Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 51 Let's buy our Eastern J-7!
It was already noon, and everyone's stomachs were starting to rumble when someone pushed a small cart over. On the cart was a wooden board, and on the board were large flatbreads.

The flatbread was about the size of a plate, but it was bulging as if it had been inflated. Mustafa picked up the flatbread, looking a little embarrassed: "Everyone, we're short on time, so let's skip the cafeteria and have these American flatbreads instead."

After saying that, he picked up a piece of paper, folded it in half, and took a bite.

Even a scallion would be fine to wrap up and eat, but this dry flatbread... well, for a hungry person, these things mean nothing.

Qin Liang was somewhat curious: "Why do you call it the American pancake?"

"After the Fourth Middle East War, we began to reconcile with the squid, and then the United States provided us with support. These flatbreads were made with American flour, so they were called American flatbreads."

In later generations, most people know about the Syrian flatbread. Although the government was very poor, it still subsidized the food of ordinary people, so that they could have cheap flatbread to eat. When they cheered and celebrated the end of their dictatorship, well, the cheap flatbread was gone!
Actually, the low-priced bread wasn't invented in Syria; the Egyptians were the first to enjoy it! It cost the equivalent of two cents in Chinese yuan, and the price remained unchanged for decades. Poor people could buy five a day, to the point that some couldn't finish them and even threw them away.

And this cheap pancake started with American flour.

Qin Liang nodded, secretly pondering to himself, "The Americans provide Egypt with a lot of support! Flour is just one aspect. In later generations, Egypt possesses more M1 tanks than the Americans! The Egyptian Air Force also receives American-made fighter jets, such as F-4 Phantoms and F-16s."
If Egypt can get US military aid, then the Egyptian Air Force won't need to buy planes!

We need to come up with some excuse!
"Thank you for teaching us a skill today. With this skill, we can repair the landing gear of the MiG-23 in the future!" Mustafa had finished eating a large pancake and got down to business.

"Actually, when we received the order from our superiors to transfer the MiG-21 and MiG-23 fighter jets, we were reluctant and planned to give you the ones in the worst condition. But this morning, I saw your friendship. We should give our friends the best! Number 2422 over there has the shortest flight time and is in the best condition. Take that MiG-23 with you!"

Commander Tang smiled broadly: "Well... how could we let you part with it?"

"No, take them! Since we won't get spare parts anyway, these planes are going to be scrapped sooner or later. Besides, we'll get F-4E fighters from the US, and in the future, we might switch to American equipment..."

"Colonel, have you... ever been in contact with American warplanes?" Qin Liang asked.

"not yet."

That's good! Now, let's get to the persuasive mode!
"Colonel, if I may be so bold, American fighter jets are not suitable for your side."

"why?"

"We are used to Soviet equipment, which is characterized by its large size and robustness. For example, if the landing gear breaks, it can be welded back together and still be used. But American fighter jets are different. These aircraft are very precise. In your terrain, which is surrounded by desert, the maintenance and upkeep of these aircraft would be a terrible disaster. The serviceability rate would not exceed one-third."

In 79, the Peace Pharaoh Project was officially launched, and Egypt acquired 35 second-hand F-4E Phantom fighter jets. Not only did the pilots find the aircraft difficult to operate, but the ground crew also suffered greatly. Over time, they couldn't even gather nine Phantoms that could actually take to the skies.

By 82, the Egyptian Air Force had completely lost faith in the Phantom and almost sold the planes to Turkey!
Thinking of this rumor, Qin Liang became even more confident.

"Take the F-4's engine for example. It can only burn fuel refined in the West with sufficient purity. If you fill it with conventional fuel, impurities may clog its pipes, causing it to stall in the air. Engine maintenance is also very complicated..." The others ate their flatbreads while listening to the translation. This was portraying American aircraft as completely useless!

"What about the F-16?"

"You can't even operate the F-4, let alone the F-16. The engines of these planes have serious reliability issues. The American F-15 fighter jet is currently having engine problems. If they can't handle it, you're even less capable. For you, Soviet-made planes are still the best choice—robust and durable! Eastern and Western weapons follow different paths. In Vietnam, you'd have to put a safety sheath on the muzzle of your M16..."

"Yes, we've gotten used to Soviet-made fighter jets, but unfortunately, we can't buy them anymore!"

"Why can't we buy them? It's not like the Soviet Union is the only country in the world that can produce Soviet-made fighter jets."

"Ah San?"

"No, no, what level is India at? Let alone production, just major repairs alone can keep the record of all crashes."

"Who else..."

What the hell? You did this on purpose? I gave you such an obvious hint, didn't you understand?

"Colonel Mustafa, we in the East produce Soviet-made fighter jets. Our Factory 132's J-7 is actually a licensed production of the MiG-21. It's top-notch in quality and advanced in performance..." Old Tu began.

Even with the Super-7 fighter jet, Factory 132 still faces various uncertainties, so they still need to find a way to sell the aircraft! Although they had previously treated Qin Liang's words about arms sales as a monstrous threat, now, Old Tu has decided to give them a helping hand.

"You? Since you have MiG-21s, why are you buying our MiG-21s?"

Cough cough cough... Old Tu was speechless for a moment.

"We just want to study the later MiG-21 products so that we can get the corresponding parts and make it easier to develop an improvement plan. After all, there are many countries like Egypt that can't get parts for their MiG-21s, let alone upgrade them in the Soviet Union..."

These words made all Easterners widen their eyes in disbelief. You little brat, you're talking nonsense!
"So you want the MiG-23 because of the same idea?"

"That's right! Colonel, you are welcome to visit our East when you have time in the future and take a look at our aviation industry. Believe me, you will definitely gain something!"

Now we can only sell the most basic J-7. Once these people go to the East, the Super-7 will have made some progress. At that time, we can then persuade them to buy the Super-7!
"Okay, I will report your invitation. Now... can we get to work?"

I've wasted the whole morning, so the afternoon is definitely going to be busy!
Although Colonel Mustafa said to give the best to the East, we can't just believe him. We need to power up and check every subsystem of the aircraft, start and test the engines on the ground, measure thrust data, perform functional checks on all onboard equipment to make sure there are no problems, and collect all kinds of technical data...

(End of this chapter)