What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 609 Gai Jin's Smart Choice Fighter Jet

Capital International Airport
Tang Wen originally planned to fly to catch Wa, but some unforeseen changes forced him to postpone the trip.

Rams arrived, bringing with him a delegation from the military-industrial complex.

As a key figure in arms sales, Tang Wen naturally couldn't be absent.

“Oh dear Tang, look what I’ve brought you.”

Robert stepped off the plane, waving two invitations in his hand.

Perhaps in an eagerness to put pressure on India, the Empire approved the sale of CH47D arms before the formal negotiations for mutual visits.

When the domestic authorities agreed to purchase the goods at a higher price, the military-industrial complex was the first to realize that the rabbit on the other side, which had once been impoverished to the point of being pitiful, was no longer the same.

Ten years have passed, and countless grassroots people on this land have grown wildly and vigorously. She is no longer struggling because of a mere few hundred million dollars.

This was fantastic news for the Empire's businesses. The University of Tokyo, with its financial resources, was quite willing to spend money on acquisitions. Coupled with the lightning-fast CH47D deal, the delegation practically pushed Rams into the country.

McDonnell Douglas also tried its best to modify two early F-17 prototypes in good condition to bring them to a technical level close to that of the A/F-18CE, with the radar, avionics and engines being consistent with the previously disclosed parameters.

Of course, they are still far from being combat-ready, especially since the electronic components require a long period of adjustment and refinement. McDonnell Douglas's main objective was to first assemble two prototypes for the University of Tokyo to showcase.

The modified aircraft, painted in blue and yellow, was sent to the Blue Angels aerobatic team and has arrived in China to prepare for its flight performance tomorrow.

As a VVVVVIP, Robert gave Tang Wen an inner-field ticket—the kind that allows him to climb into the cockpit and watch freely.

However, the latter secretly scoffed at it:

A/F18CE换装的YJ101-GE-100只有原版F404的80%推力，还是可靠性未知的短暂试验过渡型号。

As for the prefix "A" representing ground attack specialization? If you cripple the radar and avionics to the point that the air combat capability is appalling, then all that's left is ground attack!
However, Tang Wen still greeted him with a smile in public, and then turned around and saw the overjoyed Boeing COO Harry, who went up to him and gave him a hug.

There's no way around it; Boeing is very pleased with Geiger's copy of the GZ20. Otherwise, where would this huge CH47D order come from?

As Tang Wen warmly greeted the military-industrial complex, he inadvertently caught sight of Rams in the distance. Their eyes met briefly before parting ways.

Rams glanced at the young man with the dual identities of "white glove" and "mobile internet fanatic," unaware that this was a rare encounter between him and his mortal enemy.

……

Zhangkou Airport
Two elegant blue fighter jets, like Smurfs, nimbly flew up and down in the low sky, chasing each other and simulating tactical maneuvers, constantly rolling and attracting everyone's attention.

After a spectacular display of its exceptional low-to-medium altitude maneuverability, one of the aircraft suddenly and boldly dove downwards, only pulling up when it was almost at the ground. Its belly skimmed the runway for several hundred meters before it pulled up at a beautiful, steep angle with the roar of its afterburning jet engines.

Rams and Robert laughed and clapped, praising the aerobatic team's superb skills, but they had expected to see expressions of shock on the faces of the domestic naval and air force observers.

Of course it was shocking! This wasn't the F-18C that the Empire was actually equipped with, or even the A/F-18CE that would actually be sold. It was a demonstration prototype based on an earlier F-17, with imperfect adaptation and theoretically reduced performance!
The last time they were so shocked was when the Su-27 entered China, and its amazing maneuverability showed the world what the cutting edge of technology was like.

And now, this half-finished product, discounted on top of discounted prices, has greatly shocked the navy and air force, who originally had no expectations. The navy, in particular, is practically drooling with envy.
Although the YJ101 has poor thrust, it is actually the prototype/precursor model of the F404. In the official product manual of the Empire, it was given the designation F404-80E to pretend that it was a model of the F404 in order to make it look more high-end.

In fact, it works quite well when installed on empty aircraft for performances, especially since the Blue Angels deliberately only added a small amount of fuel, resulting in an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio and demonstrating maneuverability that was by no means inferior.

This immediately hit the Navy's sore spot—the domestic aviation industry is still stuck in the era of high, super, and fast, and the epoch-making J-10 is not in line with expectations due to its canard layout and single engine. Even the ultimate stripped-down version of the F-18 is much better than the existing options.

Especially since the F-18/F-17 was designed for carrier operations, it is almost perfectly compatible and ready to use right out of the box!
Tang Wen noticed that even Old Zhang's eyes were shining, and he murmured to himself:

"The F-18 is a good aircraft, and it's even more in short supply than the F-16."

Robert, who was not far away, was also winking at him:

See? It's still American technology, isn't it? Even products cobbled together from the 70s are still the best in the world.

