Keith’s face showed clear disappointment. After thinking for a moment, he continued, “I’ve heard that during the ‘Football War,’ the Ecuadorian Air Force used mortars loaded onto trainer planes as ground-attack weapons. But do you really think it’s feasible with helicopters?”


    “Why wouldn’t it be?” Deng Shiyang responded. “If there’s historical precedent, it’s even more reason not to doubt its feasibility.”


    “Feasibility and practicality are two different things!” Keith countered. “You have to understand, the success of this mission largely depends on the effectiveness of the initial bombardment. If we can’t inflict significant damage on the defending forces, we don’t stand a chance with our,because we are smaller numbers. Also, those two helicopters have no armor and limited firepower. Considering fuel capacity and flight time, I’m not very optimistic about air support.”


    “You make valid points,” Deng Shiyang acknowledged. “Let me explain my idea, and then we can discuss it further.” He paused before adding, “As you said, the main objective is to use those 200 mortar shells to maximize enemy casualties. I believe this depends on two factors: ensuring accurate drops and triggering the shells effectively.”


    Keith nodded silently.


    “First, let’s address accuracy. The problem we face is that a helicopter loaded with personnel cannot make steep dives, so we can only use a level bombing approach. We both know how accurate that method is. Additionally, we don’t have access to advanced bomb sights, and formation bombing is out of the question.”


    The man in the video window nodded again.


    “However, mass bombing during World War II gave me an idea: increasing the density of the drop to create a spread pattern of falling bombs, thereby improving the chance of hitting targets.”


    “That sounds promising, but execution won’t be straightforward,” Keith said. “Those helicopters aren’t armored and have minimal resistance to attack. For safety, we’re limited to two options: low-altitude, high-speed flybys or high-altitude, slow passes. Either way, relying on eyesight and manual dropping introduces too many external factors. I doubt we’d achieve the accuracy needed in such conditions.”


    “The key is to minimize the factors that affect accuracy,” Deng said, glancing at his laptop screen. “When bombs — or rather, mortar shells — fall, they’re influenced by various factors, including crosswinds, ground speed, course, and yaw, all due to the helicopter’s movement. I plan to have the helicopter hover over the target before dropping the shells.”


    Keith clicked his tongue and asked, “How high are you planning to fly?”


    “To avoid ground-based anti-aircraft fire, I think we need to be at least 1,500 feet, or higher if necessary, up to 2,000 feet.”


    “Flying that high, how will you aim?” Keith frowned.


    “I’ll mount a camera under the fuselage connected to a display in the cockpit so the pilot can control the helicopter while watching the screen,” Deng explained.


    “Hmm,” Keith replied, still frowning. “But how will you ensure the shells don’t drift away from the aim point during their descent?”


    “It’s impossible to eliminate drift, but we can minimize it,” Deng replied. “To ensure the shells fall vertically, we can’t just throw them by hand. I’m planning to build a simple drop device.” He glanced at his screen again, noting Keith’s interest, and continued, “You know those plastic crates used for bottled drinks? The ones with compartments at the bottom?”


    “You mean beer crates?”


    “Exactly,” Deng said. “The drop device I’m envisioning is simple and consists mainly of an external frame and a release mechanism. The frame is straightforward. The release mechanism is like a ‘beer crate’ with compartments sized to fit each mortar shells, and a small hole drilled at the bottom of each compartment. When loading the shells, we tie a piece of fishing line to the base of each shell, place them in the compartments, and thread the line through the holes in the bottom, tying them together tightly. When it’s time, the crate is flipped upside down on the frame, and the shells are suspended by the fishing line.”


    Keith’s eyes lit up as he interjected, “And when the line is cut, all the shells drop simultaneously from the compartments. Is that it?”


    “Exactly.”This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    “It sounds feasible,” Keith’s brows finally relaxed, though he remained cautious. “But we won’t know for sure until we test it.”


    “Of course,” Deng agreed. “The helicopter’s maintenance should be nearly complete, right?”


    “Almost. If everything goes well, we should have it back in a few days.”


    “I’ll aim to finish designing the drop device within the next two days and send you the sketches,” Deng said thoughtfully. “You should use sandbags of similar weight to the shells for testing and measure the dispersion at different altitudes. If it works, we can proceed with making the device.”


    “Understood,” Keith said, nodding. “How do you plan to trigger the shells once they’re dropped?”


    “Uh—” Deng scratched his head awkwardly. “Regarding this issue, actually I haven’t thought about it yet......”


    This response clearly caught Keith off guard. He took some time to digest the meaning before asking with a puzzled expression, “You can’t be serious, can you?”


