Chapter 271: The Development of Industry and Aircraft
Australasia's industrial development has been progressing smoothly, especially with the dual support from Germany and Britain, the construction of industries has been on a steady rise.
As of now, Australia's annual steel production has exceeded 3.1 million tons, including 1.7971 million tons of iron and 1.3142 million tons of steel. While these figures may seem impressive, they have only just surpassed Italy, the least powerful European power, and are still less than half of what Russia and France produce, and just a little more than one-fifth of Britain's output.
Although having surpassed Italy, which is considered a traditional European power, Arthur does not feel any joy. While Italy may be regarded as one of Europe's powers, it is the weakest, possibly even weaker than some island nations. Furthermore, surpassing Italy in steel production is not something to celebrate. Australasia still has a long way to go to catch up with the traditional European powers, and perhaps only through two world wars can it hope to take a shortcut to match or even surpass them.
The good news is that industrial construction in Australasia is steadily progressing. In addition to the steel industry, which has already become a major player in industrial output, chemical industries, civilian industries, machinery factories, glass factories, fertilizer factories, cement factories, and many others are flourishing.
A particularly noteworthy development is the James Machinery Factory, which has grown into Victoria's largest and Australasia's second-largest machinery factory, becoming a leader among many private companies.
As for the largest machinery factory, it is naturally the Royal Machinery Factory, which is controlled by the royal consortium. The Royal Machinery Factory handles orders from automobile factories, engine factories, various military factories, and other types of factories. It produces 60% of the machinery equipment in Australasia, employing over 20,000 workers.
The royal consortium's total workforce across all its factories and businesses exceeds 400,000, making it a true giant in Australasia's industrial sector. The royal consortium contributes tens of millions of AUD in taxes to the government every year, with profits exceeding 50 million AUD.
Despite the enormous size of the royal consortium, the people of Australasia are very welcoming of its various enterprises. The royal consortium provides jobs, and any factory or enterprise belonging to it offers the best benefits and policies in Australasia. This is why when people are looking for work, their first choice is always the royal consortium's businesses and factories.
There is great news: after nearly two years of construction, the Leonora Industrial Base has completed its initial development. The Ministry of Industry is currently discussing the list of companies that will be invited to establish operations in the industrial zone. These companies will undoubtedly be giants in various industries in Australasia.
The goal for the industrial base is to build a large, integrated industrial cluster, so the invitation for companies to settle will focus on more diverse industries and sectors, such as the chemical industry, agricultural machinery, machinery manufacturing, etc., which the government has heavily invested in.
To demonstrate the importance of the industrial base, Arthur, after discussing with the government, decided to designate the entire Leonora Industrial Base as a city-level direct-controlled district, directly under the Ministry of Industry's management.
The head of the Leonora Industrial Base will have a level of authority equivalent to that of the mayor of a capital city in Australasia. The person in charge will be appointed by the Ministry of Industry for a four-year term. This reflects Arthur's stance: aside from the cabinet, no one else has the right to interfere with the Leonora Industrial Base.
Starting in January 1910, the Leonora Industrial Base officially began inviting companies to settle. The goal is to invite 30 large enterprises and hundreds of small ones, and ten massive warehouse areas have already been prepared for these companies.
Before the construction of the industrial area even began, the railway and road connecting the industrial zone had already been built and completed before the area itself was finished. The Leonora Industrial Base is now connected to Australasia's industrial railway and the strategic highway network, which can quickly reach both the east and west coasts of Australia.
It is conservatively estimated that even just the first phase of construction at the Leonora Industrial Base will create more than 50,000 jobs and generate at least 20 million AUD in annual output for Australasia.
The businesses in the industrial area are estimated to contribute millions of AUD in taxes to the government every year. If development progresses well, reaching 2-3 million AUD in tax revenue is not unrealistic.
If the entire industrial base is completed, the numbers become even more staggering: 200,000 jobs, 100 million AUD in output, and tens of millions of AUD in annual tax revenue. Though these numbers seem hard to imagine, many within the cabinet have a feeling that they are achievable, making them more supportive of the Leonora Industrial Base's development.
