At present, Rage Owl Star’s technological capabilities in basic ground force infrastructure are probably quite complete.
While not incredibly exquisite, and far from the most advanced equipment, at least all conventional military gear can be self-produced.
The air force has Wind Falcons leading the charge, which is passable, at least providing air-to-ground support, air-dropping, and airborne operations when needed.
However, construction in space had not even begun up until now.
And the ‘Traveler’ is a great start.
Similar in size to the Type V Landing Craft, if one considers the troops and their equipment, it can carry up to five hundred people at once, or fit in a tank if fewer people are onboard, roughly equivalent to the forces of a battalion.
Actually, the technology used in both is quite similar. They have armor of comparable thickness, and the weaponry is almost the same, able to mount several Reflector Laser Cannons. If one insists on using solid projectile cannons, that’s fine too. Its firepower is stronger than the Wind Falcon, but only by a limited margin.
However, the key difference lies in the fact that the ‘Traveler’ has the capability for interstellar travel, able to cross through star gates and traverse the Star Realm Tunnel for interstellar voyages on its own.
To achieve crossing through the Star Realm, the ‘Traveler’ is equipped with three technologies not found in normal landing craft: Warp Engine, Jump Recognition System, and Starfield Force Field.
The Warp Engine provides the power to enter a warp state; lower-tier engines can’t supply this energy output.
The Jump Recognition System is for finding, positioning, and docking with star gates.
The Starfield Force Field provides extra protection for the entire ship during warp, safeguarding against Spiritual Energy and low-energy effects, ensuring the crew’s minds remain undamaged and unwarped.
All three are indispensable.
But regrettably, the Alliance currently has none of them.
Moreover, Gu Hang suspects that the technology to produce these three necessities is not just at an advanced level, but may well require elite level.
But the good news is, while they cannot be mass-produced, the Black Box can directly extrude all the main components of the spacecraft, and then it’s just a matter of technicians ‘building a block puzzle.’
Of course, counting on the Traveler to build an actual naval force in the Star Realm is nonsense.
The difference in levels is too great.
The warp engines, jump recognition, and protective field equipped on the Traveler are all very small; its weapons, when up against large starships, are like scratching an itch; and its own defense would shatter under a single salvo.
Only the poorest Star Realm pirates would take this thing and make extreme modifications, employing swarm tactics—in plain terms, providing enough fodder to capture attention and create opportunities for their main ships would be considered a success.
Its usual application is for carrying passengers and a small amount of cargo for Star Realm travel; if used for war, then it’s for harassment, reconnaissance, and the like.
Small size, low single-trip flight cost, flexibility, and low production cost are its advantages.
Of course, ‘low production cost’ is relative to those starships which can cost hundreds of millions. Its own production cost is estimated to be around 1.6 million Tax Currency each.
Still, they need to be built.
It’s not sufficient to form a proper navy, but at least it’s the first step for the Alliance towards the Star Sea.
Moreover, it’s not without significance. Inside the planet, it can provide the Alliance with the ability to deploy military forces at any point on Rage Owl Star, around the clock. In wartime, the ability to deploy an armored battalion anywhere on the planet within a short time frame could still yield a significant advantage.
And on Rage Owl Star, Gu Hang is not without enemies anymore.
The easy targets have mostly been dealt with, but on the western part of the continent, there’s still Blackbird Heavy Industries, which can’t be seen as a local power. This is a group backed by the Fatches Family, or to put it bluntly, an enterprise of the Fatches Family.
Although the waters between the two sides have been clear so far, Gu Hang as the Planetary Governor, can hardly accept the existence of such a large, uncontrollable force on his own planet.
And he hasn’t forgotten that according to the request of the Star Sector leaders, he has to turn against Blackbird Heavy Industries.
But no specific time was given for this, and Gu Hang was not planning to act on it immediately.
He just needed to be prepared in case action becomes necessary—as even if Gu Hang does not make the first move, they might sense something is amiss and cause trouble ahead of time.
Using the Traveler’s capabilities for rapid global deployment could have a great effect in this potential conflict.
Moreover, besides the planet itself, the Star Realm travel provided by the Traveler would facilitate communication between Rage Owl Star and Heijian Star. The exchange of personnel, dispatch of administrative officials, and so on would all be much more convenient.
Although he could probably rely on the trade fleets of the Gu Family for this in the future, it’s best not to inconvenience ‘others’ too much.
This ‘others,’ is not just a polite expression by Gu Hang. Even if he becomes the Family Head of the Gu Family in the future, the Gu Clan operates somewhat like a franchise. In the fourteen fleets—oh, now only twelve remain—Gu Investment Company, established by the main branch of the Gu Clan, holds shares in all of them, to varying degrees.
Only five of them have reached absolute control; the remaining seven will follow the unified orders of the Gu Commercial Firm, arrange together, and make money together.
They are not employees of the Gu Family, nor are they vassals; they cannot be used at will.