The heavyweight champion, of course, is Chinese: a machine with the incredible power of 80,000 tons is in operation since 2013 for the giant Erzhong Group in the province of Sichuan. To dominate the world you have to dominate the skies, but to dominate the skies you first have to dominate the metal. Moulding large pieces made of high strength materials required huge, very powerful machines, never seen before. Forging, as we have seen, is not suitable for these materials: it is necessary to use moulded parts, in order to guarantee an optimal arrangement of the metal fibres and the absence of cracks. Titanium, magnesium and aluminium took the place of steel, but also entailed the need for dedicated machining. With the advent of jet planes, the enormous stresses at stake demanded very high-performance alloys and processes. Metallurgical research at the service of the armies always invented new technologies and materials, in an attempt to create ever lighter and faster planes. In the range of instruments of destruction, aviation now played a key role. After the Second World War, the United States and Russia challenged each other in the field of armaments in what will be called the Cold War and which for almost half a century will polarize the world.
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