 carbine."

As the designer who was able to compete with Garland, Johnson quickly came up with a solution:

"How about we reduce the caliber and weight of the rifle, and design a smaller automatic rifle with the same structure as the T1 rifle, but using .30 Carbine or Remington deer stalker ammunition? I think we should tentatively designate it as T2..."

What he was actually talking about was the design of the later MINI14. Since the M14 was not very useful due to the problem of the 7.62x51NATO bullet, it would be better to change it to a smaller caliber.

Eugene Stoner stroked his chin. "Honestly, the T1 satisfies the requirements of high power and full automatic, and the T2 satisfies the requirements of mobility. In reality, neither of these two guns can fully meet the Pentagon's requirements. Is this really feasible?"

Johnson laughed. With more experience in dealing with the military, he clearly understood the mess here better than young Eugene:

"Once we hand over the prototypes, those officials will figure it out themselves. Then let them choose the one they prefer! I'm confident that the design of the T1 rifle has been polished to perfection and will definitely make the first round. As for the T2, if the Pentagon doesn't want it, we'll convert it to a semi-automatic version and release it to the civilian market!"

"I think the Nanhua Firearms Design Bureau's G-type battle rifle (G3) is closer to practical design. It has an all-steel stamped receiver suitable for mass production and a roller-delayed semi-free bolt that can cope with harsh environments. What a good design, but unfortunately, it was someone else's design." Eugene shrugged.

As Zhang Chi's secret industry, the current Armalite Firearms Design Company naturally also needs to contribute to the development of the G3 and solve some detailed problems. Of course, in name, these are all commissions paid for by the Nanhua Firearms Design Bureau.

"Unfortunately, the theoretical accuracy of the G-type rifle is a bit lacking. Those masters in the Pentagon want the best of everything and there is no way they would be interested in this kind of weapon."

历史上G3的的战斗射击精度是4-5 MOA，M14则是3-4 MOA，什么都贪大求全的五角大楼官僚自然更偏向于自家的M14。

On the contrary, it was the Hans after the war who understood the true meaning of large-caliber combat rifles - being able to fire all the bullets quickly and reliably is victory!

------

In fact, after the G-type combat rifle was distributed in small batches within the Anmin Army, the troops responded very well. This thing is as powerful as the Garand. When set to semi-automatic, its follow-up power is longer than the Garand. When set to fully automatic, it has the explosive power of a machine gun. It can be said to be an all-rounder on the battlefield.

Early in the morning of September 20, the reconnaissance battalion of the 11th Mechanized Brigade easily crushed the resistance of the local Malay puppet army and occupied Johor Baru, the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula. One of its subordinate companies arrived at the north bank of the Johor Strait and launched a tentative fire attack.

On the inflatable rubber boat, countless soldiers of the People's Security Army were holding the latest batch of G-type combat rifles with iron folding stocks similar to MP-40, firing at the other side of the strait while trying to cross the strait.