What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 643 Still Vigorous in Old Age (2000 Monthly Tickets in August)

November 8st

On the day specified in the Prism Building ultimatum, the General Assembly passed a resolution by three votes in favor and two abstentions to intervene in the subcontinent with "limited force".

Da Mao abstained from voting, mainly because the several philanthropists had each checked their homes and found no trace of the missing high-concentration raw materials, making the owner of the property highly suspicious.

Even though Mao wanted to kill the white elephant, he remained firm on matters of principle.

The UN General Assembly passed the resolution late at night, but India still wouldn't budge until sunrise.

Mushrooms are such a sensitive topic. When a polar bear fell, a few mushrooms secretly leaked out. As long as it's not too outrageous, most countries can tolerate it to some extent.

In reality, very few can create mushroom eggs, but they may possess more power than one might imagine.

But mastering the manufacturing technology? No way!

The Prism Building has adopted an extremely tough, unusually aggressive, and even somewhat unreasonable stance during this crisis.

From the outside perspective, the pressure should have been gradually increased, with each move adding weight. However, NATO dispatched aircraft without saying a word, and the Nimitz battle group rushed to Campsite Bay at full speed overnight. This made it seem as if Prism Building had suddenly lost a lot of patience and was in a great hurry.

In fact, apart from Dai Ying vaguely sensing something, only Prism Building knew about the Lost Empire's bizarre wormhole technology. If one day they directly teleported the Mushroom Egg to the Empire's vitals, not only would they be attacked for nothing, but they wouldn't even be able to find a target to retaliate against!

I can't afford to gamble. Even if I guess wrong, all I'll do is beat up my third brother and then comfort him later.

With 12 hours left until the deadline, Kazimirz flew to Sindli again.

With eight hours left until the deadline, President Jefferson delivered a speech, describing the incident for the first time as a nuclear crisis in the subcontinent, and demanding that India prioritize the greater good, stating that if India is indeed innocent, the IAEA will certainly clear its name.

But this time, the Indians made the wrong prediction. Based on the Prism Building's past attitude, they believed that the likelihood of them talking the talk was far greater than taking action.

Croak! How could a big cricket with both citrus and cesium admit defeat and lower its head!
With four hours left until the deadline, the Indian Parliament delivered a live-streamed speech, announcing that it would overcome all difficulties to ensure the dignity of the giant cricket.

At 5:30 p.m. that day, two hours before the deadline, Kazimirz left by plane, while Rams held a press conference at the same time.
"We regret the choice made regarding the subcontinent."

……

Hongdu
"Third Brother is really stubborn."

Tang Wendu couldn't help but sigh. Compared to the abstract "righteous brothers" of Nanmei, the backbone that Third Brother showed at this moment was unexpected.

He couldn't understand it, nor did he expect to be able to fathom his third brother's thought process.

"I think they're betting they won't get hurt, but they're probably wrong this time... Stop the car, I'll get off here."

Zhao Hande, who was standing nearby, told the car to stop and led Secretary Chen out of the car by the river in Hongdu.

He had originally come with Tang Wen to check out the HiCraft building mode in Hongdu, but now he decided to conduct a surprise inspection of the flood prevention measures here.

……

After Hongdu confirmed the start of the HiCraft Smart Selection Machine collaboration, the existing area was isolated before the construction of a new dedicated factory.

There happened to be a repair shop that wasn't needed for the time being, so they simply emptied it out. Then Zhao Yaohua separated a group of experts and engineers and moved them there to work separately, completely separating them from Hongdu Institute's main business and cutting them off from all connections.

Therefore, many researchers are not really willing to come, since reverse engineering the F-14 is highly classified information, and many people are also confused about the Smart Selection mode and do not understand which company they will belong to after they go there.

Those willing to come are either relatively marginalized researchers or newcomers who have just joined, since Geigin pays the Smart Selection Machine team more than the First Aircraft Manufacturing Plant, which is almost five times higher than their previous salaries.

Even so, the main design team was not significantly affected, since research institutes now have a surplus of manpower and plenty of talent.

After the Smart Selection Machine team and office building were set up, Tang Wen had Changbus escort the train car off – it contained all the design data of the early F-14.

The LV2 shipyard can only issue paper documents at present. Tang Wen estimates that electronic files may not be available until LV3. Until then, let them act as librarians and process documents.

Tang Wen thought he would see a bunch of researchers kneeling and going crazy in front of design documents weighing more than ten tons when he arrived at the site, but what he actually saw was Zhao Hande going crazy in front of the documents—and an old man holding an exquisite F-14 model and turning the wing.

"Are you... Chief Engineer Lu?"

"Oh, I didn't expect you to recognize me. You're Boss Tang. We've never met before, but I know about the CJ-6 carrier-based version you asked for. Hello."

"Hello."

Tang Wen was very surprised. President Lu was the soul of Hongdu Law Firm, and he was also a former, very, very old employee of McDonnell Douglas. More importantly, according to his memory, President Lu passed away around 2000, but the old man he saw now... although he was not tall, his eyes were still lively and he looked very energetic.

He looks like a very long-lived and energetic old intellectual.

