What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 275 I can't cut off my hands anymore.
Small airport.

A group of maintenance personnel and pilots gathered together, circling around the A4E that had been towed out of the warehouse.

Although trainees have to wait for the two-seat trainer version to be released, for veteran pilots who have officially retired, the A4, a small subsonic jet, is not difficult to handle, and is roughly on par with the J-5.

However, it is still necessary to familiarize oneself with the operating manual, after all, it is a jet aircraft, which is a level more complex than piston aircraft.

Around them, the trainees cast curious glances from time to time; the A4E looked quite different from the electric fans of the past.

"I'll try gliding!"

Lei Zhan, the most senior pilot who had flown the J-8 fighter jet, studied the cockpit's functions and then took the initiative to sit in it.

After spending an hour familiarizing himself with the various operations on the spot, he started the engine on the runway and circled back and forth a few times, but did not take off.

After they stopped, the others quickly stepped forward, and Lei Zhan said:
"It's a good plane. It's very easy to operate, and the cockpit is much more comfortable. The visibility is also much better than those electric fans. I feel like I can fly it without any problems."

"That's great!"

Hearing the exclamation, he immediately turned around and saw Tang Wen, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion.

"Mr. Tang, this A4 is too new. You didn't buy it from Lao Mi, did you?"

"What old American? This is clearly our domestically produced Bay Area A4 aircraft!"

Tang Wenyi corrected his mistake with righteous indignation, and only said it after Lei Zhan nodded in agreement:

"You all try to get familiar with this plane as soon as possible. Then find an open space and build a land-based aircraft carrier deck out of cement, lay some arresting cables, and try arresting landings."

In a while, the scenic area will also add an aircraft carrier, and they plan to develop some new attractions.

Lei Zhan's eyes widened immediately: "There really is an aircraft carrier?"

"Of course it's true! Didn't you see the hook on this A4? These are legitimate carrier-based aircraft!"

The group of maintenance personnel and pilots were then shocked and found it hard to believe.

Lei Zhan pointed to himself: "So, I should be the first person in the country to fly on a jet carrier-based aircraft?"

"If you learn quickly, you could even be the first pilot to land a jet on an aircraft carrier."

Of course, it could be one of you.

Tang Wen pointed his finger around the crowd, and everyone he pointed to felt their scalp tingle and couldn't suppress their excitement.

"In addition, the flight allowance for jet aircraft has doubled, and the A4 has an ejection seat, so it should be safer."

……

Great Bay.

"Chief Engineer Pan, hello."

"Hello, Mr. Tang!"

Pan Jiefu shook hands with Tang Wen, with other researchers from Institute 701 behind them.

He flew over as soon as he heard that the Algeria was completed.

The purpose is to check the hull quality of the original Algerian ship. Now that the hull layout of the Type 055 destroyer has been roughly determined, it is not too troublesome to modify it on the existing drawings.

But before placing an order, I still need to come and see for myself to feel at ease.

As soon as he got off the car, he saw cadets in uniform everywhere. When he heard that they were prospective seamen, he couldn't help but take a few more glances before boarding the cruiser, which already had personnel stationed there.

The young researchers traveling with me had hardly ever seen a gunboat before, and they were quite excited to see the cruiser with its authentic, period feel, occasionally letting out exclamations of admiration.

"This bridge is very accurate!"

"The sound-powered telephone lines are all there; it's really done according to the design drawings."

"The turret steel is quite good."

"Wait a minute, why does this cannon barrel look like the real thing?"

"The French writing on the shell looks pretty convincing... wait a minute!"

The young researcher looked at Tang Wen in astonishment as he finished reading, his eyes seeming to say: Why haven't you gone in yet?

"Ahem, don't make a fuss!"

Panjev gave him a wink, then began to seriously examine the cabin design, the steel materials, the welding process, and so on. As he looked, he was secretly amazed; it was almost identical to the blueprints, the steel quality was impeccable, the materials were solid, and the welding process was excellent.

"Chief Engineer Pan, can you send us the blueprints now?"

