Chapter 1967 The Ultimate King (Part 1)

Malashenko still has many details to know about this powerful and unusual armored behemoth.

It can be seen that the Project 260 prototype in this tampered timeline is indeed very different from the IS7 in existing history. To fully understand it, it depends on her creator, Shashmulin, to introduce it in person.

"We have tried our best and exhausted all the details that can be considered and the reliable technologies that can be used, just so that she can show her full strength in the prototype test."

"If she can really be mass-produced later, then considering her prototype cost, some of the advantages and unique features reflected in the existing prototype may be deleted. This depends on how to balance the reasonable cost that the military can accept and the performance they hope to obtain. I hope you know this, Comrade General."

There is a balance point between easy-to-use weapons and expensive weapons. How to accurately grasp this crucial balance point is related to the trade-off between performance and cost. This is something that every chief weapon designer must consider.

The same is true for Shashmulin. He clearly knows that an excellent weapon should also have excellent cost control capabilities. Otherwise, it can only be a vase that is so expensive that the military will shake their heads, even if it is really powerful.

This prototype vehicle, which was manufactured at no cost, can almost be regarded as the optimal state of Project 260.

The purpose is very simple, as Shashmulin said: to make his masterpiece present in the best state and exert its full potential on the test field. In this way, even if the military is not satisfied with her performance and causes her to fail, Shashmulin will accept it. After all, he has tried his best and will not have any regrets if he fails.

But once the prototype is recognized and officially wins in the prototype test, the next thing will be relatively easier.

First, learn about customer needs, understand the highest mass production cost that the military, who are quite satisfied with the prototype test, can accept, and where the lowest performance reduction bottom line is.

As long as he gets these two key parameters, Shashmulin can use them to further control the mass production cost and modify the performance of the prototype vehicle, so as to meet the military's requirements and achieve the most perfect mass production state, and officially put it into the first batch of production.

This prototype construction method and process were not used much in the past. In most cases, the prototypes of Soviet tanks were castrated goods with reduced functions and incomplete equipment.

This is partly because of the limited wartime conditions, tight time and heavy tasks. The main design part was completed first and then the prototype was immediately manufactured. The lowest performance index was first presented to the military, representing that the lower limit of the mass production vehicle would not be lower than this.

The advantage of doing this is that it can greatly save the time of the project, and a prototype vehicle that can be used for performance demonstration can be produced as soon as possible, and everything is kept simple. This is especially important for the Soviet Red Army, which was in a strategic disadvantageous situation before and urgently needed a new tank to reverse the situation on the battlefield. For example, the first few prototypes of the IS6 project jointly developed by Malashenko and Kotin were like this.

In the first batch of mass production models later, many details that were not perfect in the prototypes were added at that time. If Karamov had not led his men to make a major modification and upgrade of the IS6 prototype that Malashenko retired, the overall performance of this thing would really be inferior to the mass-produced version. In fact, many details are not in place and it is just a makeshift one.

The second reason is the cost budget control issue. Removing some things from the prototype can further reduce the cost. This is very important when the project funds are not much or the cost of the prototype is a little overspent. As for whether the military can accept the slightly higher unit price of the mass-produced car, it will have to wait until they see the actual performance of the prototype.

If the performance is really very strong and the money is worth the money, then the cost of the mass-produced car is actually acceptable as long as it is not too much higher. IS6 is also a representative in this regard. The unit price of one batch of mass production is a full 15% higher than the expected price offered by the military. This is the final result of Kotin's efforts to reduce the cost of the entire car and try not to affect too much performance.

Although it is a bit expensive, IS6 is indeed worth the money, and it can even be said to be more than worth the money.

Malashenko's evaluation is "In terms of comprehensive battlefield performance, the combat effectiveness of IS6 has at least doubled that of IS2. In most cases, one IS6 can complete tasks that can only be completed by two IS2s or even cannot be completed." After all, the mobility and protection of IS6 are really much improved compared to IS2, which can be said to have undergone a qualitative change.

It can withstand more attacks and run faster, and it has inherited the powerful firepower of IS2, which is already satisfactory. This means that the tactical flexibility of IS6 is much higher than that of IS2. Even some tasks that were originally impossible for IS2 to complete, such as high-speed support for medium tank troops with heavy firepower, can be done by IS6.

So Malashenko's statement that "the combat effectiveness of IS6 has doubled compared to IS2" is really not a boast. Compared with the 15% over-budget premium, doubling the combat effectiveness is really good!

If the Soviet decision-makers only focus on the price and ignore the improvement in combat effectiveness, and use this as an excuse to reject the IS6 project, then they really have a problem with their brains, just like the Germans.

Although the higher mass production costs have led to a relatively slow increase in IS6 production, it is indeed incomparable with the production speed when IS2 was put into mass production. To this day, there are still many main Guards tank units queuing up waiting to be replaced. Not to mention the ordinary tank troops. As long as they can get IS6, no matter how many they are, it is worth bragging to their brother troops.

However, judging from the actual combat feedback of these main Guards tank units that have received IS6, Malashenko’s original evaluation of IS6 was completely correct, and the actual combat results were also very good. Compared with the higher cost and slower production speed, All are acceptable.

Now among those front-line troops who have received IS6, there is even a weird saying that "IS6 is a weighted super version of T34".

Although Kotin knows that such remarks are recognition and praise of the powerful performance of the IS6, to be honest, his masterpiece has been given a "Molozov-like" name, which is more or less arrogant. Jing felt something was wrong in his heart.

This is just like the girl next door who was born two years earlier is very beautiful, and your girl who was born two years later is even more beautiful, and then others say, "Your girl is simply the more powerful version of the girl next door."

As a father, you are certainly happy and you know it's a compliment, but you still feel that something is wrong there, a little weird, as if something has turned green.

If you can experience this feeling, then you can understand what Ke Jing feels like.