Empire Conquest-Chapter 870 - 105: Rapid Assault

The entire morning, Liu Zunshan’s armored battalion raced through the desert.

Although the advancement speed was maintained within 30 kilometers per hour, for an armored assault force with over 30 main battle tanks, nearly a hundred infantry fighting vehicles, and hundreds of other types of combat vehicles, maintaining this speed in the wild was simply unbelievable.

Of course, Liu Zunshan and his team were not fighting alone.

Besides the reconnaissance helicopters that took turns flying ahead to lead the way, there was also a "Zhi-10A" belonging to the Air Force in the skies over the rear border.

In fact, even without the reconnaissance helicopters, the "Zhi-10A" could timely detect approaching threats.

The assault force hadn’t stopped because they had not encountered a real threat.

Although the "Zhi-10A" discovered a few Iraqi military armored reconnaissance vehicles, it didn’t have Liu Zunshan’s team engage; it directly assigned the strike mission to the forward reconnaissance helicopters. The result was that the Iraqi armored reconnaissance vehicles couldn’t get close to the assault armored forces.

Actually, those reconnaissance helicopters, in other countries, would be considered genuine armed helicopters.

In normal circumstances, the "Z-13F" would carry one rocket launch pod and two heavy anti-tank missiles, or replace one with a gun pod.

This way, even during reconnaissance missions, the "Z-13F" had strong strike capabilities, easily handling enemy armored reconnaissance vehicles.

In fact, when designing this, they considered the likelihood of encountering enemy armored forces.

Otherwise, the "Z-13" could be made lighter or carry more fuel for longer flight distances.

Because the attack was too smooth, when they arrived at Sellerman, Liu Zunshan didn’t let the troops stop; he only left one mechanized infantry company to occupy and control the small town located in the desert’s heart, while the main force continued advancing north and halted only after two in the afternoon.

It wasn’t Liu Zunshan wanting to rest but needed to refuel the tank vehicles.

By this point, they had advanced about 210 kilometers.

According to combat regulations, during combat missions or when there is a nearby threat, the armored forces’ fuel reserves must not fall below 60%.

Because all tank vehicles carried an additional external fuel tank, they still had about 60% fuel when they stopped.

This is one of the main benefits of the Empire Army consistently using diesel engines.

When designing the ZT-99, because the development of a supporting diesel engine wasn’t going smoothly, and the output power couldn’t meet the Empire Army’s requirement of 1500 horsepower, to ensure timely delivery of the ZT-99, the Empire Army simultaneously invested in developing small gas turbines.

Subsequently, the development of a 1500-horsepower class small gas turbine was completed on time, and its main performance indicators all met or exceeded the Army’s requirements. Even its fuel consumption was within an acceptable range. Using only internal fuel tanks, the ZT-99 could achieve about 300 kilometers of field range and over 450 kilometers on paved roads, already meeting the Army’s minimum tactical performance indicators.

In some aspects, gas turbines also have rather apparent advantages.

For example, gas turbines have no special fuel requirements and can use almost all fuel products, significantly reducing the logistical support burden.

Additionally, the start-up speed of gas turbines far exceeds that of diesel engines, giving tanks better maneuverability.

This is precisely why the T-80 of Western Luosha and M1 of the Newland Republic both adopted gas turbines.

Back then, the Empire Army was determined to use gas turbines on the ZT-99, even if it was only for necessary trials.

Just before the Empire Army made a decision, the development of the supporting dual-boost diesel engine was successful.

Although the diesel engine doesn’t match the gas turbine in some performance areas, even with a mechanical plus turbocharging system, the diesel engine has one very distinct advantage.

Fuel efficiency!

Under the same operating conditions, the fuel consumption of the diesel engine is less than two-thirds of the gas turbine.

Additionally, the dual-boost diesel engine is less sensitive to temperature, so in high-temperature working environments, the actual fuel consumption of the diesel engine is even lower than theoretical.

According to actual tests by the Empire Army, the maximum range using the diesel engine can be increased by at least double!

This point alone was enough to make the Empire Army firm in their decision.

The reason is simple; in the Empire Army’s tactical system, main battle tanks are not only defensive strong points but also the striking force of reprisal. Crucially, the Empire Army mainly faces vast continental battlefields. These factors impose high demands on the tanks’ range.

All tanks equipped by the Empire Army post-war invariably have a range exceeding that of other tanks of the same era.

For example, the ZT-80 has a maximum highway range of 600 kilometers, while other tanks of the same era generally range between 400 to 500 kilometers. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

To achieve a sufficient range, the Empire Army is even willing to sacrifice some other performances.

The same goes for the ZT-80, as increasing the fuel tank volume meant the vehicle’s size couldn’t be reduced, resulting in only the option to weaken the armor thickness to control the combat mass.

Some issues with diesel engines were also resolved with technological advancements.

For instance, past diesel engines were very picky about fuel quality, but the dual-boost diesel engine developed for the ZT-99 can even use gasoline directly! Also, diesel engines had poor low-temperature starting performance, perfectly solved by installing a low-power auxiliary engine.