Of course, regardless of the opinions of others, Arthur places great importance on the Leonora Industrial Base. He even instructed the Minister of Industry, Pierre, to frequently visit the base to ensure that the construction is carried out with quality and efficiency.
Pierre, who has been serving as the Minister of Industry for three terms, does not dare to slack off. He visits the Leonora Industrial Base at least once every two weeks to ensure that there are no issues and that Arthur's expectations are met.
For Pierre, who has been in office for three terms, staying in the cabinet is only possible by advancing further in his position. However, there are many other cabinet ministers like Pierre, and there are only a few positions available, with competition being fierce.
If he could earn Arthur's favor and support, it would significantly help his chances of moving up.
Of course, Arthur is unaware of all of this and wouldn't care if he did. For Arthur, putting anyone in a position of power is as simple as saying one word, but why would he say that word?
Arthur has now arrived at the aviation laboratory, where all of his attention is focused on the new aircraft developed by the lab.
After more than four years of development, the military aircraft in the aviation laboratory have now reached the third generation, with significantly improved performance compared to the second generation.
Currently, when it comes to the manufacturing and technological capabilities of military aircraft, Australasia is undoubtedly the world leader, even far ahead of the second-place nation.
While the second-generation military aircraft were only barely suitable for combat, the third-generation aircraft have already reached or even surpassed the capabilities of military aircraft in the later stages of World War I. Even if Australasia stopped its aircraft development now, other countries would find it nearly impossible to catch up without five to six years of work.
But stopping aircraft development? That's unthinkable.
Arthur's focus on aircraft development is growing increasingly important, and the budget for the aviation laboratory is steadily rising.
Since the aviation laboratory is Arthur's private enterprise, it does not use government funds; instead, it is funded and controlled by the royal consortium.
The laboratory currently requires at least 500,000 AUD annually from Arthur, and the aircraft it develops are far more advanced than those produced by other nations' private research laboratories at the same time.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Australasia has already recruited at least one-fifth of the world's aviation talent, and this proportion is still growing.
Other countries aiming to surpass Australasia in aviation and aircraft manufacturing would need to control the remaining 30% of the aviation talent and spend vast amounts of resources, which could take years to accomplish.
But is this realistic? The remaining 30% of aviation talent is scattered across Europe and the United States, and many of these individuals are being prioritized by their local governments, making it extremely difficult for other nations to recruit them.
As for the third-generation military aircraft, let's focus on the Eagle-3 reconnaissance aircraft, which is currently the fastest and longest-range aircraft among Australasia's three types of military planes.
Like the second-generation aircraft, the Eagle-3 reconnaissance plane features a two-seat design, though its size is smaller compared to the previous generation.
With the addition of two auxiliary fuel tanks, the Eagle-3's size is slightly larger than the previous generation.
Without auxiliary fuel tanks, the Eagle-3 reconnaissance plane has a maximum range of 700 km, and with the tanks, it can reach 1,100 km.
The Eagle-3 is powered by a specially developed diesel engine, allowing it to reach an average speed of 215 km/h and a maximum speed of 240 km/h.
Just the average speed of the Eagle-3 reconnaissance plane surpasses the maximum speed of the previous generation, showing the immense improvement in engine performance.
Of course, to balance speed and range, the weapons on the reconnaissance plane are simple, with only an MA-107 Maxime machine gun.
However, thanks to the Eagle-3's formidable flight speed and range, even facing enemy reconnaissance planes or fighters, it can easily escape if it cannot win.
Looking at the new Eagle-3, Arthur couldn't help but wonder: could the most advanced military aircraft of other countries even compete with this reconnaissance plane from Australasia?
Even though it's only equipped with a heavy machine gun, this new product is the latest from the royal consortium's military factory, representing over ten years of development and achieving top-tier performance.
Historically, most military aircraft in World War I were only equipped with heavy machine guns or simple weapons, and were far less advanced than the aircraft of World War II.
Arthur smiled at the thought of Australasia's reconnaissance planes wiping out enemy fighters and bombers in the future, but quickly suppressed the laugh. After all, showing such emotion in public would undermine the king's dignity.
Regardless, if this happens, let the other countries be amazed!
(End of Chapter)
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