WWII military commentator? Even a dog could be one.

Chapter 131, page 86: The Jet Age Arrives, the Trash of the Old Era Die!

This exchange meeting was indeed meticulously planned.

American companies come up with all sorts of tricks.

Besides Ford, there were Boeing, Lockheed, Grumman, North American Aviation, Bell, and virtually everyone that could sell weapons.

This is a gluttonous feast, eyeing the wallets of the entire world.

After its own Lockheed Martin merged with Pratt & Whitney to become the parent company, it will only become larger in the future.

Sean stood to the side watching, patting his pockets; he didn't have any cigarettes.

Hannie walked over quietly, lowering her voice slightly, "Sir, Calvin is willing to sell 14.3% of his shares. With Ford's investment, you will become Calvin's second-largest shareholder. Do you need to merge with it and make it a subsidiary of Lockheed?"

We are not short of money right now.

I think you value their technology and products highly, so their civilian applications might also be quite good in the future.

Yes, Motorola was indeed a force to be reckoned with for decades.

Based on historical memory, Lockheed will gradually acquire Martin. As long as the War Department and the White House do not engage in antitrust activities, and can also acquire McDonnell or Douglas aircraft, it will become the world's largest military-industrial complex.

However, it's still best to be cautious.

Obsidian's operations are expanding rapidly, and in addition to 500 paratrooper special forces soldiers, it has also hired 300 veterans from the Veterans Association.

To be honest, he doesn't have enough money right now, but fortunately the Ministry of Justice gave him a large order, which turned his losses into profits.

"No rush." ​​There's plenty of time to fight this war, and there will be plenty of opportunities to make money.

Sean turned to look at Hanni, who was taking notes. "Nice pen."

"The leader's favorite."

Haha, I bet I could make tens of millions just by selling art supplies for young artists.

"Mr. Sean, your favorite Mona Lisa has arrived."

Sean abruptly turned to look at Hanni. "What did you say?"

"Mona Lisa".

"Say it again?"

"Mona Lisa".

"Leonardo da Vinci?"

"right."

This isn't right, wasn't it supposed to be unfound? They escaped unscathed.

"How did you find it?" Sean almost shouted.

"Hilem had been searching casually at first, but after discovering your interest in art, he intensified his efforts and finally found this treasure in a remote monastery cellar."

I believed your lies.

This is bad. Sean tried his best to keep his expression on his face; he really didn't want to complain.

This painting is too famous; it must be donated.

Sean has already thought of the title: American commentator discovers stolen goods in Germany, contributing to the protection of world heritage.

He gained another title: Generous Sean.

Damn it, Hiram has really gone mad.

"Don't you know, little painter?" Sean knew that the art student was very passionate about art and had even made a list of works he wanted to collect. The Mona Lisa and Raphael's portrait of a young man were at the top of the list, and they were now in his possession.

"I don't know, he hid it secretly."

My God, something's wrong with Hiram's mentality. He's actually starting to waver.

Isn't he supposed to be a loyal follower of art students? He's already starting to pull stunts.

Hanni was embarrassed to say it, but we already have shadow offices, you just don't know it.

"Sean."

Sean stared at the overly familiar man beside him. He recognized him: Howard Hughes, the owner of Hughes Aircraft Company, the sucker who had given him fifteen dollars in San Pedro Bay.

"Long time no see. I never imagined the world was so amazing that I would meet you here."

How dare you talk like that? Hanni was a little angry; the other person was acting all high and mighty.

Sean didn't care; apart from being the oil tycoon Hughes Aircraft, not many people actually knew Howard.

This company manufactured the world's first geostationary satellite and developed the Explorer lunar lander.

They manufactured the H1 fighter plane, which was rumored to have been copied by Japan and became the Zero fighter plane.

They also manufactured the world's first ruby ​​laser.

And then there's the Longbow Apache, which everyone knows.

It was later broken up and sold to Boeing, Raytheon, and General Motors.

Unfortunately, this man had a bad personality, and no one in the War Department liked him. Lockheed and Boeing snatched his orders countless times; otherwise, Hughes Aircraft and Hughes Electric would have become American military giants.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hughes." Sean was as polite as ever, with a smile on his face.

"You were a mover last year, remember? We talked."

Hanni wants to kill him, but can't she speak properly?

Sean wasn't angry. Howard was just eccentric and had a bad temper, which was in his nature, but he didn't have any bad intentions. On the contrary, he was quite direct and, apart from being outspoken, he was also very generous.

Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed the unbridled and rebellious spirit of his youth.

"Are you going to talk to me about $100 this time?"

