REIWA JIGOKUHEN - Chaotic Disturbance of Reiwa Era

Chapter 115 - Stabbing in the Dark's Value

Harford County, Maryland: Aberdeen Proving Ground

In a corner of the test site, where the cold wind was blowing wildly, strange scraps were left out in the open. At first glance, it looked like a long-barreled anti-aircraft gun. In fact, it was a makeshift contraption made by forcibly connecting the M1 120 mm anti-aircraft gun, which the Air Self-Defense Force saw as a threat on par with first-generation jet fighters during the special bombing unit's attack on the US mainland, to make it resemble a long-barreled gun. They connected the rifled barrels, creating a 5-inch anti-aircraft gun with a 100 caliber. But what was astonishing was that it was apparently a prototype artillery system designed to shoot down artificial satellites.

"Hmmm..."

At least, that was what the joint science and technology investigation team member, ATLA's tech officer Nishina, thought when he looked at the abandoned wreckage.

He found it very interesting because there was something similar to it in the original world. It was a plan from the 1960s to launch equipment for upper atmospheric research using cannons instead of expensive rockets. Although it was ultimately canceled, they had actually used a contraption made by connecting battleship 16-inch guns to send projectiles into space. That contraption had been assembled about 20 years earlier than in history as a result of the strange effects of the Time-Space Cataclysm.

"So, they wanted to shoot down our satellite with this thing?" said the famous president of a private space company, Horiuchi.

He had somehow forced his way into the joint investigation team and came all the way to North America. His company had been launching small observation satellites one after another, so it could be said that this gun system was created because of his company.

"Well... with this small caliber gun, I don't think it could cross the Kármán line."

"Indeed, it seemed to be a test prototype," replied Nishina, recalling rough estimates and the original history. "With this, the limit would be about 60 kilometers in altitude."

"HARP's 5-inch gun was actually about that range. But we could gather data. If we properly collect data and accumulate know-how, and try it with a larger gun, it could have worked, more or less."

"If that had happened, your company would have been in trouble."

"We were just firing shots in the dark. We only launched short-lived micro-satellites, so even if they were damaged, it was okay, no problem. In fact, it built our management skills," Horiuchi laughed heartily like a manga character.

But after a while, he returned to a slightly serious expression and continued.

"Well, to be honest, even if we could calculate and hit the target, I don't think we could control the cannon as precisely as the calculations suggest. It seems that we can calculate the orbit if we find it, and there have been examples of actually determining the orbit... man, it's surprising that Hubble, the redshift and space telescope guy, led the calculation. I'd like to meet him once if the restrictions are somewhat relaxed... but it seems that there was still a large margin of error from there."

"That's right. In this era, radar and telescopes don't provide sufficient resolution, and the accuracy of the analog computers used to calculate the cannon's direction is low. Even if the shell has a proximity fuse, hitting the target with a few million shots is about the best we can hope for."

"By the way, it's not always directly above this thing that a satellite orbit exists."

"In addition..." Nishina looked out a few hundred meters away.

The famous Ballistic Research Laboratory building was standing there as a charred ruin, having been destroyed by precise and fierce attacks as part of the bombing of the mainland of the United States and the bombing of the political and economic center, along with many excellent scientists and engineers.