……

The negotiations on the second day could not be held as scheduled. This time, it was rare that Dongda took the lead in proposing that the negotiation strategy needed to be adjusted, and only on this day did they discuss the purchase of CH47D with Tang Wen.

The latter is simply discussing the specific price. Since it involves an arms sale of more than $10 billion, it cannot be decided in just a few words. Previous negotiations were just memorandums, and there is still room for discussion on specific aspects such as maintenance, after-sales rights, etc.

After glancing at the memos and contract templates that were thicker than a dictionary, Tang Wen quietly went to the lounge to grab some pastries.

Seeing this, Robert also went to the lounge, which was witnessed by Rams.

Rams wasn't offended by the East Pigeon incident, but he was somewhat annoyed by what he saw:
The Joint Chiefs of Staff originally intended to use the F18C and E2B as bait, but in the end, it was cut down to only the extremely stripped-down version of the A/F18CE. McDonnell Douglas took the initiative to reduce the configuration, on the grounds of not wanting to leak the F18C parameters.

At the time, Rams thought McDonnell Douglas was being considerate of the bigger picture, but now it seems that Robert had long anticipated that the F-18C would never be sold, so he deliberately created a "monkey version" that used technology that was not even older than the 80s, making it truly possible to sell.

This little scheme made Rams feel cheated, but the aircraft trade could be easily disrupted and ruined. What worried him most was whether his brother would compromise.

He has personally flown to Beijing to continue putting pressure on the city. How can the Third Brother not bow his head?
……

After a day of negotiations, Geigin and Boeing reached an agreement on the CH-47D order:

A total of 36 helicopters were involved, of which 20 were to be delivered to the shore by the end of April at a price increase, and payment in cash was required.

This trade also included more spare parts (based on a 10-year maintenance cycle), as well as additional personnel training and guidance costs, and communication adaptation and modification costs, bringing the total cost to $15 billion.

Boeing did not restrict the use of the helicopters after the sale, only requiring that they not be resold to third countries—selling to the army, of course, did not count. The three parties reached a tacit agreement, and Geiger subsequently paid Boeing a $3 million deposit, with $7 million to be paid when the first batch of 20 CH47D helicopters was delivered and shipped, and the remainder to be settled upon completion of subsequent orders.

As for the A/F18CE, Tang Wen was dragged to the Navy office in the middle of the night, where Lao Zhang revealed McDonough's conditions:
"The bare unit price is $40 million, with a minimum order of 24 aircraft. However, additional costs, including spare parts, engines, personnel training, weapon system reintegration, and other infrastructure upgrades, will account for 4000% of the order value, which is a minimum of $16 billion."

Furthermore, if we were to purchase US missiles, the total price would definitely exceed $20 billion.

Tang Wen: "Can the Navy accept this?"

"Price aside, we are very worried about whether a deal can be reached... In addition, there is definitely no technology transfer for the F-18s. At most, we can only buy enough carrier-based aircraft for the Type 011 aircraft carrier, which cannot fundamentally solve the problem."

Old Zhang was somewhat helpless. Reason told him he shouldn't buy it, but the navy's urgent needs were undeniable.

Especially after years of hardship, the navy is suddenly rich and about to acquire three aircraft carriers. Many people are eager to put the navy into service immediately, and there is a lot of support for the purchase.

Tang Wen finally understood the purpose of his visit: Old Zhang wanted him to help suppress these rumors.

The method was quite simple; Tang Wen just blurted it out:

"I can provide 24 F-14s and the complete technology for $20 billion, spare parts and engines are separate, but I lack personnel to guide them."

Upon hearing this, the advisors who had originally been advocating for the purchase of the A/F18CE wavered. They knew very well the extensive connections in Southeast Asia, and even the F18C was no match for the F14!
But some people still questioned:
"But if we get these planes through smuggling, the pressure we'll face will be far more serious than money can measure! It'll be much more severe than the numbers we see!"

This statement immediately garnered a lot of support: the core of arms sales is never the equipment itself!
Tang Wen did not deny that, in fact, the domestic market had always coveted the channels in Southeast Asia, but had been hesitant to buy them due to concerns about international pressure.

Furthermore, the F-14s in Southeast Asia must have been obtained from the Empire. If this is exposed, the Prism Building might unleash a furious retaliatory attack!

Fighter jets aren't like gold or dollars that can be laundered, unless... they're counterfeit.

However, Tang Wen knew very well that Gaijin did not have the capability. The fact that the Aviation Machinery Factory and the First Aircraft Manufacturing Factory were able to handle the GZ20 was thanks to Changbusi for bringing in the experts who had worked on the Z-17. Gaijin Aviation alone would have to use all its resources to not only work on the F-14, but also to tackle the MD-11.

