Chapter 72: Drone Upgrade
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After dinner, Tang Rui turned on the video call and began chatting with Li Shuyao while exercising.
“I have something to attend to later. You can do your yoga practice on your own,” Tang Rui informed Li Shuyao, checking the time.
“Hmm?” Li Shuyao appeared puzzled.
Usually, he would be quite attentive when she did her yoga routines, but today seemed different.
Was he no longer interested in her?
Or was he planning to go out and have fun because he was rich?
“Then try not to stay up too late. Late nights aren’t good for your health,” Tang Rui advised Li Shuyao, to which she remained silent, her expression unchanged, as if she didn’t take his words seriously.
“Yes, 1’11 aim to sleep before midnight,” she finally responded.
Tang Rui thought for a moment. Once he finished upgrading the drone, he intended to take it out for a test flight. He expected to be back before midnight.
“Alright, then I’ll hang up now.”
“Sure.”
The video call ended.
Tang Rui proceeded to take a shower before bringing the drone out into the yard.
Why did he choose the yard for this?
During the last upgrade, the drone’s size had increased from just over a meter to over two meters.
With this round of upgrades touching every aspect, it was clear that the drone would get even larger.
He locked the door, then surveyed the yard to ensure that no one could see into it before returning to the drone.
Enhancements were in progress… Body structure, materials, radar, communication, navigation, flight control, engine – over 100 attributes were rapidly being upgraded.
A sudden swoosh!
A dark golden light flickered.
Shadows enveloped the drone.
Tang Rui realized he was obstructing the drone’s expansion and quickly moved aside.
In the following moment, the surrounding shadows solidified, revealing a completely new and larger drone.
Gulp!
Tang Rui looked at the massive drone before him and swallowed hard.
This reaction was due to the smart glasses having already calculated the enhanced drone’s new dimensions.
The drone now measured 9.25 meters in length, boasting a 12-meter wingspan, and standing 1.62 meters tall.
Thankfully, the yard was spacious enough or there would have been quite an issue.
Nevertheless, the drone’s swept-back wings remained folded.
Unfurling them would mean the yard would never contain it.
Size aside, the drone’s overall appearance hadn’t changed much, except for a somewhat slimmer body.
But in terms of structure, significant optimization had occurred.
Take the DPS’s air intake, for instance.
When the drone was smaller, its air intake’s stealth design was merely average.
The DPS’s air intake, in contrast, was awe-inspiring.
Why was this the case?
Because its air intake could be positioned above or below the body.
For vertical take-offs, landings, low altitude, and low-speed flights, the air intake was atop the body.
During supersonic and hypersonic cruising with an afterburner, the air intake would be situated below.
These two modes of air intake represented distinct flight states and drone conditions.
Aside from the alterations to the air intake, significant changes had been made to the variable-sweep wings.
Aside from the tilt angle data and central envelope, even the fusion of the swept wings and body underwent substantial alteration.
Previously, when the swept wings closed, one could still recognize them as wings.
Now, when they were folded back, they appeared seamlessly integrated with the body.
The drone as a whole resembled a large wave rider, or in more precise terms, a hypersonic missile.
Alterations to the tail weren’t as dramatic, though the vertical tail could now be horizontally lowered and merged with the wings.
The most drastic change occurred at the engine at the tail. It had transitioned from a regular engine to a vectored thrust engine.
This was the kind of engine capable of full 360-degree rotation, even allowing for vertical take-offs and landings.
Taking a couple of steps forward, Tang Rui examined the drone’s system panel.
[Item: Supersonic Stealth Reconnaissance Drone +6]
[Experience: 3363/120000]
[Upgrades: Body (Special), Avionics (Special), Engine (Special), Energy (Special)]
[Attributes: Material performance increased by 80%, electronic equipment performance increased by 80%, power output increased by 80%, range increased by 80%]
[Origin Points: 21.28]
This assortment of attributes was staggering.
However, the consumption of origin points was equally astonishing, with nearly a hundred expended. Yet, every bit was worthwhile.
Tang Rui reached out and touched the surface of the drone’s body.
It felt smooth to the touch.
It wasn’t cold like metal; the body clearly consisted of high-performance composite materials.
After reviewing the data on the system panel, he returned to his room and retrieved his laptop.
The upgraded drone’s control program exhibited heightened intelligence.
He began by examining the drone’s internal equipment descriptions and function lists in detail.
Synthetic aperture radar.
Active phased array radar.
High-speed, high-power zoom-in combined targeting system.
Incredible. The electro-optical system was in full effect.
Apart from the body structure, the variable air intake was also a piece of cake.
The most intriguing, however, was the environment-mimicking invisibility system.
This function became active during subsonic flight.
Coupled with the drone’s potent optical system, it was capable of rendering the drone optically invisible. He couldn’t see it anymore.
He continued reading.
The engine had undergone significant improvements as well.
Sub-combustion/super-combustion/high-super-combustion, a three-state variable cycle engine.
This was genuinely cutting-edge technology.
Upon glimpsing the engine system, Tang Rui immediately pulled up the engine’s structural diagram. What an intricate structure.
While he had previously upgraded the engine structure, it paled in comparison to the current design.
The original engine could merely adjust bypass ratios.
Now, the drone was outfitted with a true variable cycle engine.
Leaving other details aside, these two engines alone could easily facilitate flight at Mach 8.
Over half an hour passed.
After a brief perusal of the system’s functions and the newly integrated equipment, he found himself itching to put them to the test.
But before that, one more device needed to be installed on the drone.
He retrieved a covert case from his room.
Upon extracting the Longbo lens, he began installation. How was he going to do this?
He created an opening in the drone’s body and inserted the lens.
Following that, he utilized his experience points to restore the body.
Soon, the installation of the Longbo lens was complete.
Post-repair, the Longbo lens transformed into a retracting mechanism.
When not invisible, the lens would remain outside the body.
However, the moment invisibility was required, the lens would retract into the body, rendering the drone invisible.
Lastly, he input the air defense identification code into the drone.
With all this done, Tang Rui grabbed a tactical tablet and established contact with the Air Force airport’s control tower.
“Come in, tower.”
“This is the tower, go ahead..”