"Haha, no problem. But you're not short of money now. You actually bought Lockheed. Damn it, their XP38 design won the bid. It should have been my company. Did you guys give money to the War Department?"

Hughes said, laughing as he put his hands in his vest pockets.

No wonder you have no friends, Hanni said sadly, looking at the other person.

"I also acquired Pratt & Whitney."

77

"Are you serious? My God, Lockheed is developing so fast? No wonder the War Department likes you, they hate me."

""

You have some self-awareness, but Sean also knows that Howard doesn't care; he's an energy tycoon, involved in the oil business.

"I heard you're researching helicopters?" Howard got very excited when talking about airplanes.

"right."

"It's very difficult, right? I originally wanted to do it too, but I was under a lot of financial pressure. Hughes Aircraft is in trouble now, and you even took my order away. I've invested a lot of money in the laboratory."

"Technology requires investment, and I'm currently preparing to invest ten million."

Henry Ford looked the two men up and down. "Sean, does your skunk factory need funding? Give me ten percent of the shares."

"Dream on."

"Ten percent, twenty million."

"make a deal!"

Although Henry Ford was annoyed by this guy, he was secretly pleased.

"How about I sell you the Hughes plane? I still need to research television networks and color television in the lab; I don't think black and white looks good."

You really are a tycoon.

Sean was somewhat envious; the other person had grown up with a silver spoon in their mouth, unlike himself who had to start from scratch.

"I don't have that much money right now."

"With the share swap, you've acquired Bell Aircraft and Pratt & Whitney, so you're no longer a small company."

Hughes smiled with narrowed eyes. He had a bad temper, but he wasn't stupid. The War Department didn't like him, but Sean was different. After the share swap, Hughes Aircraft would become a subsidiary of Lockheed, or even merge with it. He would still be a shareholder, but once it went public...

That's all money.

"Don't you like airplanes? Why don't you build your own?" Sean thought the other person was well-off.

"Yes, but it's going to cost a lot of money, it almost bankrupted me. I'm very interested in helicopters, how about we collaborate and get it done soon, shocking the world?"

Hughes Aircraft had many engineers, including the renowned founder of TRM, a future giant in the aerospace field.

He started his own business because he didn't get along with his boss.

If it were him, he probably wouldn't have left. Sean was somewhat tempted. American military giants all emerged through mergers and acquisitions; it was unlikely that they could develop independently.

"You want to exchange your Lockheed shares?"

"Yes."

Sean hesitated. He had obtained German technical data on jet aircraft, which would definitely allow him to surpass all other aircraft manufacturers and dominate the world during World War II.

Lockheed is bound to rise rapidly.

Currently, we hold complete control, so once the shares are exchanged, we cannot fully privatize the company.

What if we get targeted by conglomerates?

He seemed to sense Sean's doubts.

"Raise funds to dilute Robert and his group's equity."

Henry Ford muttered to himself.

Sean glanced at him.

Howard just smiled and didn't say anything; he also thought it was okay.

"This will be a landmark merger in the history of aircraft development, don't you think?" Howard agreed with Ford's idea. "It will be beneficial to both of us, and I guarantee that you will have priority in selling the shares we hold later."

Sean glanced at Hanni, and the housekeeper nodded silently.

"It's a pleasure working with you."

"It's a pleasure working with you."

The two of them reached out their hands at the same time.

Henry Ford watched enviously as Sean's Lockheed doubled in size once again.

"Can I participate?"

Howard glanced at him. "Ford kid, Sean and I are both from California, you're not."

The meaning is clear: go away and cool off somewhere else, I don't care about you Fords.

There's even regional discrimination?

Henry Ford turned his head to the side.

"Why are there so many people over there?" Henry noticed a large crowd gathered around an exhibition area on his left.

Saudi Arabia and Thailand have more Europeans.

"The Colt rifles were only on display by the military this time, not for sale, and a lot of people were watching."

Sean glanced at it curiously.

Howard pursed his lips, a hint of jealousy in his eyes. Sean Wayne always managed to steal the spotlight. "What are you curious about? Aren't these your products? Automatic sniper rifles, precision marksman rifles, and HK assault rifles."

The War Department bought 300,000 HK assault rifles in one go, at $106 each. You made a profit; the War Department will not price them below $130 for future international sales.

Henry Ford yelled, "Sean, you bastard, you still say you have no money?"

"Because of you, the Spring Factory is in trouble. Garland can only export. If it weren't for the war in Europe, it would have gone bankrupt within three years." Howard sighed. That's how the military industry is. If you can't compete, you will perish.