    “No,” Deng Shiyang replied with a look of helplessness. “I’m being completely honest.”


    The right corner of Keith’s mouth twitched slightly.


    Deng glanced at the computer screen and continued, “We ordered contact fuzes that will detonate on impact, but the problem is how to disable the safety mechanism.”


    Contact fuzes are designed to be highly sensitive, capable of detonation with minimal impact, even on mud, snow, or water. However, this sensitivity also presents safety concerns, as no one wants a shell to detonate prematurely due to an accidental bump before it is fired.


    For this reason, modern mortar shells use dual safety mechanisms. One is a transport safety that the operator manually disengages before firing. The other is internal, automatically disengaged after launch. Unlike rifled artillery and grenades, which rely on centrifugal force to disable safeties through rotation, mortars do not spin in flight.


    Therefore, mortar fuzes typically use two types of mechanisms: one that is inertia-based, using the acceleration from firing to release the safety, and another similar to aircraft bomb fuzes, with a small propeller on the nose that spins due to air resistance and unlocks the fuze via a connected spring.


    “I thought so,” Keith said, tapping his forehead. “So, what are you going to do?”


    “I’m not sureyet, so I’m going to email Schlink and ask for a detailed list,” Deng Shiyang said, clicking his tongue. “Once I understand the model and mechanism, I’ll figure out a way to modify it.”


    “That’s the only option,” Keith nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help?”


    Deng Shiyang thought for a moment before replying, “Do you know anyone familiar with mortar fuzes?”


    “I don’t, but Du Preez might be able to find someone.”


    “Ask Jansen; he used to work at L-3,” Deng Shiyang added. “I remember that the U.S. military uses mortar fuzes produced by that company.”


    “Alright. Forward me the list when you get it tomorrow, and I’ll help you look into it.”


    They then discussed the possibility of smuggling the mortars overland, concluding the call at 10:15 PM, marking the end of the thirtieth day.


    At 8:00 AM the next morning, Schlink sent Deng Shiyang a reply with an attachment listing detailed specifications for the various types of ammunition.


    The ammunition in this procurement primarily came from two companies. The rifle rounds were produced by PMP, a subsidiary of “Denel,” while other items were made by Rheinmetall Denel Munition, a subsidiary of the German defense company Rheinmetall. However, the fuzes came from Bulgaria’s Arsenal JS Company and were of the AF64 impact fuze model.


    Seeing the list raised a question in Deng’s mind. He had heard that South Africa’s well-known electronics firm, Reunert Group, had a subsidiary called Reutech, which was one of the government’s defense suppliers, producing various aircraft bombs and artillery fuzes. While he wasn’t sure how much cheaper the Bulgarian fuzes were compared to the local ones, the total cost of 300 fuzes was only $3,600, a trivial amount compared to the more than million-dollar total bill. He couldn’t understand why the stocky middleman would use Bulgarian products.


    The answer came during the evening briefing.


    “You’ve been swindled,” Jansen said bluntly as soon as the meeting began. “This afternoon, I talked to an old colleague who works in L-3’s ammunition department. He said that model of shell was discontinued in the 1990s.” He paused before asking, “Didn’t you say the mortars you bought were M8s?”


    “Yes,” Deng Shiyang confirmed.


    “That explains it,” Jansen nodded. “The M8 is a long-range mortar system that uses newly developed ammunition. You bought shells that require old-style supplementary propellant charges. While the M8 can fire them, their range is shorter compared to the M61 series currently used by the South African National Defense Force. Since the military started using the M8, ‘Denel’ stopped producing these shells. I suspect your middleman sold you surplus stock to make extra money.”


    “Damn!” Deng Shiyang cursed.


    “The fuzes are the same,” Jansen added, not missing an opportunity to drive the point home. “The AF64 is an upgraded version of the M52 fuze used by the U.S. during World War II. It only has one detonation mode. The South African military’s M0315 electronic impact fuze, on the other hand, has dual modes, with both ‘instant’ and ‘delayed’ detonation options.”


    “Is there a significant price difference between the two fuzes?”


    “I’m not sure, but I do know that L-3 has been producing dual-mode impact fuzes for the U.S. military since the Vietnam era.”


    “That God Damn fat bastard!” Deng Shiyang spat out angrily.


    ---


    Annotations:


    Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM): Originally Denel’s munitions division, acquired by Rheinmetall in 2008, forming a joint venture.


    Arsenal JS Company: A Bulgarian defense firm that evolved from a state-run arms manufacturer.


    Football War (La guerra del fútbol): Refers to the 1969 conflict between El Salvador and Honduras, sparked by violence following the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The war, which lasted only six days, is also known as the “Hundred-Hour War.”