Since it was a combat vessel a grade higher than the Mercury-class, its combat power also had to be a grade higher than the Mercury-class.
It needed stronger defense, more powerful firepower and maneuverability, a more sensitive radar system, longer endurance, and so on; every aspect needed a significant improvement.
If this could not be achieved, simply manufacturing a larger vessel would be meaningless.
Such a vessel would be a living target on the battlefield, not only failing to be effective but also dragging down the overall effort.
Vessels, especially combat vessels, are extremely complex and involve a wide variety of technologies, almost every discipline of the entire scientific system is related to them, and none can be missing.
Thanks to the full-throttle research in previous years, Tom’s research level in every discipline had made tremendous leaps.
In materials science, Clones incrementally improved material performance, whether it was connectors or fire-resistant materials, buffer materials or heat-resistant materials, or radiation-resistant materials, armor materials, corrosion-resistant materials, and so on; countless improvements, accumulating bit by bit, finally completed the accumulation in materials science.
In terms of weaponry, Clones researched one firearm structure after another, how to manufacture bullets more suitable for the space environment, and more advanced radars; similarly, countless small accumulations eventually pushed the technology to its current stage.
There were also fuels, vessel structures, electricity, life support systems, and countless other sub-system researches, coupled with the successful development of the new high-efficiency engine earlier, and the continuous supply flowing from God-Enemy Star, Tom finally made this decision.
The development of the Venus-class Battleship would be a general mobilization of all of Tom’s factories, bases, and disciplines.
For this massive project, Tom first allocated about ten thousand Clones specifically for engineering pre-research, to survey all current technologies, build the vessel’s framework, and research what technologies were still missing and what improvements were needed to manufacture the Venus-class Battleship at the current stage.
This work was completed at an extremely fast pace. Ultimately, Tom reached a conclusion.
To truly manufacture the Venus-class Battleship in his mind, he still needed to undertake about 9 major categories, 377 minor categories, involving approximately 16,000 specific technical challenges.
From how to solve interference between power supply lines to improve stability, to how to manufacture new high-speed Deep Space radars, all were included in these projects.
Once the goal was clear, there was nothing more to say.
With the assistance of the Hestia AI, Tom’s production efficiency had reached an unprecedented height. Thus, a large number of Clones temporarily became ’idle,’ and Tom poured them all into scientific research.
Adding the Clones already responsible for researching the Venus-class Battleship, the total number of Clones Tom committed to this project instantly exceeded 1 million!
Nearly one-fifth of the conscious connection count was invested in this work.
And, how terrifying an research capability could be unleashed when 1 million top military experts, who possessed full-disciplinary knowledge, could work tirelessly 24 hours a day (backup Clones would take over during sleep and rest), had no internal friction, and no communication barriers, simultaneously conducted research?
Tom had never undertaken such a large-scale scientific research project before, but he had a rough estimate.
Tom felt that the research efficiency of an average Clone could at least equal that of 10 human scientists. 1 million Clones would be equivalent to 10 million.
To cultivate these 10 million scientists, at least a country with a population of over a billion would be required, and that would be under the premise of compressing other expenditures and supplying them with full effort.
Roughly calculated, the research efficiency of these 1 million Clones could roughly be equivalent to the extent of a country with over a billion people dedicating its full effort to corresponding research!
At this moment, this research capability, equivalent to an entire massive country, was all concentrated on this one project.
At the Armor Research Institute, one type of armor after another, made of different materials, with different constructions, densities, and types, was brought in; machine guns and cannons roared ceaselessly, attacking them with full force.
At the Firearms Research Institute, the scale of machine gun research suitable for the space environment was even more enormous. Thousands of machine guns manufactured with different design philosophies were tested here, consuming tens of millions of special bullets daily on average.
Firearms suitable for the space environment must first have a high rate of fire. Because the space environment is too vast and bullets have a long flight time, it is impossible to rely on a few bullets for precise hits.
The only solution is to increase the rate of fire, firing a large number of bullets in a short time, relying on quantity to expand the coverage.
Beyond the rate of fire, there was muzzle velocity.
Muzzle velocity must also be high. The reason is simple: higher speed means higher kinetic energy and higher lethality.
Without mastering electromagnetic cannon technology, Tom could only achieve these two goals by optimizing firearm structures, improving heat resistance, and enhancing propellant performance.
In the Radar Laboratory, Tom experimented with various materials, striving to find formulas that could improve radar performance.
In the Propulsion Laboratory, a modified high-efficiency engine was undergoing testing, with flames continuously spewing out.
In the Vessel Structure Laboratory, Clones built one vessel framework after another, testing their stability in various extreme environments and searching for structural flaws.
Under the full effort of a total of 1 million Clones, and with approximately 5,000 laboratories operating day and night, Tom spent a full two years to finally overcome all 16,000 specific technologies in the project list!
The Venus-class Battleship finally entered the actual manufacturing stage.
Because no assembly line had been built yet, the various components required for this Venus-class Battleship could only be manufactured through custom orders.
Eventually, all the various parts converged in the final assembly plant. With the assistance of various precision mechanical equipment, a massive spherical vessel with a radius of 10 meters, a total height of 20 meters (approximately equivalent to a 7-story building on Earth), and a fully loaded total mass of 800 tons, seven times that of a Mercury-class vessel, finally appeared before Tom.
Following Tom’s command, the four high-efficiency thrusters located below simultaneously spewed bright white flames, propelling the giant sphere instantly towards the sky, disappearing the next moment.