Modified Cat Cart

Since returning from the coastal area of ​​Fujian, Zhao Ping'an has been thinking about one thing.

The exercise was a great success. Beidou guidance, amphibious landing, Type 022 assault, helicopter encirclement—

Everything went according to plan. When the Marines stormed the beachhead, their movements were swift and decisive, far superior to last year's.

But Zhao Pingan remembered a video he had seen in his previous life.

The Lynx all-terrain vehicle, that little thing, can be modified into dozens of different ways.

Add machine guns, rocket launchers, mortars, or even lightweight 122mm howitzers.

A small vehicle can somehow carry the firepower of a company or even a battalion.

The current military has the Lynx for airborne troops, the Lynx for marines, and also the newly developed amphibious armored vehicle.

However, the Lynx was only equipped with a basic machine gun, so its firepower was still weak.

That's what's missing.

Zhao Pingan stood up, walked to his desk, and picked up the phone.

"Get me Shenyang."

The next day, Zhao Ping'an arrived in Shenyang.

It was the same factory, the same people. Old Zhou was waiting at the entrance, and when he saw him get out of the car, he came to greet him.

"Minister, what's the mission this time?"

Zhao Ping'an didn't say anything. He went into the workshop, found an empty table, and took out a stack of blueprints from his bag and spread them out.

Old Zhou came over to take a look.

The drawings depicted a Lynx all-terrain vehicle, but it was quite different from the Lynx he actually built.

There were things mounted on the roof of the vehicle; some looked like machine guns, some like cannons, and some like rocket launchers.

Zhao Pingan pointed to the first one: "Modify with a general-purpose machine gun, 7.62 mm."

Alternatively, remove the two rear seats and replace them with heavy machine guns, 12.7 mm in diameter.

Old Zhou nodded.

Zhao Pingan flipped to the second page:

"Add rocket launchers. Single-barrel, double-barrel, quadruple-barrel, twelve-barrel, or twenty-four-barrel, you can try it yourselves."

Alternatively, it can be equipped with anti-armor missiles, such as the HJ-series, quadruple launcher.

Old Zhou's eyes lit up.

Zhao Pingan continued flipping through:

"Add mortars. Try 60mm, 82mm, and 120mm."

Alternatively, a lightweight 122mm howitzer could be added.

Old Zhou was taken aback: "A 122mm howitzer? That's a huge machine! It's too heavy!"

Zhao Ping'an nodded, "This is a lightweight, short-barreled gun. We have the material formula, and it can be made to weigh around 1 ton. The Lynx should be able to pull it."

Alternatively, you could try building a few guns of different calibers, such as 85mm or 100mm, based on the firing characteristics of this lightweight cannon.

Old Zhou stared at the blueprint for a long time without saying a word.

Zhao Pingan turned to the last page: "Also, install anti-aircraft guns."

It can be used for anti-aircraft defense and direct fire, but it also needs to be lightweight...

Old Zhou took a deep breath.

Zhao Ping'an pushed the blueprints in front of him.

"Try different things, don't just stick to what I said. Like the 122mm howitzer I mentioned earlier, try it. If it doesn't work, you can try the 85mm howitzer, or even the 100mm. Use whichever one works. If it doesn't work, that's okay too, just gain experience."

Old Zhou took the blueprints, his hands trembling slightly.

"Minister Zhao, do we need to try all of these things?"

Zhao Ping'an looked at him and said, "How will we know if it will work if we don't try? Produce a sample as soon as possible; the Navy and Air Force are waiting for it."

Old Zhou was silent for a few seconds, then straightened his back.

"Yes."

One month later, in Beijing.

Zhao Ping'an was reading documents in his office when the phone rang.

It was Lao Zhou on the other end, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

"Minister, the supplies have been delivered to Beiping. Would you like to take a look?"

Zhao Pingan put down the phone, put on his clothes, and went outside.

Soon, Zhao Ping'an arrived at a test site. In the open space of the yard, more than a dozen Lynx motorcycles were parked neatly.

They were almost exactly the same as those he had seen in videos in his previous life—some were carrying machine guns, some were carrying rocket launchers, some were carrying mortars, and some were carrying cannon barrels.

Old Zhou was standing at the front. When he saw Zhao Ping'an, he quickly went to greet him.

"Minister Zhao, twelve vehicles were produced in one month. One of each design, please take a look."

Zhao Ping'an walked over and looked at each car one by one.

The first one had a 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun with a gleaming barrel and an ammunition belt hanging beside it.

The second vehicle, equipped with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, was significantly more robust than the first. The two rear seats had been removed, freeing up space to store ammunition boxes.

The third vehicle was a twin-barreled rocket launcher, with the two launch tubes mounted side by side and a sight on top.

The fourth vehicle was a quad rocket launcher, thicker and more powerful, it looked terrifying.

The fifth vehicle carried HJ anti-tank missiles, a quadruple launcher with the missiles inside and the launch cover closed.

Zhao Ping'an stood in front of the fifth vehicle for a while and reached out to touch the launch cover.

Old Zhou said from the side, "This is a 24-tube 105mm rocket launcher. We tested it and it had the best effect and the most powerful firepower. The only problem is that it can only carry this many rounds. Once it's used up, there's nothing we can do. But the firepower is indeed fierce."