"No problem, no problem!"

Panjev knocked on the sturdy hatch and sighed:
"100 million yuan for these materials is really not expensive, we really got a bargain!"

Tang Wen knew what he was worried about, and patted his chest, saying:
"Gaijin is guaranteed to be of high quality and quantity, with a lifetime warranty. Anyway, the production period is only one month, so we'll pay after we see the goods!"

Who knew that after he finished speaking, Pan Jiefu's face stiffened, and after stammering, he pulled Tang Wen into a corner.

Tang Wen had a bad feeling.

"Mr. Tang, are you trying to sell aircraft carriers again?"

"you know?"

Pandey nodded; he was on the evaluation team for the nine candidate aircraft carriers.

Then he said something that Tang Wenyi didn't expect:
"I'll tell you privately, there are many people at the top who oppose buying an aircraft carrier, and even want to suspend the construction of the Type 055 destroyer."

"Aren't we buying 055?"

"No, no, no, we definitely still have to build the Type 055 destroyer, otherwise the aircraft carrier won't have any escort ships."

Panjev quickly explained, and then said:
"That's right, the navy's budget has been over budget by too much. The main direction right now is to develop the economy, so... well, a few destroyers and cruisers are fine, but an aircraft carrier is a different story!"

"One battleship in the north, one aircraft carrier in the south—the navy's budget for the next few years isn't even enough to cover that. Buying a supercarrier... it's not that we don't want to, but the obstacles are too great."

In fact, the desire to develop a navy was originally very strong in China.

Last year, we suffered a major embarrassment, and the higher-ups squeezed out a large portion of the budget, expecting to spend an additional 200 to 300 billion yuan over the next three to five years. Historically, most of that money was ultimately used to buy Hyundai-class cars, with a small portion spent domestically.

Later, Geijin offered an aircraft carrier and a battleship for a mere 20 billion, which was indeed a great bargain.

The two 055 missiles developed from Project 962 cost over 30 billion yuan, which isn't expensive!
However, after taking over two large ships, expanding personnel, ordering escort warships, developing carrier-based aircraft, training carrier-based aircraft units, and so on, and later, in a fit of enthusiasm, restarting Project 891, everyone realized they had fallen into a huge pit:

The fleet expansion was not even halfway complete when the budget was exhausted.

At this rate, it would need to double in size!
Considering the good returns, I gritted my teeth and gave it to them.

But when Tang Wen brought up Chao Hang, the bigwig in charge of finances couldn't sit still and went straight to the evaluation team.

Pan Jiefu mimicked the other person's speech perfectly:

"Super aircraft carrier? I think you guys are super spendthrifts. Billions here, billions there, and soon you'll need tens of billions more!"

"You've given me all the money, so you're abandoning the air force, the army, and the economy? Or should I just give you the food allowance to buy an aircraft carrier?"

After finishing the lesson, Panjev shrugged:

"That was the situation back then, so we really have to wait for supercarriers."

"How long?"

"Let's talk about it after the millennium, at least?"

"..."

Tang Wen understood. No wonder the three of them didn't stay to discuss the aircraft carrier information last time he took it out; they knew they were short of money.

In fact, if Tang Wen had paid more attention to current events, he would have known that the navy had already made great efforts.

That year, the United States spent $2657 billion on military expenditures and $86.6 billion on domestic expenditures, accounting for approximately 2.13% of the empire's total.

But what's most hurtful is that the expenditure across the strait is $88 billion, and a little more...

With such a small amount of money, they've already pushed so many people and so much equipment to their limits, and they still have to support new project development.

If we were to buy Tang Wen's supercarrier, we would need at least two Type 055 destroyers and two Type 053 destroyers to assist it, and at least one nuclear submarine to escort it.

Add to that the replenishment of carrier-based aircraft, the training of tens of thousands of new personnel, and the expansion of the corresponding ports...

If I think about it, I'll have to spend at least 100 billion yuan in the next five years. If I keep spending money like this, I really won't be able to make ends meet.

(End of this chapter)