What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 610 Dark Clouds Cover the Sky
Ultimately, HiCraft's intelligent selection mode is simply Tang Wen's way of obtaining a pass to be included in the military's fighter jet procurement catalog, rather than passively selling information.

Previously, simply selling technology did not provide sufficient support for the domestic market. For example, the technical data and engine of the CH47C were provided to Changfei, but neither the government nor the research institute had the budget to promote new projects, let alone bear the risks of failure.

After all, if a lot of effort is spent on replicating it but it fails, or if the military suddenly changes its mind and says "I don't need this kind of aircraft," it will not only be a waste of money, but someone will also have to take responsibility for it.

The uncertainties in various aspects have made the aircraft manufacturer wary, and at most, it has only selectively absorbed a portion of the technology.

Unlike other projects, HiCraft gained autonomy over its projects and utilized domestic R&D capabilities through this special agency entrustment method, allowing it to promote the imitation and implementation of its products according to its own preferences and determination.

From now on, Tang Wen will no longer have to worry about the lack of talent under his command. At present, there is still a surplus of researchers in domestic aircraft research institutes, so he is not afraid of having too many tasks.

Even if the bid fails or the research and development fails, it doesn't matter, because it won't cost much money—you should know that in October 98, China had to repay the first interest of 32 billion yuan on a loan of 10 billion yuan.

If this money were invested in aircraft research and development, even if the project failed, a wealth of experience could be gained.

The biggest advantage for the military is that each time they bid for aircraft, they have an additional, extremely strong bidder:
Sufficient funding can easily ensure the development schedule and prevent sudden interruptions;
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They possess advanced technology and have access to countless foreign fighter jet data to draw upon; they can practically have anything they want.
Operating under a private enterprise system allows for greater flexibility and higher efficiency during the research and development phase.

So when Tang Wen finished speaking and expressed his hope to take the lead in implementing the technology with Hongdu Institute, and to further develop the F14 based on it, everyone showed great interest. The idea of ​​an ultimate, stripped-down youth version of the A/F18CE was long forgotten.

Tang Wen was originally thinking about how to persuade the military, but the latter directly tacitly agreed to this and jumped to the topic of how to improve the domestically produced F-14 and how much new configuration the aircraft carrier needs to add to it.

While the Air Force might struggle to choose between the F-14 and the Su-27, the Navy can only go one way. The F-14 is the most powerful carrier-based aircraft in the world today, so what is there to hesitate about?
Tang Wen was kept talking all night, and it wasn't until late at night, when the staff officers, still not satisfied, took him to the guesthouse to rest.

……

On the fourth day after the delegation landed, before the negotiations officially began, Rams stopped McDonnell Douglas and gave him some instructions:

Selling technology and licensing is the bottom line. Let's collect a deposit first under the guise of starting construction and adapting to domestic air-to-air missiles!
The Navy's absence from yesterday's A/F18CE negotiations clearly indicates their strong interest in the aircraft and a need to renegotiate their strategy. How could Rams allow McDonnell Douglas, which is obsessed with money, to get its way?
He knew exactly what the military-industrial complex was thinking. Those bastards didn't consider any threats at all, and would even deliberately supply advanced technology and equipment to force Prism to support the development of new projects!

Even within their own navy, there are similar thoughts. After all, Congress drastically cut the navy after the fall of the Russian bear, so they are looking for enemies all over the world.

We must guard against thieves within our own ranks, no matter how hard we try. We must not let these guys, who are obsessed with raising bandits to enhance their own power, have their dreams come true!

Robert patted his chest and agreed verbally, but in his heart he had already decided to have Levi secretly contact Tang Wen while Rams was away. How could the profit from selling passenger planes be as high as that from selling fighter jets?

Once the F-18s are sold, Prism Building will definitely demand further upgrades to the F-18C until it has an overwhelming advantage, before it will push forward the F-18E/F "Super Hornet" program and new munitions!

He just hoped that the University of Tokyo's negotiating team wouldn't appear too eager for the F-18 today, otherwise Rams would definitely continue to make things difficult...

However, once both sides entered the room to begin negotiations, things took an unexpected turn:
The entire morning in China was spent refining the CH47D delivery details, requiring Boeing to immediately ship the goods once a deposit was paid, with delivery scheduled for March.

Boeing agreed in exchange for the extra money, but then, to Robert's surprise, the Navy talked about bringing in the AN/APG-65 multi-mode radar, the current version of the F-18C.

The AN/APG-65 was developed by Hughes Aircraft Company, which has now been acquired by Raytheon. Raytheon had little to sell in this negotiation and was just a bystander, sending only a lowest-level department head.

The latter looked bewildered after being named, and dared not negotiate, so he refused, saying he had not prepared any materials.

Rams also realized that things were going off track, so he called a halt during his lunch break and then gathered a group of people to discuss why the A/F18CE wasn't mentioned in China, but they couldn't reach a conclusion.