Looking at the bustling Colt and then at the deserted Springfield, he thought of his own aircraft company.

Aside from the Germans, almost all the inviting countries were watching the two high-performance rifles.

In fact, Colt would also go bankrupt, Winchester even earlier.

Sean understood Howard's words: small arms would be dominated by countries like the Czech Republic and Germany, while the United States would only focus on the development of heavy weapons.

The three decided to go and take a look.

"Boss."

A voice called out to Sean from the side.

"Who are you?"

"I'm from Pratt & Whitney, boss. Would you like to see our experimental product?"

Pratt & Whitney's president was very excited; in addition to their R-2800 engine, the exhibition area also featured an axial-flow engine.

Lockheed acquired all the data and samples of the German HES3 turbojet engine during this period.

After Lockheed spent some time tinkering with the merger with Pratt & Whitney,

Pratt & Whitney took one look and thought, "Damn, Lockheed's technological reserves are still lacking. We'll fill that gap."

I made some improvements immediately.

"What is this?"

"The turbojet engine is still being improved. Engineers from Junkers and Schmidt have helped us improve many processes. Many German engineers have been researching jet engines for a long time, and they have a lot of experience."

"So, that means I can build jet fighters now?" Sean laughed casually. So fast? I knew I had to undermine Germany.

The president nodded excitedly, "Yes, this will be epoch-making, but it will consume a lot of fuel, and we are developing civil aviation engines."

"No problem, allocate resources accordingly, let's tackle this first. You mean I can also build large transport aircraft?"

"Yes, there are Lockheed prototypes over there. We referenced the designs of the HE180 and ME262."

is it?

HE180, my goodness, I forgot! This German jet aircraft will make its maiden flight early next year, even earlier than the ME262. If it weren't for the little painter's strategic miscalculation, we would have already crushed Britain.

Sean walked over under the other party's guidance, and Howard's eyes lit up with excitement when he heard that there were jet planes. Ford even clamored to invest.

The German delegation immediately followed, upon seeing the Lockheed prototype.

Speer said in a low voice to Richthofen, "It seems that my allocation of resources was the right thing to do. As expected, His Excellency Sean has his eye on jet aircraft. The HE180 will be able to take its first flight this month, and the ME262 will be able to take its first flight by the end of the year."

"Really?" The Air Force Major General clenched his fist. Their planes had always been inferior to the British ones, but now they could finally crush them.

"Yes, Marshal Göring intensified his efforts after persuading the Führer, and I further invested in research and development after taking over equipment manufacturing."

Upon arriving at the exhibition hall and seeing the prototype in front of him, Sean was about to go crazy. Wasn't this just the appearance of a P-86? Its first flight should have been in 1944.

Four years after his appearance?

Its performance is probably inferior to a real saber; it's a stripped-down version, but it's still better than a propeller-driven one.

German engineers are amazing; they saved us from so many detours.

Sean suppressed a laugh. With this thing out, let's see who can beat him.

The engine performance was poor, but now with Pratt & Whitney and German technology, the shortcomings are gone.

Lockheed's designers still remember what they said about swept wings.

"Boss, you're here?"

"Hmm." Sean circled the plane. "Replace the .50 caliber machine guns with two .30 caliber cannons."

Robert took out his notebook and wrote it down.

"Add an auxiliary fuel tank."

"OK."

Because of Sean, a lot of people gradually gathered around, and even Little Notebook was peeking everywhere.

Sean also knew that the Japanese had also copied the ME262 and made the KIKKA, but they couldn't copy their own because the engine technology wasn't that fast.

This all-metal aircraft has amazed everyone.

The British, French, and even Russians who had previously looked down on Sean all gathered around, and some even took pictures with their cameras.

Arnold from the War Department walked up curiously. He was in charge of the Army Air Corps and was naturally enthusiastic about airplanes.

"What kind of plane is that?"

"jet plane.

"This plane is unlike any I've ever seen before."

That's natural; all you've seen are electric fans.

"Has it been test-flown?"

"not yet."

"How much?"

Sean looked at Robert.

"$32."

Arnold's mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me? $320,000? We usually buy planes for tens of thousands of dollars. $320,000 is six or seven times theirs? Sean, are you crazy?"

Can an electric fan and an air conditioner be priced the same?

Speer, who was listening nearby, almost vomited blood. It was too expensive; he couldn't afford it, he really couldn't afford it.

Mr. Sean, what happened to the promised versatility? What about mass production?

How do you scale up your toy?

Even if the German Air Force sold its trousers, it couldn't equip them in large quantities. Turns out, you even betrayed your own people. You truly are a cancer of war.