What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 516 The Opportunity to Introduce C17

In fact, apart from AV8B, Tang Wen also showed little interest in MD.12.

His plan was to spend billions of dollars to import the MD.11, with the sole purpose of acquiring modern aircraft manufacturing technology through the First Aircraft Plant, and then kick McDonnell Douglas out and go it alone.

The MD.12 appears to be a perfectly capable aircraft based on its specifications, and McDonnell Douglas certainly has the capability to develop it, but... their determination to push it forward is highly questionable.
First, it still uses McDonnell Douglas's design and Dongda factory for contract manufacturing, which is different from chip contract manufacturing. This shows that McDonnell Douglas is consciously transferring the risk and has no confidence in the future of MD.12.

Then there was the issue of funding. They demanded that Gaijin contribute 60% of the funds, but Tang Wen estimated that even $40 billion would be enough to complete all the R&D work on MD.12 if they tightened their belts. He was definitely being taken advantage of.

He wasn't worried about the technical issues. Although the four-engine large jet was pushed off the market by high oil prices, its technological content was undeniable. Acquiring it might provide valuable experience for large transport aircraft.

Even from a purely technical standpoint, the MD.12 is more difficult to develop and has a higher level of technological sophistication than the C17, and even the Y-20.

However, even if the plane is good, it's useless if the people operating it are unreliable, so Levi's sales efforts were completely ineffective.

MD.12 is not an investment, and buying Harriers at high prices is wishful thinking.

However, Tang Wen also considered that it was necessary to maintain the relationship with McDonnell Douglas at this stage, at least until most of the technology and supply chain of the MD.11 passenger plane were transferred to them, so...

After letting his thoughts wander for a while, he first shared some news:
"Did you know that Gejing Petroleum's production has been increasing? Just before December, I can guarantee that daily production will increase to 320,000 barrels."

Levi immediately did some quick calculations in his mind and realized that even if oil prices plummeted, it would still be equivalent to $15 billion in revenue per year!

Because the Ministry of Petroleum requires that foreign institutions cannot be permanently stationed in the Spratly Islands, but can be invited to visit for short periods, there is no need to falsify production figures.

"In fact, the daily production of 30 barrels is only this year's figure. Next year, this number will reach 50 barrels."

Tang Wen's reported figure was actually a conservative one, which was on the smaller side. Going from 0 to 1 is always the most difficult and laborious. After the island reclamation plan in the Spratly Islands is completed this year, it will only be faster next year. We can even try to reach a daily production of 100 million barrels.

He just didn't want to exaggerate too much and be seen as bragging, but this already made Levi ecstatic. Forgetting about MD.12, he asked with shining eyes:

"Tang, when will Gaijin Petroleum go public? I know a very powerful fund company that can earn you 100 million barrels of oil just by speculating on the IPO!"

"..."

Tang Wen had to take the initiative to steer the conversation back on track:

"What I mean is that Geigin is very willing and able to continue investing in the aviation industry, but the McDonnell Douglas MD-12 is already beyond domestic demand, and even the MD-11 is enough to meet the domestic large passenger aircraft market for a long time."

What the market needs more are inexpensive aircraft suitable for mass production and widespread adoption, to rapidly expand the aviation market and cultivate the air economy, such as new twin-engine aircraft like the 737 and A320.

"McDonnell Douglas 90?"

"No, no, the McDonnell Douglas 90's engines are located at the tail, making maintenance inconvenient and the cabin too narrow. What we need is a low-cost carrier model with engines under the wings, a wide body, conventional design, simplicity, and robust reliability. Its domestic sales are expected to exceed 1000 aircraft."

This new low-cost aircraft was developed under the name of the First Aircraft Manufacturing Plant, then financed by Geely and with technical support from McDonnell Douglas. Subsequently, any overseas orders, excluding domestic ones, would result in a proportional licensing fee paid to McDonnell Douglas.

Tang Wen brought up the new passenger plane project from the Changbus Project and casually promised a thousand aircraft, essentially turning McDonnell Douglas into an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) and trying to continue to extract technology under the guise of the new passenger plane.

Although McDonnell Douglas's technical support is still needed, the dominant position remains in China. If McDonnell Douglas withdraws its investment, it can find a buyer (Boeing, Airbus?), or if all else fails, it can become self-reliant (a cheat code).

Levi's sudden shift from the MD.12 to helping Geigan build passenger planes took a moment to process, but Tang Wen continued:

"Furthermore, the Harrier's technical capabilities in military aircraft are simply too weak. You should know that the domestic military obtained relevant information a long time ago, but did not show much interest. In contrast, the air force, with its vast territory, needs a heavy, long-range fighter jet. If it can outperform the Su-27, it may win their favor."

"F-15? That's impossible."

Levi's head was practically blurry with shock. If McDonnell Douglas dared to sell the F-15, even a stripped-down version, they would be fined into bankruptcy.

"There is no precedent for selling the F-15 to allies, so it's impossible."

……

Acquiring an F-15 is indeed impossible, and even the F-14 is unlikely to be sold now.

After all, the once fearsome polar bear has been dismembered, and selling such a thing would only cause trouble for himself.

Tang Wen actually wanted the C17 more, which was also McDonnell Douglas's flagship model.

In terms of data, the C-17 is no worse than the Y-20. Although the wing box position is a bit low, which limits the cargo hold height, it is more conducive to maintenance and supports take-off and landing on unpaved roads. You can land anywhere in the desert or wilderness without any worries.

But obtaining the C-17 is more difficult than obtaining the F-15. Why did the Empire try to ensure that the country would not build large transport aircraft?

Because large transport aircraft can disregard terrain and deploy main combat equipment to plateaus.

Once China acquires large transport aircraft, and if C-17s are used to deploy large numbers of Type 99 tanks to the plateau, India will get anxious and throw a tantrum, refusing to buy more tanks.

However, there are always exceptions. Tang Wen has been paying close attention to the world situation recently. Currently, because of the mushroom egg incident, India has somewhat put the Empire on hold.
Now that it's been exposed, not intervening would be unbecoming of a world-renowned philanthropist. So let's intervene... Brother San is completely impervious to reason, neither kind words nor harsh arguments work!

It's definitely not worth giving them a beating, but the Empire will certainly try to put pressure on them—selling C17s to the East is a good way to do that.

How could he get the Empire to think of this? Tang Wen saw some opportunities in McDougall.

McDonnell Douglas, dealing with billions of dollars, certainly won't give up easily; there's plenty of time for a protracted struggle.

Thinking of this, Tang Wen decided to relax for a while and go out to watch the hula dance. Just then, the ship girl was pulled into a social gathering by a group of socialites.

When he arrived, he saw a group of scantily clad girls gathered together, looking pitiful and praying.

Looking at the television set up in the beverage shop next door, Tang Wen understood the content by piecing together images, translating the title words, and using the SSN keyword:

The HMS Birmingham (SSN695) sank during a routine maintenance and performance test due to a mechanical failure, killing nearly 100 people, including crew members and shipyard engineers.

The host looked somber, and the television screen even used red dots to mark the location of the sinking and showed videos of the search and rescue operation.

Tang Wen had no idea that the HMS Birmingham was an old ship that was originally scheduled for decommissioning; after seeing the report, his mind immediately became active.

It would be great to have another Los Angeles-class destroyer; it would make tracking and monitoring the Imperial fleet much easier.

Back at the hotel, he immediately logged onto a BBS and used his computer to browse web pages and search for domestic news reports to gather information.

(End of this chapter)