World Domination through Planet Development - Chapter 58



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Episode 58. Defense Acquisition Program Administration Android Requirement

Defense Acquisition Program Administration Headquarters.

The head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration was watching TV.

-Citizen interview.

Two anchors, a man and a woman, were reporting the news.

“The response to the Army’s proposed plan to replace active-duty soldiers performing mandatory military service with androids has been generally positive.”

“Of course, there are concerns about whether this can be practically applied to the front lines. Let’s hear the citizens’ reactions.”

As the female anchor concluded her comment, the screen changed to a scene of an interview with a citizen.

-Choi Hyeong-seok (52) / Jung-gu, Seoul

“That’s great. Who would want to send their child to the military? Wasn’t it a place where there were shootings and suicides just a short while ago? How great would it be if robots and such were used to protect the country instead of people?”

-Baek Eun-ha (38) / Seo-gu, Daejeon

“I think that part is, what should I say? Trust? Faith? I thought that how well they can fulfill their role as soldiers was important. Uh… But this time, an android came into our company. When I first saw it, I was surprised because it felt like they were really meeting a person. Ah… The world is really changing quickly. I thought that at this level, I could trust and entrust an android with any job in society.”

This time, a narrow alley scene appears on the screen. In it, several people are gathered and carrying briquettes.

-Choi Woo-seok (29) / Representative of the Social Promotion Youth Association.

“Oh, as you can see, I also volunteered with Android. As someone who has used Android, I felt that this should be provided to the socially disadvantaged. Many people living on low incomes cannot even think about using Android because of the cost, but this is absolutely not something to hesitate about because of the price. I hope that many people will recognize this, so I volunteer with Android.”

A young man was interviewing me, and the head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration seemed familiar to me. I had a feeling that he was appearing on Android-related broadcasts a lot these days.

… Is that guy someone the broadcasting station is pushing for?

It’s just a thought, so I can only guess that there are circumstances surrounding the broadcasting station.

“I think the issue of introducing Android is also an extension of this. Regardless of the various issues, it is fundamentally a position directly related to human life, so if there is a means to replace people, I think it is worth considering.”

The screen changed back to the broadcasting station studio.

“In this way, where citizens’ diverse opinions coexist….”

Fortunately, the public opinion seemed pretty good to the director. I don’t know what the general opinion is, but at least the atmosphere in the media didn’t seem so bad.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s business plans are surprisingly greatly influenced by public opinion. Of course, the public may not believe it, but internally, decisions are made with considerable consideration of public opinion.

This is because the cost processing and difficulty of upper-level approval differ accordingly.

It is only natural that it would be difficult for national security projects to fulfill their roles if they were swayed by public opinion, but the director thought it was his own fault.

As everyone knows, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration has been historically trapped within the framework of defense industry corruption for a long time.

To be honest, there are still many fixed businesses that are carried out in the name of custom, especially in cases such as business approval through connections with former military personnel.

But Android.

This unprecedented invention received great attention from officials at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters and its key organizations from the time it was introduced.

Naturally, the same was true for the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and the issue had already been raised without any pro-PDC actions from the administration.

And recently, the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to approve the review.

Android soldier.

What an ideal soldier this is.

First, physical ability. He has physical ability several times stronger than that of an adult male, making him ideal for demonstrating his abilities as a soldier.

Second, cost. A considerable amount of money has been allocated to the purpose of expanding the rights of men who have served in the military.

Third, intuition. This may sound like a strange thing, but it’s actually the most important part. It doesn’t mean that androids are more intuitional than people.

This meant that the military no longer had to worry about the public’s opinion.

The head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration was also plagued by phone calls from parents of soldiers when he was an active-duty general, so this is the core problem of the current military. Soldiers on active-duty compulsory service are ultimately more like civilians.

But look at Android. Who cares if Android gets hurt?

Although PDC changed its nationality to North Korea, it was very touching to learn that it was created by South Korean people.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

Suddenly a sound was heard, waking the chief from his deep thoughts.

“Can I come in?”

A voice was heard from outside.

“Oh, come in.”

The person who came in was the defense industry supervisor. The two exchanged brief greetings.

Since the Android business is the main focus, I came here to report on the interim results.

“How is the preliminary research going?”

“Yes, we need to move towards the purchasing business now, so we need to focus on the direction of prior research, but that has become a bit difficult.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s… due to technical issues, they are refusing to share any technology related to Android operation, so we are having some difficulties in securing operability.”

“Huh, is that so?”

It was difficult because even the basic operational guidelines, not to mention the production technology, were being rejected.

