Chapter 47: The True Nature of Self-Reliance and Independence

Dean Qian’s life was far from easy.

To be more precise, it was extremely difficult.

At this particular juncture, he urgently needed achievements to prove himself.

First of all, the Fifth Academy, headed by Dean Qian, operated on an independent budget and did not compete with other projects for the defense budget.

Secondly, over the past three years, he had transferred a total of 1,500 core R&D personnel to the Qinghai base, far away from the civilian frontline.

Finally, the directives from the top leadership explicitly stated that expenditures for atomic bombs and missiles must be listed as separate, special items, ensuring they accounted for more than 15% of the total military budget.

The results of the atomic bomb were visible to all; China indeed needed it, but what about missiles? How was the missile you developed any different from what others developed?

Dean Qian wrote in a letter to the leadership: If the proportion of missile research and development funding fell below 15%, the window for catching up internationally would be lost.

Ultimately, from the perspective of practical national support—factoring in supporting industrial investments—the proportion of missiles in the military budget did indeed exceed 15%.

It could be said that China’s investment in scientific research had certainly not mistreated Dean Qian or the Fifth Academy.

Having received such massive support, he had to produce results.

In the past, skepticism from all sides had already been growing: why not engage in mass-participatory science, why let your group research independently?

These doubts constituted a tremendous pressure that weighed directly on Dean Qian’s shoulders.

Skepticism was one thing; an even greater pressure came from America, whose Matador missiles with a one-thousand-kilometer range had already been deployed right across the strait opposite Fujian Province.

Faced with such a situation, Dean Qian had been holding his breath. If he failed to produce something tangible, it wouldn't just be his own downfall—if the entire missile research pipeline collapsed along with him, everything would be over.

For a long time, he had been dissatisfied with the Soviet Union because the P-2 missile-related technology transferred by the Soviets was a castrated version.

Looking at the drastically changing expression of Pokrovsky, Dean Qian felt an indescribable sense of gratification.

He had known from the very beginning that the Soviets played dirty. Seeing the missile technology blueprints they transferred merely served as yet another verification of their untrustworthiness.

"Pokrovsky, the P-2 you transferred to us has a range of only 270 kilometers, yet we Chinese, relying on our own efforts, are fully capable of extending it to 600 kilometers.

That 500-meter precision which you yourselves could not achieve, we Chinese will accomplish and show it to you!"

After saying this, Dean Qian’s heart surged with emotion. An accuracy of 500 meters meant far too much; for China, it meant having at least one true means capable of directly threatening the opposite side of the strait across Fujian.

A 500-meter accuracy, a 590-kilometer range, and a velocity of 2 kilometers per second—combining these three elements meant that all cities west of the Central Mountain Range on the other side could be covered by the Artillery of Truth.

This would greatly alleviate the security issues along the coastal areas.

"Qian, extending the range to 600 kilometers—I believe that with your ability, it is entirely possible. We are all well aware that although it is difficult, it is not impossible.

Whether it is purifying the oxidizer, increasing fuel density, or carrying out a certain degree of modification to the engine, there are far too many ways to work on the range.

However, improving accuracy—especially elevating precision directly from the previous kilometer-level down to the meter-level—the difficulty in between is fundamentally a completely different matter.

You must have had a breakthrough in technology to achieve this.

According to the technical agreement we signed in 1957, this technology must be shared with us," Pokrovsky said, his tone gradually hardening. "That's right, you must have discovered a new inertial guidance method to achieve such a leap in precision."

He seemed determined to validate his own assertion.

Dean Qian shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, the technical agreement no longer exists. Have you forgotten?

You have already torn up the technical agreement.

Besides, the technical agreement was flawed from the very beginning; it was only because we Chinese were magnanimous that we didn't argue with you."

The technical agreement signed by both parties in 1957 stipulated the transfer of R-2 missile technology, but in the end, they deliberately handed over a castrated version named the P-2.

The range of the R-2 was 550 kilometers, whereas the theoretical range of the castrated P-2 was only 270 kilometers.

If the Soviets hadn't acted in bad faith and provided something virtually unusable, the test launch wouldn't have been delayed from receiving the blueprints in 1957 all the way to 1960.

Over the past three years, the Fifth Academy led by Academician Qian had carried out a comprehensive upgrade of the P-2: improving the fuel, redesigning the engine, adjusting structural materials, and modifying the wake fairing.

Even without the Monte Carlo method and calculus of variations optimization sent back by Lin Ran, Dean Qian and his team would still have optimized the trajectory of the P-2.

Thus, from the very beginning, the Soviets had harbored malicious intentions, and what they delivered was a castrated version of a castrated version.

......

"Military-Industrial Commission receives serial number KT-0124/1960
Sender: ****
Date: July 31, 1960, 4:30 Moscow Time
To: ****
And copied to:

******

Urgent Report: Regarding the Abnormal Development of Chinese Missile Technology and Countermeasure Recommendations

Confirmation of Key Facts
According to radar data from Observation Station No. 7 (Zhangjiakou) and the analysis of experimental records from Ice City (see documents KT-0124-1 to KT-0124-5 for details), during the fourth full-missile test launch of Project 1059 conducted by China on July 30, 1960:
Range: 591 kilometers (exceeding the theoretical limit of our transferred original R-2 technical archives by 219%)
Circular Error Probable (CEP): 483 meters (Soviet specification requirement was 1.8 kilometers)
Penetration Speed: Mach 2.2

Technical Provenance Anomaly
The fuel system is confirmed to use a modified ethanol-liquid oxygen combination, with thermodynamic efficiency exceeding design blueprints by 21%; the turbo-pump device features a parallel three-chamber patented structure; the guidance gyroscope drift rate has dropped to 0.08°/h, and the inertial guidance algorithm has surpassed our unreleased Globus-3 core algorithm.

Risk Assessment
(1) China has acquired the delivery capability to conduct direct missile strikes against the Far East region (Khabarovsk/Vladivostok);
(2) Neutral countries may reach deals with China; if China sells missile technology, we will lose strategic leverage in certain regions;
(3) If China engages in reverse-exporting the improved technology, it will trigger an overall loss of control within the Warsaw Pact technical system.

Action Recommendations......"

July in Ice City was not cold at all, yet Pokrovsky felt a chill. The shock delivered by his Chinese peers made him uneasy.

After finishing the dispatch, he sat in front of the KROT fax machine, watching the message transmit back to Moscow bit by bit, while inwardly reflecting: "My Chinese peers are simply too restless."

The Soviets had made plenty of technology transfers to other countries, yet only China insisted on creating something different on the basis of the technology transferred to them.

Take the Third Brother as an example: the MiG-21 production line transferred in the late 1960s remained exactly as it was when transferred fifty years later in 2019, without the slightest change.

Even though more than four hundred of them crashed during that period due to insufficient engine thrust and avionics coupling faults—more than the number that could finish a full service cycle—they were never once seen successfully improving them.

"If only China could be like other countries and stop making such a fuss," Pokrovsky thought to himself.