65: The king of explosives: all-nitrogen anion salt!

The guided Guardian Rocket Launcher with a range of 480 kilometers made Prince Khalid incredibly excited!

"Chief Designer Peng, how heavy is the warhead of the guided Guardian Rocket Launcher?"

He began to ask Peng Lin for detailed combat parameters.

"The warhead of the extended-range guided rocket is the same as the standard version, with a total warhead weight of about 250 kilograms!"

Peng Lin replied.

"Doesn't that mean that a single salvo of six rockets would be more powerful than the Soviet Union's Scud-B missile?"

Prince Khalid's eyes lit up again.

He had originally thought that after the extended-range guided Guardian rocket's range increased, the warhead's weight would inevitably be significantly reduced.

But he didn't expect that even with the increased range, the warhead could still reach 250 kilograms.

Although the Soviet Union's Scud-B missile's warhead weighed 1 ton,

the Guardian Rocket Launcher's single salvo consisted of six rockets, with a total warhead weight of 1.5 tons.

So, theoretically, its power was greater than the Soviet Union's Scud-B missile.

The capital of Iraq was about 300 kilometers from the Saudi Arabian border, just beyond the range of the Scud-B missile.

Therefore, in Prince Khalid's eyes, the Guardian Rocket Launcher had completely surpassed the value of the Scud missile!

However, after hearing Prince Khalid's comparison, Peng Lin's face showed a hint of a smile.

"No need for a salvo of six rockets!"

"Even a single extended-range guided Guardian Rocket's power is 2.5 times that of a Scud-B missile!"

"On the surface, the Scud missile's warhead weighs 1 ton, while the Guardian Rocket's warhead is only 250 kilograms."

"But because the extended-range guided Guardian Rocket is too expensive, in order to enhance its power, I specifically developed a new type of explosive for it: All-Nitrogen Anion Salt!"

"Although All-Nitrogen Anion Salt is much more expensive than ordinary TNT explosive, its explosive energy primarily comes from the energy released by the breaking of high-tension N-N bonds!"

"According to theoretical calculations, the detonation velocity of All-Nitrogen Anion Salt can reach over 14,000 m/s, and its energy density is more than 10 times that of TNT explosive!"

"Therefore, a 250-kilogram Guardian Rocket warhead can achieve an explosive power equivalent to 2.5 tons of ordinary TNT explosive!"

Peng Lin explained to Prince Khalid.

The extended-range guided Guardian Rocket was simply too expensive.

Even at cost price, each rocket cost about 600,000 US dollars.

Although this price was lower than the Soviet Union's Scud-B missile, the Scud's volume and warhead power were also greater.

So, to compensate for this drawback, Peng Lin specifically developed All-Nitrogen Anion Salt, which was known as the king of explosives in later generations.

Although this made the extended-range guided Guardian Rocket more expensive, its power directly increased by more than tenfold!

Meanwhile, Marshal Xu Yong'an, who had been trying to appear relatively calm about the Changhe Factory's new weapons and equipment,

could no longer suppress the shock in his heart at this moment!

He even disregarded being impolite in front of a foreign guest and excitedly grabbed Peng Lin's arm!

"Is this true?"

"The power of the new explosive can reach more than ten times that of traditional TNT explosive?"

Marshal Xu Yong'an's eyes were wide, and his body trembled slightly from over-excitement.

As a founding marshal and Minister of National Defense, his level of insight and holistic awareness could be said to far surpass everyone else present!

It was no exaggeration to say that the emergence of each new generation of explosives had a comprehensive impact on the military field!

From weapon effectiveness to combat modes, from tactical applications to strategic deterrence, profound changes would be triggered!

Simply put, weapons such as missiles, bombs, and artillery shells could carry smaller volumes of explosives to achieve the same destructive effect!

Thereby increasing weapon range or enhancing platform payload capacity!

For example, if a several-dozen-kilogram artillery shell, after using the new explosive, suddenly increased its explosive power tenfold, reaching a power comparable to several hundred-kilogram artillery shells!

Didn't this mean that artillery shells could be used as aerial bombs, and tons of aerial bombs could be used as small nuclear bombs?

From a strategic perspective, the new explosive, All-Nitrogen Anion Salt, might drive the transformation of warfare from "attrition warfare" to "effectiveness warfare," changing target selection, strike timing, and the logic of victory and defeat!

Therefore, after thinking of all these possibilities, Marshal Xu Yong'an's excited heart could no longer remain restrained!

And Peng Lin, seeing Marshal Xu's expression, naturally guessed his thoughts.

"Chief, All-Nitrogen Anion Salt is quite expensive, nearly a hundred times more expensive than TNT explosive!"

"Currently, it is far from being widely used in bullets, artillery shells, and aerial bombs."

"Its best applicable platform at present is for high-value weapons such as missiles!"

Peng Lin quickly explained.

"Can the production price be a hundred times different from ordinary TNT explosive?"

Marshal Xu finally calmed down a bit after hearing Peng Lin's words.

However, even so, his heart was still very excited.

Because once this new explosive was industrialized, its production price could obviously be gradually reduced.

Moreover, even with a hundredfold price difference, it could still be used in high-value weapons and equipment such as Dongfeng missiles.

This even directly meant that when using ordinary warheads, the explosive power of Dongfeng missiles would be more than ten times that of the Soviet Union and the USA' warheads of the same weight!