“The PDC side says that this cannot be considered a conventional weapon system because androids do not replace or add weapons, but rather replace troops themselves. Therefore, they are arguing that this should be viewed as an exceptional provision.”

That’s right. Android is a very special case.

“It’s definitely a bit different from before to introduce Android.”

“I think that’s right. In a way, isn’t it the subject rather than the object of operation?”

Subject, not object? That’s definitely true. You’re approaching it as a new weapon, but it’s just an administrative procedure, and in a way, what you’re introducing is closer to manpower than a weapon.

But if a person gets hurt, there’s a hospital, so don’t androids need to be repaired when they break down?

Basic operations are also a practical issue and therefore cannot be overlooked.

“But wouldn’t it be possible to operate it or not if the Android maintenance system is installed internally?”

Isn’t it impossible to entrust repairs to even the smallest details?

“In that case, I was offered a full free repair guarantee instead.”

“Oh, really? There are no conditions attached to that?”

How could he possibly think that he would be able to roll over and make such a suggestion?

“Not at all. I clearly stated that it was completely free, and since you made the offer, I don’t think there will be a problem.”

Well, thank you for this. In fact, the perception is changing a little bit now, but the most important factors in the Korean defense industry are still performance and cost issues.

So far, if those two can be easily met, it has been quite advantageous in selecting a business.

“Then, let’s focus a bit more on quality reliability and evaluate it in that area.”

However, if it breaks down too frequently, it could be a problem to use it even if it is repaired free of charge, so I think it would be better to just ignore that.

“Okay, then let’s first test it in a real environment using TRA.”

TRA is a technology maturity assessment, a procedure for judging the completeness of a technology that is divided into nine stages based on the usage environment.

“Oh, right. You said that the test also included formal training, right?”

“Yes, that’s what happened.”

Sigh.

The chief laughed without realizing it.

Android’s formal training. I thought it would be a bit fun. I wonder how well I can handle the angles. The formal training is all about heat and warmth.

“ah.”

Thinking about the evaluation, I thought about the performance data I had received in advance. This data was based on my actual combat experience in Afghanistan.

“What about the data sent from Afghanistan?”

“That’s it. Well… the reliability of the data is not clear, but it is disclosed very transparently, so it is not completely unreliable, and it is not bad for reference. That was also the basis of the original business.”

Because PDC is unconditionally disclosing Android’s military performance data, the current Ministry of Defense’s request for information could also proceed quickly.

The availability of data that could be compared in advance was huge.

“That’s great. How did the cost negotiations go?”

In the end, the cost issue could not be left out as an objective factor. It was the most important factor when judging by numbers.

“Yes, we have decided to accept up to 10-20% of the existing soldier’s salary.”

“Huh… is that so?”

At a time when soldiers’ wages are rising dramatically, this could be seen as quite encouraging news.

“I heard that they are also involved in the power business recently, and that they are bringing in electricity from North Korea… I heard that they are aiming to lower overall electricity rates, and that it will probably have a significant impact on Android maintenance costs as well.”

“Electricity in North Korea?”

There is a lot of news these days that the situation in North Korea has improved a lot.

I heard that after PDC took over North Korea’s power company, the electricity will no longer be cut off, but even so, it doesn’t seem like the production will be enough to reduce South Korea’s electricity bill…

It is difficult to tell these days whether these are empty words like North Korea’s in the past or not.

“I think we can just ignore that part, but I think it is definitely advantageous in terms of cost.”

“Hmm. I guess so… That’s true… But I guess the surplus from PDC is less than from individual sales, right?”

However, the question is whether PDC can clearly see business results from this project.

If all the bottles were replaced with Android, it would be about 300,000 people. If Android was worth about 100 million won, simple arithmetic would yield sales of 30 trillion won.

There is absolutely no reason for customers to worry about the company’s profits, but the problem is that there is no substitute for this Android.

It is not known whether other companies will release Android in the future, but if PDC goes wrong after Android has been fully introduced, it could endanger not only this business but also the survival of the military.

If you are wondering if we should reconsider this business, well…

The extremely low birth rate and the chronic shortage of soldiers made it difficult to give up androids. Not to mention the protest calls from parents.

“That may not be the case. As far as I know, Android currently has a large portion of its sales through loan products. If we compare, I don’t think the difference is that big.”

“Oh, is that so?”

If the loan amount is 100 million won, then if you repay the principal with interest, hmm… I still estimate that it will be at least twice as much… But let’s think about it carefully.

In some ways, this product can be seen as a long-term financial product, but the fact that it even offers free repairs could mean that Android is very durable.

There seems to be no other way than to move on with such hopeful thoughts.

“Okay. Then let’s start by preparing well for the exam.”

“yes.”