Fortunately, in the afternoon, Raytheon's executives received a last-minute instruction from headquarters that Prism Tower did not intend to sell this radar technology separately, so they deliberately quoted an exaggeratedly high price to refuse the offer.

The Navy was somewhat disappointed, and then turned to talk about the even worse AN/APG-66V radar.

The AN/APG-66V is the airborne radar of the F-16. The suffix V indicates that it was an air-to-air specialized version sold to Pakistan in 92, meaning that its ground attack capability was removed.

The implied meaning behind shouting out AN/APG-66V is:

You've been selling this radar out to other companies for six years, so selling it to us shouldn't be a problem, right?
Thor's supervisor was dumbfounded again. He stammered through the afternoon before hurriedly leaving to report to headquarters.

Robert: (O_o)??

Has my A/F18CE been forgotten?
On the morning of the fifth day, the Navy continued to discuss the AN/APG-66V and showed great sincerity.

The reason is simple: carrier-based aircraft need a small radar with good ground attack capabilities.

The 1491 radar currently under development in China does not consider ground and ship targeting capabilities. The 232H radar used by the JH-7 fighter-bomber is bulky and inferior, with abysmal identification capabilities.

Moreover, in the short term, carrier-based aircraft can only rely on the J-7J, and the other two models simply cannot fit into that small nose!

The performance of the AN/APG-65, the same as that of the F18C, goes without saying. The AN/APG-66V, although slightly inferior, is still acceptable, and both are quite compact.

After thinking about it all night, Raytheon realized the reason. The manager said they could talk, and Raytheon's president had already flown over overnight, so they could start in-depth discussions that afternoon.

McDonnell Douglas couldn't sit still any longer, and Rams wasn't sure if the other party was just using suspense to lower the price, but he had to ensure that the outside world believed the F-18 deal could be reached!

During the lunch break, Robert privately approached Tang Wen to inquire about the situation, vaguely asking for his evaluation of the Blue Angels' performance that day.

"Excellent! The American pilots are truly skilled!"

Tang Wen gave a thumbs-up and was about to leave when Robert quickly stopped him:
"And the others, especially your navy..."

At this point, Tang Wen stopped pretending and pulled Robert aside before sighing:
"The F-18 is certainly a good plane, but the Navy no longer has room for it!"

"How could that be? The F-18 is almost the size of a heavy fighter jet, a whole class above the J-7J! Their roles don't overlap!"

Tang Wen slapped his thigh:
"It doesn't overlap with the J-7J, but it does overlap with the T-10K!"

Robert certainly knew what the T10K was; it was simply the carrier-based version of the Su-33 and Su-27!
"But surely your country's Type 011 aircraft carrier can't operate the Su-33, right?"

"Yes, but even if we purchase A/F18CEs, they will be used for the next generation of aircraft carriers. The Type 011 carrier will be equipped with J-7Js... That's all I can say. Geikin is not involved in the F-18 acquisition."

Tang Wen left as soon as he finished speaking, but left Robert feeling dejected.

Robert and Rams were both absent from the afternoon negotiations due to illness, but in reality, they rushed off to have someone investigate.

Prism Building quickly sent a report:
When China made contact with the Black Sea Shipyard last year, it also purchased three T10K prototypes and most of the technical data. Shenyang Aircraft Corporation also has a carrier-based aircraft research program.

Although it lost the bid for the carrier-based aircraft of the 011, in order to seize the carrier-based aircraft positions of the 012 and 013, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, without the support of higher authorities, took the initiative to bury itself in the research and development of the J-15, relying on the strong foundation of the first son, and did not deliberately keep it secret.

When the news reached the two of them, it was practically confirmation that the University of Tokyo had chosen the Su-27. After all, the A/F18CE might be more suitable for aircraft carriers, but the Su-27 could be domestically produced!

"Congress will not agree to the sale of any technical data and patents related to the F-18, not even a downgraded version. Even just saying it out loud would seriously affect our relationship with our allies."

Rams stated the bottom line first, and Robert immediately lowered his head:
"Then McDonnell Douglas can withdraw from this arms sale. The AV8B was rejected last year, so there's no hope for it."

But he quickly consoled himself, after all, the chances of selling the F-18 were slim to begin with, and McDonnell Douglas had already weathered its most difficult period and didn't need to rely on it to stay afloat. However, Rams was still troubled by this; the complete rejection of the F-18 by the domestic market was a terrible situation.

If they're not selling F-18s, are they going to sell F-16s? Or M1A1 Abrams?
Rams couldn't think of a solution for the time being, and could only hope that accelerating the delivery of CH47D spot goods would make India wary.

……

Tang Wen had just extricated himself from the arms sales negotiations when he was immediately entangled with Sergio again.

"Mr. Tang!"

"Segino...Professor Chu?"

Chu Zhen noticed that the celestial master who had brought darkness to geology clearly harbored some resentment, and his smile when he greeted him was forced.

After about a year of hard work by the academic community, persistent exploration of the Nansha oilfield, and supercomputing simulations based on hydrological data from previous years provided by foreign countries, the dark clouds above the building have changed from a single cloud to a dense, oppressive mass.