Just then, a cry of pain was heard, and Zhao Yaohua, who had been lying on the ground, stood up while supporting his back. He then looked at Tang Wen blankly and asked:
"Mr. Tang, did you raid Grumman's factory? I just searched it for ages, and this half-room is only a small part; it's basically just the original design data!" The latter shrugged.
"That's why I said I had plenty of confidence... I didn't expect to run into Chief Engineer Lu. You're here for an inspection, right?"

"No, I'm here to apply for a job."

To Tang Wen's surprise, Old Lu smiled:
"Originally, I thought I had no chance of working on the front lines, but Xiao Zhao just looked through the documents, and I feel that this project can still be pushed forward with some effort."

There are many great young men on the smart...smart selection machine team, but we still lack an experienced leader. Mr. Tang, what do you think of me?

"No, no, no... How can I let you work?"

Tang Wen shook his head vigorously, as if it were a rattle-drum. He knew all too well that there were many papers being prepared by domestic institutes now, and these were being prepared voluntarily. Due to the inertia of the planned economy, they placed great importance on their work and had a strong sense of responsibility, and staying up all night was commonplace for them.

Old Master Lu is already quite old; he doesn't want to become a sinner.

However, Zhao Yaohua pulled him outside at this moment:

"Old Lu has always had a worry about the Q-6. He's been a bit down ever since he failed to win the bid for carrier-based aircraft. He was just here to take a look around, but he found the F-14 data... Guess what? I feel like the wrinkles on his face have decreased a lot, he looks at least five years younger, his back is straighter, and he's in better spirits."

The old man has only this one wish in his life, and Mr. Lu's abilities are undeniable... so please help me out. I'll pay his salary, and I'll also supervise his work hours. You know, the older generation isn't afraid of death, they're just afraid of being unknown and forgotten..."

"..."

Tang Wen rolled his eyes slightly:

"You've already said all that, how can I refuse?"

He could understand the older generation's feelings very well. In addition, Old Lu's spirits suddenly improved... He didn't know if it was good or bad, but he himself was certainly happy. Moreover, Old Lu's research on variable-sweep wings was very profound.

Does Gold's LV3 shipyard have any magic bullets? I need them urgently.

Returning inside, Tang Wen extended his hand to Old Lu:

"Chief Engineer Lu, if you can manage your daily work hours well, I will hire you as the chief engineer of the Smart Selection Machine team."

"Haha, thank you for taking in this old man. Please believe me, I can still be of some use."

Chief Engineer Lu immediately got to work after finishing his speech:
“I looked at the information provided by Geigin, and it is an F-14A.”

"To be precise, it's the RF14A model, but I also have information on the F110 engine, and some physical examples as well."

唐文点点头，企业号上的F14主要以F14B型为主，仅有2架还未改造的RF14A侦查型，最大的改进就是把发动机从坑爹的TF30升级到了帝国空军的神器F110。

However, the F14B was too far back and consumed too much experience, so Tang Wen removed the engine and copied the F14A's airframe, and placed the F110 engine separately. This way, the experience consumption was controlled to just over 20, which was still manageable.

Upon hearing that there was also the F110, Chief Engineer Lu's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked:

"how many?"

"Probably... a few dozen units. In short, that's enough for test flights. A small batch of ten or eight units in the early stages is sufficient. In addition, reverse engineering is also being arranged!"

Both Old Lu and Zhao Yaohua showed expressions of surprise and delight:
"It would be great if we had F110s. I was just thinking of asking the Air Force for AL31Fs. If we had F110s, I would be very confident."

The original F-14 had quite a few problems, especially some shortcomings of the variable-sweep wing. However, considering the Navy's needs, I suggest that Geiger directly target the F-14D. There is no problem in replacing it with domestically produced avionics, and the engine has also been secured. The only missing piece is the variable-sweep wing box of the F-14D.

The original US process involves vacuum electron beam welding, which is too expensive. Domestically, I think forging can be used as a substitute; these are not problems.

Tang Wen thought about it again:
"The central wing box cover can be customized by an overseas factory. If you want to speed up the process in the early stages, the cover can provide samples. The strength should not be a problem."

Yes, shipyards can manufacture these single-piece parts directly, which is equivalent to forging them as a whole, so there is likely no risk to their quality.

Zhao Yaohua: "..."

Old Master Lu: "..."

It seems like Geiger has everything, and he could build something like an F-14 without them?
The engine is readily available, the wing box has been solved, and the avionics can be adapted from the J-10's 1473 or the 1492 under development... Several key issues were solved so easily.
With the addition of the complete F14A data set, I initially thought the difficulty would be SS, but it actually dropped to A- or B+?

Although many key components still need to be supplied by Geiger, it is still very significant, as the sooner the prototype flies, the more problems can be discovered.

The two suddenly understood why the old man could build airplanes so quickly; playing with permutations and combinations is just so much fun!
"Then our imitation process may be very fast, and the prototype may be able to fly within 2 to 3 years."

Old Lu was somewhat uncertain; he had never imagined such a rapid pace.

Thinking of this, his emotions became excited for the first time in a long time. So there is a possibility that the domestically produced Tomcat is likely to be slower than the domestically produced J-11, and definitely faster than the T-10K.
(End of this chapter)