Furthermore, although Geigin has military equipment qualifications, it is far from being a defense contractor like McDonnell Douglas, making it difficult for it to participate in legitimate fighter jet bidding.

The staff quickly returned to their previous argument, but just then Tang Wen suddenly asked:
Are the major aircraft research institutes going to reorganize into companies?

Old Zhang, who was having a headache, nodded subconsciously:
"We've been preparing for this for the past two years. The design institute and manufacturing plant will be reorganized in the future. However, some of them will be separated from the plant, while others say that a merger would be better... Why are you asking this?"

Tang Wen: "Perhaps Gekin can cooperate with an aircraft company... somewhere between ODM and OEM, Gekin will not participate in the production of the complete aircraft, but will be commissioned by the cooperating airline to manufacture and participate in some research and development."

It took Old Zhang a while to understand what Tang Wen meant:
OEM means that the brand manufacturer designs and develops the product, and the contract manufacturer only produces the product according to the brand manufacturer's requirements and does not have the intellectual property rights of the product; ODM means that the design and development are outsourced to the contract manufacturer, and the technology patents naturally belong to the latter.

But whether it's OEM or ODM, the final product nominally belongs to the brand owner and can only be sold by the latter.

Tang Wen wanted to promote the fighter jets but also wanted to avoid trouble, so he chose a semi-OEM solution:

Geikin provides technical data on aircraft such as the F-14 or F-18, and then invests in domestic aircraft research institutes to establish specialized teams to conduct technical interpretation and redevelopment, as well as complete aircraft manufacturing.

It's like paying to rent people and factories; the patented technology of the new aircraft that is ultimately copied also belongs to Gaijin. If an order is successfully obtained, the aircraft will be authorized for production.

This kind of imitation is certainly not a direct copy of the original design. It will definitely be modified and adapted to the current situation in China. At most, the final product will be copied by the imperial crickets, which is nothing.

This complex operation not only obscured the question of whether Geiger was qualified to manufacture and sell fighter jets, but also bypassed the shortcomings of its own weak research capabilities, and achieved the localization of the aircraft and its whitewashing.

For China, the imitation project is funded by Gaijin and the company bears its own profits and losses. It does not require military funding and has no adverse effects whatsoever. On the contrary, it provides a new option.

Old Zhang's eyes lit up after he understood; this model was also refreshing to him.
He didn't mention another obstacle to importing fighter jets through Southeast Asia, which was other domestic aircraft manufacturers.

When Geikin sold a batch of A4s, it spurred many Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAC) companies to work frantically to produce a few J-7Js, fearing that their base would be compromised. They were extremely wary of Geikin.

With the OEM model, at least the production end is domestic aircraft manufacturers, so isn't that a perfectly domestically produced aircraft?

Moreover, although the patents are held by Gaijin, the technology has essentially been mastered by the contract manufacturer, so they won't lose money no matter how you look at it. On the contrary, they will benefit from this and receive a huge amount of funding, adding another disruptive force to the market.

"Gaijin doesn't build fighter jets. We only provide technical solutions and lead the formulation of overall indicators and technical parameters. Aircraft manufacturing is done by contract manufacturers. I call this the Gaijin Smart Choice Aircraft, the HiCraft model!"

After naming this new business model, which falls between ODM and OEM, Tang Wen also roughly outlined his plans for partners:

“I think Hongdu Institute is very good. They had exploration and pre-research on variable sweep wing technology when they were working on the Q-6, and they also had experience working with us to modify the A4.

There are only a handful of design institutes in China capable of producing fighter jets. The two giants in the north and south would certainly disdain being directed by Gaijin. The next level down are Guizhou Aircraft Industry Group and Hongdu Aviation Industry Group, which mainly manufacture trainer aircraft and light fighter jets.

Both companies were struggling financially due to their inability to secure major fighter jet projects, so spending money could easily secure control of the projects. Hongdu's better geographical location, being closer to Goose City, naturally made it Tang Wen's top choice.

As Lao Zhang listened, he nodded and quickly wrote things down in his notebook. Then, he and Lao Zhang discussed some issues in a low voice and rapidly improved the HiCraft mode for the smart aircraft.

Such an anomaly naturally attracted the attention of others, and after the two finished their heated discussion, they saw more than a dozen pairs of eyes cast their way.

Old Zhang smiled and held up his notebook:
"Regarding the risks of introducing fighter jets mentioned earlier, here is a proper solution... Shall we hear what Mr. Tang has to say?"

Tang Wen also took over the blackboard without any hesitation, straightened his collar and recalled his state when he was preaching the future of MDA in the United States. He unconsciously exuded an arrogant and confident atmosphere.

Soon, the concepts of HiCraft mode and Gaijin Smart Choice, along with their advantages and disadvantages, appeared on the blackboard. Relying on his honed oratory skills and his confidence from a bygone era, a brand-new concept successfully entered everyone's minds.

(End of this chapter)