Since the facts are beyond question, the academic community can only muster the courage to overturn the formulas accumulated by countless predecessors and find another way.

It's just a pity that a scholar like Chu Zhen, who could have been enjoying his retirement, suddenly realized that he had learned a lot of one-sided knowledge in the first half of his life and wished he could lose his memory and leave the geological field.

The Ministry of Petroleum didn't invite Tang Wen here to thank him, Chu Zhen immediately said to Sergio beside him:
"Regarding the surveying issue, we need Gai Jin's support."

Seeing Tang Wen looking somewhat embarrassed, Sergio awkwardly explained why he was there:
After Tang Wen proposed the unified purchase plan, Zhuawa wanted to sign it but found the threshold too high. So he turned to Dongda University, which was spending money to save Southeast Asia, hoping to sign such an agreement or get a direct loan.

When Zhao Hande first approached Sergio, he immediately rejected the idea of ​​lending money—not that he wouldn't lend, but it was impossible to lend tens of millions of dollars. Everyone who had been poor knew that lending money couldn't solve an emergency.
As for the unified purchase agreement, the Ministry of Petroleum had no objection since it could accept everything, but it did raise a fundamental question:
The production of oil is far from sufficient, and the oil wells are basically controlled by Shell and ExxonMobil, so there's no hope of living off future profits.

Someone from the Ministry of Petroleum suggested to Sergio: ask the amazing Geiger; maybe he'll spot a few more oil wells?
Tang Wen learned the whole story, but seeing that Zhao Hande was not there, he knew what to do.

Facing the expectant Sergio, he once again put on a show of acting:

"As you may have noticed, Gejn's unique oil extraction and well-finding technologies mainly revolve around offshore oil, especially near islands and reefs."

Places like Miãos are rare, and I'm afraid I can't do anything about it for the time being.

Sergio panicked immediately:

“Mr. Tang, what Java has the least shortage of is islands, so there should be a lot of oil wells.”

Tang Wen smiled:

"The location of the oil well is not determined by Gaijin. You can ask Professor Chu. The geological definition of an island is completely different from what we see."

Chu Zhen nodded:
"This involves the concept of topographical classification; two islands that are far apart may not belong to the same type of landform."

"That……"

"Rest assured, now that we have signed a resumption agreement, the oil production facilities on Mionas Island are undergoing rapid repairs and restarts. Once the Mionas oil is revalued, you will still be able to obtain a considerable amount of funds from it."

And why not try signing similar agreements with other oil companies you work with? Shell, for example, is very wealthy.”

Sergio then changed the subject, saying that Geigin and Shell were different, and that Zawa believed he could control Geigin at any time, but Shell was the complete opposite and wouldn't pay any attention to him.

Tang Wen was well aware of this, and after making up a story, he returned to the guesthouse.

Before it was even completely dark, someone came to deliver a message saying that the Javanese embassy planned to hold a banquet the next evening and had invited Southeast Asian Chinese businessmen and companies with interests in the area.

"They're probably in a real hurry right now."

Zhenhai accompanied Tang Wen to the capital. It wasn't that he didn't want to bring more people, but it wouldn't be good for too many people to live together.

Outside, Zhenhai is Tang Wen's assistant brought from Southeast Asia, who also goes by the alias Lan Xi. As for Cheshire and Kronstadt, they go by the aliases Alice and Stepan Donny.

"Let's go to the party together tomorrow."

Tang Wen's words carried a hint of laziness, since Natuna was not essential to him; it was only the ship girls who deemed it necessary, so he might as well let them handle the negotiations.

"But I'm still missing a dress."

"Hmm...that's true. I'll go shopping with you tonight."

"Great, Commander!"

The ship girl quickly kissed him on the cheek, then said pitifully:

"Won't the other sisters be angry if they find out?"

"Ahem, no whispering!"

"Then how will you punish me?"

……

Tang Wen lay on her soft lap, letting the ship girl massage his scalp, and explained the application to remove the A/F18CE from arms sales:

"There are still many things under discussion, but I think the biggest achievement will be getting the CH47D. The others are either not very promising or too useless to be needed."

"Then we can carry out the plan once the CH47D docks. We have already successfully removed one warhead and placed it at the base in the South Pacific."

"Be very careful..."

Tang Wen and Zhen Hai had just been discussing the plan to stop Third Brother from growing mushrooms:

They deliberately used a U-boat to carry mushroom eggs towards India, hoping to get sunk so that the Empire's Geiger counter would ring.

This is a golden opportunity for Prism Building, far more serious than the possibility of India selling mosquitoes. There is immediately ample reason to carry out the highest-level action, and even Dai Ying, who was secretly dissenting, has to teach his rebellious son a lesson.

However, the effect of using arms sales as a form of pressure is negligible in comparison and will be quickly abandoned.

The most troublesome part of the whole plan was dismantling a mushroom missile, which was naturally the warhead from the Type 685 missile. It was really nerve-wracking to have a non-professional do this job.

(End of this chapter)