Chapter 545 The Second Manhattan Project

Although the principle is correct and there is no problem with theoretical research, the biggest problem in practical application is energy! To accelerate a large number of charged particles to near the speed of light and gather them into dense beams, a powerful pulse power source is required. According to calculations, the energy required for the emission of a particle beam is equivalent to 30,000 1 million kilowatt power stations to provide power to the weapon system at the same time, which is almost impossible.

Therefore, after analyzing those spheres, Helven believed that those spheres were nuclear explosion power plants! Only in this form could they produce enough power to launch particle weapons! At the same time, there were ordinary nuclear power plants nearby to provide additional energy!

As for another problem, it is the influence of the earth's gravity! Light is not affected by the earth's gravity. Only gravity like the sun can bend light, so laser weapons don't have to consider bending problems. However, particles are affected by the earth's gravity, so when they are shot, they don't propagate in a straight line, but in a curve! If you want particle weapons to focus on targets in space, you need precise control! It can be said that the Soviet Union must have made breakthroughs in both aspects!

After all that was said, Reagan actually only heard it vaguely. He looked at William and said, "So, what big problem will we face?"

"All our satellites in space will be in danger when they fly over Soviet territory. Once a nuclear war breaks out, Soviet nuclear warheads can fall on our heads, and the nuclear bombs we launch will also be blocked by this weapon!" William said: "The Soviets have an absolute advantage."

"Are our current satellites under such a threat? Except for Big Bird 11?" Reagan continued to ask.

Although he was a layman, the question Reagan asked was extremely crucial, and it was something only a wise politician could think of.

"Now, only Big Bird 11 is missing. Because the Soviet technology is still in the experimental stage, only Big Bird 11 that flew over this area was hit. However, we have simultaneously observed that the Soviets have conducted eight electron beam propagation tests on Soyuz, Salyut and Cosmos. This shows that the Soviets have made significant progress in this area. If we don't invest in research now, I'm afraid we will fall behind."

Falling behind! In conventional air defense missiles, the Soviet Union had just experimented with a ballistic missile interception not long ago. Although the Soviets used a nuclear explosion to destroy it, the United States found through strict monitoring that the closest position of the two warheads was less than 100 meters. This was still an old missile. If it was improved with the latest technology, it would be possible to increase the distance by an order of magnitude to 10 meters. In other words, an interception at a distance of 10 meters is possible!

Nuclear deterrence during the Cold War was based on secondary deterrence. After suffering a nuclear attack, the enemy still had the ability to launch a nuclear counterattack. The premise of all this was that both sides would only be attacked and not intercepted. In this era, intercepting ballistic missiles was still an unsolvable problem. The technical means were too difficult.

But now, the Soviets are far ahead. If the Soviets not only have advanced ballistic missile technology, but also have extremely advanced capabilities to intercept ballistic missiles, then the United States will have no chance of winning.

"If we fall behind in these areas, the United States will not be able to provide a protective umbrella for Europe, and our dominant position in the West will plummet. Mr. President, I solemnly remind you to pay attention to the Soviet Union's anti-missile advantage and the Soviets' new progress in space," said Defense Secretary Weinberger.

As soon as Weinberger came to power, Reagan began to cut military spending. Now, Weinberger is extremely depressed, so much so that many people within the military are scolding Weinberger as the sinner of the military.

Now, there is finally an opportunity. If the president still does not attach importance to the military, the United States will lose its dominant position, and then it will lose everything! The status established after World War II will all be lost! Once the entire West loses its leader, can they still resist the red revolution with a group of scattered sands and each taking care of its own Europe?

I'm afraid it won't be long before the entire West will be flying red flags! The glory of capitalism for hundreds of years will be occupied by socialism.

"Yes, Mr. President, this is related to our national security," said National Security Advisor Poindexter, who had already deeply sensed the crisis.

"So how much investment will it take if we want to catch up in this area?" Reagan asked. He couldn't afford it if the investment was too much.

"It won't be too much, but it will need to be the same as the original Manhattan Project," William said.

Isn't this too much? Hearing this, Reagan's face suddenly changed.

The Manhattan Project was the original project to develop the atomic bomb. In order to build the atomic bomb before the Germans and end the hateful war, the Manhattan Project, which was guided by the core of "special priority over all actions" and was entirely undertaken by the military, was of astonishing scale. This complex project became the melting pot of American science, bringing together a large number of scientists from all over the world, led by Oppenheimer. The number of scientists was simply unimaginable. In some departments, there were even more people with doctoral degrees than ordinary staff, and there were many Nobel Prize winners among them. At its peak, this project employed 539,000 people and cost a total of 2.5 billion US dollars!

This was $2.5 billion back then! According to various factors such as inflation, at least $20 billion would have to be invested now! This would seriously affect Reagan's economic recovery plan and even delay it indefinitely.

However, he didn't know that this was just the beginning!

Moscow, Kremlin, in a secret meeting room.

Laughter continued to be heard. Ustinov, who was always serious, was now all smiles. He looked at Andrei who had secretly returned to Moscow and said, "Andrei, your plan is really good. The Americans really fell for it! They are now frowning and discussing whether to invest funds in bottomless particle weapons and laser weapons and other plans."

This was of course a deception plan! The idea of ​​the plan was in the hands of Andrei, and the specific implementation was presided over by Marshal Ogarkov, the director of the Strategic Deception Bureau. His plan was perfect.