Chapter 1585 Mysterious Gadget from China

three days later.

Glasgow, Scotland.

Govan Shipyard.

The huge factory was filled with the smell of steel, paint and welding, and a small celebration ceremony was taking place in a large segmented manufacturing area.

Lindsay Green, a 27-year-old third-year apprentice, took a deep breath and, under the gaze of everyone, pressed the start button of the huge plasma cutter in front of him.

A dazzling blue arc lit up instantly, accompanied by a sharp cutting sound, and moved precisely along the path set by the computer, moving on the thick steel plate.

Sparks flew, illuminating the excited faces of the workers around them.

The cut steel plate is the starting part of the LB04 section of the British Royal Navy's second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales.

"Well done, Lindsay!"

Shipyard manager James Kendy clapped his hands and smiled widely.

"Everyone, we just witnessed history!"

He shouted to the workers who were watching:

"Just now, the Prince of Wales officially entered the construction stage. This is a symbol of the revival of our Glasgow shipbuilding industry and the pride of Govan Shipyard! Let us applaud the Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy, and yourselves!"

Manager Kendi was a shipbuilding worker and he knew exactly what his subordinates wanted to hear most.

Warm applause rang out in the workshop, and everyone's expectations for the future were ignited in their hearts——

The construction of HMS Prince of Wales fills the gap between the Type 45 destroyers and the Type 26 frigates.

At least, the job was saved.

However, two people standing in an office in the distance were out of tune with the celebratory atmosphere.

Laurie Ellis, head of BAE Systems' maritime division, leaned against the window with a frown on her face.

Vice Admiral Grant Muirhead, head of the Royal Navy's operations department, folded his arms over his chest with a blank expression.

If you delete their titles, it might even look a bit like the standard "dumb + unhappy" configuration.

The construction of the Prince of Wales was originally scheduled to start before June 2012, but it is now almost half a year late.

What's more troublesome is that although the cutting of steel plates has begun, there are still many supply chain issues that have not been resolved for the second ship.

"Laurie, we can celebrate, but we still have to face the reality." Muirhead turned his head and lowered his voice to ensure that only Ellis could hear, "Can the power system of the Prince of Wales be delivered on time?"

"To be frank, General," Ellis replied without hesitation, "it's almost impossible."

Although he had expected this answer, Muirhead was still shocked by the other party's reckless behavior.

"What's the specific situation?" he asked helplessly.

"According to the original plan, China Aviation Power Group will deliver 20 sets of condensate control modules to us..."

Ellis' tone was filled with a deep sense of powerlessness as he pulled out a form from the table and handed it to Muirhead.

In the table, a total of 20 sets of spot goods are divided into four batches.

The first batch of four units were adapted for the four WR-21s on the Courageous and Diamond.

The second batch consists of two units of the first type, adapted for the two WR21s on the Duncan.

The third batch of two types of twelve units are adapted for the six MT30 and six RR4500 auxiliary gas turbines on the three Zumwalt-class ships.

The fourth batch consists of two units of the first type, adapted for the two MT30 main propulsion engines on the Queen Elizabeth.

There are exactly twenty sets in total.

After giving Muirhead some time to finish reading, Ellis continued:

"The subsequent modules should be provided with complete design information and technical authorization by China, and then produced by Rolls-Royce in our own country. This can not only solve the urgent problem, but also ensure the autonomy of long-term supply, and the high cost is also within the acceptable range."

"It sounds like... there's nothing wrong?"

Lieutenant General Muirhead was somewhat puzzled:

"Although local production is more expensive, in the long run, strategic initiative is more important. We can't continue to do things the way we did before..."

He didn't finish, but both of them knew the lesson of the "Courageous" incident - the huge risk of core technology being controlled by others.

"That's where the problem lies." Ellis sighed. "What was signed was an extremely complex package of agreements, which also involved a series of conditions and details for my country to support Huaxia in obtaining mutual recognition of airworthiness licenses between EASA and CAAC. Even I haven't read it in full."

Muirhead's expression also became serious: "Is it the matter that is being discussed in Brussels?"

"Well... not entirely."

Ellis skipped over the messy part:

"In short, the negotiations on mutual recognition of airworthiness are progressing slowly, and the trigger conditions for handing over design data to Rolls-Royce in the agreement have not been met, so they are now unable to produce on their own."

Lieutenant General Muirhead felt a headache and rubbed his temples. "In other words, we still have to buy the subsequent module from the Chinese? Then the delivery time..."

"It will definitely be affected." Ellis said affirmatively, "Our additional orders will definitely have to wait in line, unless..."

He paused. "Unless we are willing to pay a very substantial 'priority supply fee', but this will greatly exceed the budget."

Muirhead was silent for a moment, his eyes sweeping across the factory dock in the distance.

The completed LB04 section of the Queen Elizabeth is parked there, ready to be shipped to the Rosyth Shipyard for final assembly.

An idea came to my mind.

"Laurie." He turned to Ellis, "From what I know, the construction progress of DDG1000 at Bath Iron Works is not optimistic, especially the third ship, USS Lyndon Johnson."

Ellis nodded. "Yes. Bath Iron Works is building three Zumwalts at the same time, and two Burkes are being fitted out. Delays are almost inevitable."

A glimmer of hope flashed in Muirhead's eyes:

"In this case, can we first transfer the condensate control module reserved for the Lyndon Johnson to the Prince of Wales?"

For a moment he felt that the planned economy seemed to have some merits.

However, Ellis immediately shook his head and said firmly: "This will never work!"

Seeing Muirhead's unhappy expression, Ellis quickly explained:

“It’s not a question of construction time… Although both ships use the same MT30 gas turbine, the engine room design and parameter calibration are different. In addition, the Prince of Wales has been specially modified to adapt to new technologies, so the condensate control modules of the two ships cannot be used interchangeably.”

He tried to explain it in simple terms:

"Even if we forcefully install the Johnson's condensate control module on the Prince of Wales, we won't be able to get it to work properly without the dedicated software and debugging authorization provided by China... Even if the module is accidentally damaged, we will have to find someone from China to repair it, and the labor costs will be calculated from the time the plane takes off, and we will pay for it all."

In the early years, when China imported high-end equipment, it "enjoyed" similar treatment.

Even the simplest task of replacing a part must be done by someone sent by the supplier, otherwise the warranty will be void.

Chang Haonan gritted his teeth at this.

But now that I have become the dominant party...

Oh, it feels so good.

Muirhead had to give up the idea completely.

"It seems... there is really no shortcut." The lieutenant general sat back on the sofa somewhat dejectedly, "We can only urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work harder, or... be prepared to accept CADG's price increase."

He suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

The mighty British Empire Navy was actually stuck in the necks of two main battleships by a small module.

At this moment, Ellis's cell phone suddenly vibrated.

He glanced at the caller ID and said to Muirhead, "Excuse me, General, it's an emergency call from the technical center. I have to take it."

Muirhead waved him off.

Ellis walked to a relatively quiet corner and answered the phone. He talked in a low voice for a few words and his face became focused.

After hanging up the phone, he walked back to Muirhead quickly and said, "Excuse me, General. The core navigation data derived from the Duncan after returning from the Mediterranean test has been initially decrypted and sorted. I need to go over immediately to conduct the first round of analysis and confirmation. Colonel Baram is also waiting there."

"Okay, go ahead," Lieutenant General Muirhead said, "Let me know when there are preliminary results."