This was still a very exaggerated figure!

Therefore, the development of this new explosive, All-Nitrogen Anion Salt, could still instantly elevate Dragon Country's military combat power to a higher level to some extent!

At the same time, Prince Khalid's excitement on the side was by no means inferior to Marshal Xu Yong'an's.

As the world's largest oil exporter, monopolizing over 25% of the Global oil trade, the Shatt Royal Family was not at all worried about the cost.

In fact, at this moment, Prince Khalid even had a bold idea.

That was to replace all the ammunition for the 155mm Howitzer with All-Nitrogen Anion Salt explosive!

In that case, wouldn't the explosive power of a specially made 155mm Howitzer shell be directly more than ten times that of an ordinary shell?

Facing this expensive king of explosives, Prince Khalid even felt that this was simply a chosen weapon for Shat Country!

"Chief Designer Peng, could we conduct a test firing of this Guardian Rocket using All-Nitrogen Anion Salt explosive?"

"The Shatt Royal Family is willing to bear all test firing costs!"

Prince Khalid looked at Peng Lin and said to him.

And on the side, Marshal Xu Yong'an also silently nodded to Peng Lin.

Let alone Prince Khalid, even he was full of curiosity about this new explosive.

How powerful would the extended-range guided Guardian Rocket equipped with it truly be?

Furthermore, the Shatt Royal Family had already purchased so much weaponry, how could such a small request not be met?

"Wu Yuan, change the target range!"

"Switch to the hillside range forty kilometers away for a salvo test!"

Peng Lin issued the order.

Originally, the target for this salvo was hundreds of kilometers away.

But that was too far from the launch site, and it would be impossible for everyone to go there to watch.

The extended-range guided rocket was specifically developed for long-range strikes, and its closest strike distance was at least 40 kilometers.

So Peng Lin temporarily changed the strike target to the hillside range forty kilometers away!

"Yes!"

Wu Yuan, Chief Engineer of the Weapon Manufacturing Sub-factory, saluted... Twenty minutes later.

Peng Lin, Marshal Xu Yong'an, and Prince Khalid, along with other members of the Shatt Royal Family, took a Z-8 helicopter to an altitude nearly ten kilometers from the target range.

At the same time, as the launch pad sent a signal via shortwave radio, everyone took out their observation equipment and looked towards the target location.

This was a mountain peak nearly 700 meters above sea level, considered relatively high among the continuous mountain ranges.

And just as everyone was observing, suddenly six milky-white missiles pierced through the clouds and whistled towards the mountain peak!

The Guardian Rocket's 250-kilogram conventional warhead, under the action of a delayed fuse, detonated 0.3 seconds before impacting the mountain!

The first rocket exploded at an altitude of 750 meters, creating an orange-red fireball with a diameter of 30 meters, equivalent to a 2.5-ton TNT blast wave that instantly overturned the nearby clouds!

Although the terrifying shockwave caused by the violent explosion was invisible to the naked eye, the agitated clouds gave it shape!

The huge orange fireball of this rocket exploding in the air made the horizon ten kilometers away tremble!

Under this explosion, the surface rock of the mountain peak was instantly vaporized!

The granite matrix melted into a glassy substance at 3000℃!

This scene of impact, comparable to a large ballistic missile, instantly changed the expressions of everyone on the Z-8 in shock!

Because no matter how hard anyone tried to imagine, it was difficult to conceive that this was actually a terrifying scene caused by a single rocket!

And this was just the beginning!

The subsequent five extended-range guided Guardian Rockets began to launch continuous saturation strikes with an accuracy of 0.8 mils at 15-second intervals!

The second impact point was only 47 meters from the center of the first explosion, and the 800 pre-formed fragments it carried, propelled by the detonation wave, directly cut the forest within a radius of several hundred meters into a sharp array of wooden stakes!

The third and fourth rockets used airburst mode!

At a height of 50 meters above the ground, they released a steel rain covering 2.8 hectares, with 3-centimeter diameter projectiles penetrating rock fissures, triggering a chain collapse up to 12 meters deep underground!

The fifth rocket carried a thermobaric explosive mixed with thermite, forming a secondary detonation, erupting a gray-white mushroom cloud with a diameter of 80 meters!

The last rocket, equipped with a penetrating warhead, relied on its terminal kinetic energy to penetrate 26 meters of rock and then detonate within a natural cave!

The geological stress release it triggered caused a 60-degree tilted landslide on the western side of the entire mountain peak!

Ten minutes later, the Z-8 slowly approached the target area.

When the smoke was torn open by the mountain wind, the original 700-meter high mountain peak had formed a funnel-shaped crater 45 meters deep and 180 meters in diameter!

Even at this moment, the groundwater seeping from the bottom of the crater was still in contact with the uncooled molten rock.

A 30-meter high sulfur-colored gas column was steaming below!

Within an area of 1.2 square kilometers, in the brown band where the shockwave had stripped away the surface vegetation, tens of thousands of radially distributed metal fragments were scattered!

Looking at this scene, Prince Khalid was completely shocked!

If Shat Country deployed 1000 such extended-range guided Guardian Rockets domestically!

The deterrent effect on the entire Middle East region would be simply unimaginable!

Even Israel, the "Little Hegemon of the Middle East" supported by the USA, would have to live in fear under the coverage of the Guardian Rocket Launcher's range!