Zhao Ping'an nodded and continued walking forward.

The sixth vehicle was an 82mm mortar. The barrel was upright, the base was fixed in the truck bed, and several shells were placed next to it.

The seventh vehicle was a 120mm mortar. It was larger than the sixth vehicle, with a thicker barrel.

The eighth vehicle, an 85mm howitzer.

Zhao Ping'an stopped and stared at it for a long time.

Old Zhou, standing nearby, said, "This took a bit of effort. The cannon barrel was readily available, but the base and recoil system needed to be modified. It took three tries to get it right."

Zhao Pingan asked, "Can we fight?"

Old Zhou said, "Thirty shots were fired, it was a sure thing."

Zhao Ping'an nodded and continued walking forward.

The ninth vehicle, a 100mm howitzer. It was a size larger than the eighth, and the hull looked somewhat strained.

Old Zhou said, "That's barely enough. The cannon is too heavy; the Lynx can pull it, but it won't run fast. It can only go forty miles at most."

Zhao Pingan said, "That's enough."

The tenth vehicle, a 122mm lightweight howitzer.

This is the largest one. The gun barrel is longer than the vehicle itself, extending backwards, and it needs to be supported by a stand when marching.

Zhao Ping'an stood in front and watched for a long time.

Old Zhou said, "The material formula is right, and the cannon barrel is formed in one go."

The rear recoil system was built according to the blueprints; it fired twenty rounds, and the vehicle remained very stable.

Zhao Ping'an didn't speak, he just nodded.

The eleventh vehicle was equipped with a twin-barreled 30mm anti-aircraft gun. The two barrels were mounted side by side, and the turret could rotate 360 ​​degrees, with a sight mounted on it.

Old Zhou said, "We tested this thing. Its firepower is even stronger than a heavy machine gun, and its continuous firepower is also very strong, just like a 24-tube rocket launcher. Except for the limited ammunition, it's incredibly powerful."

The last one was a hybrid model. It had a 12.7mm heavy machine gun mounted on the roof, two HJ-2 missiles crammed into the truck bed, and a rocket launcher mounted on the side.

Old Zhou said, "We figured this out ourselves. Since it's a modification anyway, we might as well go all out."

Zhao Pingan smiled. "That's good. They know to test their ideas and don't have to feed themselves all the time."

Just then, I heard the sound of a car outside.

Zhao Ping'an turned around and saw Commander Liu and Commander Xiao's cars stop one after the other.

The car door opened, and two more people followed behind—Wang Dashan and Wang Dahai.

Wang Dashan is now the commander of an airborne division, while Wang Dahai is the commander of a marine division. Although they wear different uniforms, their walking postures are somewhat similar.

Commander Liu walked over, saw the row of lynxes, and paused for a moment.

"This is... a lynx?"

Commander Xiao didn't say anything, but walked directly to the 122, circled it once, and then squatted down to look at the chassis.

Zhao Ping'an walked over and stood next to him.

Commander Xiao stood up, looked at the cannon barrel, and asked, "This... can it fire?"

Zhao Ping'an said, "Old Zhou said they fired twenty shots, and it was pretty steady. We can try it out later."

Commander Xiao didn't speak, but walked over to the Lynx vehicle equipped with a 100mm howitzer and looked at it again. Then he walked over to the 85mm howitzer, the 120mm mortar, and the 82mm mortar.

Commander Liu followed behind him, looking around as he walked, his mouth never closing.

Wang Dashan and Wang Dahai had already rushed to the front, lying on the lynxes, touching them here and there, just like two children.

Wang Dashan suddenly shouted, "This is great! This is great! A quadruple Red Arrow launcher! If paratroopers can take these down with them, they won't be afraid of tanks!"

Wang Dahai chimed in from the side, "That's nothing! Look at this, a double-barreled anti-aircraft gun! It can take out planes, bunkers, and even infantry..."

The two of them chatted back and forth, getting more and more excited as they talked.

Commander Xiao walked back to Zhao Ping'an's side, remained silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly smiled.

"Comrade Ping An, you're turning a lynx into a hedgehog."

Zhao Pingan smiled too.

Commander Liu leaned closer:

"I see now. If this thing can be mass-produced, paratroopers and marines will no longer be light infantry."

A whole company was deployed, armed with heavy machine guns, mortars, and anti-tank missiles.

There were even 122mm howitzers—though they had less ammunition, they were still cannons!

Wang Dahai ran over, his face covered in sweat, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"Commander! We Marines need this Lynx 122mm howitzer! As many as we can get!"

Wang Dashan also ran over: "Brigade Commander, our airborne division needs them too! 120mm mortars, quadruple rocket launchers, HJ-1 missiles, we need them all!"

Commander Liu and Commander Xiao exchanged a glance and both smiled.

Zhao Ping'an looked at the dozen or so heavily modified Lynx motorcycles, watched Wang Dashan and Wang Dahai arguing back and forth, and saw Lao Zhou standing aside grinning foolishly.

He thought to himself, with these things, the paratroopers and marines would no longer be light infantry.