Don't talk about martial arts, I'm a war contractor

Chapter 471 Red Warthog, Win-win Cooperation

"Garmin has helped us upgrade the G4 integrated flight system for four F-5s so that we can officially start confrontation training after Christmas, and all Tiger II fighters will be upgraded to this standard in the next three years."

Thompson introduced.

Garmin's G3000 is basically an all-in-one computer with a large, high-resolution screen that connects directly to the F-5's original mission computer.

As a shelf product, it can realize many functions such as map drawing, tactical radio, radar display, etc. In addition to Tac Air using this system, the Tiger II of the old magnesium navy's own adversary squadron also uses this solution.

So Thompson took a direct step and established a strategic partnership with Garmin.

Upgrading avionics is important for fighter jets acting as imaginary enemies, especially when the performance indicators of the flying platform are not as good as those of the training aircraft.

"We have also upgraded all pilots with Scorpion full-color helmet displays (HMD), but tentatively only six top-end F-6AT models will be upgraded with Nemesis radars."

This specialized radar designed by Duotech for air-to-air exercises is more expensive than the aircraft, but who can blame the opponent's ATAC F-16AM for having AN/APG-66!
If you don't follow up and upgrade, don't even think about grabbing the contract. Since everyone has connections, you can't help but take advantage of it.

"Later, we will need to install data link antennas on these platforms, and the countermeasure data integration software running on the G3000 will need to be specially developed. We have only received the test version now."

This is the third-party imaginary enemy business. The bosses showed their talents and integrated resources with a budget far lower than the military's own research and development, and came up with a pretty good plan.

Who made it so that landlords have no surplus food these days?
The defense budget of the Magnesium Army seems to be increasing every year, but the purchasing power of the US dollar is getting worse and worse. Rebuilding the previously disbanded imaginary enemy squadron will definitely be overspending, and they can only rely on outsourcing to survive.

The two chatted for an entire afternoon, and Thompson spilled a lot of industry secrets.

This also gave Xia Yu a preliminary impression of the imaginary enemy business, so that he would not be completely ignorant when entering this field in the future.

After the chat, Thompson was invited back to the Fischer for a drink, and they ended their journey for the day.

The desert grew cooler at night. The next morning, as Xia Yu watched his GAU-8 machine guns being shipped out of the warehouse and packed into boxes, he called Lieutenant Colonel Davis, who was in charge of the F-14D project.

"One of the F-14D's engines had problems during maintenance, so we replaced it with two F14-GE-110 engines removed from destroyed F-400Bs."

Davis reported on the maintenance progress of three F-3Ds over the phone.

The naval version of the F110 is longer than the F-16C/D block30/40, and its afterburner has a larger volume and is more powerful.

But the performance should be slightly worse than the F110 of the Ultimate Phantom. When the time comes, the two system-optimized engines will be removed and installed on the F-14D, and the performance will definitely be improved.

Even if you want supercruise, it is impossible to upgrade the F-14D to Super Tomcat 21 standard without replacing the engine.

"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, according to our contract, each F-14D also has two F110-GE-400 spare parts?"

Xia Yu confirmed with the other party again.

Operating a Tomcat fighter, in addition to the variable-sweep wing that troubles ground crew, the Navy version of the F110 is not produced in large quantities. Even though 82% of the parts are common to the Air Force version, 18% are still missing and cannot be repaired.

No matter how much he likes to mix and match, he doesn't want to follow Yi Zhu's example and replace the old TF-31 with the Soviet AL-30F, so the spare engines still have to be purchased together.

"Yes, except for the F-14A whose engines and fuselages were destroyed, we have retained the engines of the F-14B and F-14D. We will definitely be able to deliver six spare engines and three airworthy aircraft before Christmas."

Davis also gave assurances over the phone.

"Okay, I'll wait for your Christmas present."

After saying that, Xia Yu hung up the phone.

The last batch of big cats were retired from active service 12 years ago, and the number of pilots who can fly this model and meet museum standards is in the three digits.

The recruitment work can be done in the next two months. An experienced technical sergeant with complete F-14D support experience is more important. He asked Davis to select the person in this regard. He believes that there will be good news soon.

"Mr. Sherlock, this is the information you want."

After all the second-hand machine guns were packed and loaded into the truck, Thompson also handed him a mobile hard drive.

This contains relevant information about the two-seat A-10B.

Of course, Lao Tang, who holds the idea that cooperation leads to win-win results, simply increased the quantity without raising the price this time, and also gave away the design drawings of the YA-10B N/AW, which is a night/all-weather type developed based on the A-10B.

However, in reality, except for the verification aircraft, both types of Warthogs were cancelled by Congress. After all, the A-10 is just an attack aircraft and does not require an instructor to stay in the back seat until it is time to fly solo.

It is easy for selected flight trainees, but too difficult for more than 99% of the wealthy. Only a two-seater aircraft can allow them to fly with peace of mind.

"Thank you so much. With the ready-made pipeline design, we can at least convert two all-weather A-10Bs."

Xia Yu expressed his gratitude.

The old Warthogs before Operation Desert Storm did not have the ability to attack at night, and the 6+2 A-10s purchased by Focus Defense are all old models.

Since I have to modify it after I buy it anyway, I will definitely choose a cheaper model. After all, the A-05C upgraded after 10 is not sold to the public as an active model!

The few models available for sale are all minor modifications from the 90s. With the current level of technology, they have a retro beauty. It would be better to upgrade them directly to red warthogs when modifying two-seaters.

Yes, red warthog.

After the modification, Xia Yujin's A-10s will be operated in the Afika region. Although they belong to the Cold War branch of the Afika War Museum, they will also be rented out to external parties when there is no business.

Then it is necessary to upgrade the avionics and turn it into an all-weather combat attack aircraft. Originally, he wanted to use the Su-25 directly, but the problem was that its GSh-30-2 dual 30mm machine guns were too weak.

There are only 250 rounds of ammunition, which is the same level as the number of shells used by fighter jets for self-defense. It would be better to use armed helicopters directly. But now the appearance of A-10 makes Xia Yu itchy.

Why should the third ground-licking aircraft of Jihuo Defense be limited to armed helicopters?

Wouldn't it be nice if he drove his red warthog all the way there?
It would be a lot of trouble to get an A-10 specifically, but for museum operations, temporary loaning is the best of both worlds, killing two birds with one stone...

As for the threat of portable air defense missiles to attack aircraft, with the escort of the Red Cheetah, the Warthog can fly freely in the sky and cannot be shot down at all.

It is air-ground coordinated combat. Either the employees are required to wear gas masks, or he replaces some of the armor-piercing bodies of depleted uranium bombs with tungsten alloys to prevent his own people from inhaling depleted uranium components and causing internal irradiation.

Well, tungsten alloy is better!

Depleted uranium bombs can just let customers enjoy themselves. There are too many uncontrollable factors on the battlefield, so there is no need to be too stubborn.

"Then there's the Boeing issue. The price is negotiable. I hope Mr. Thompson will pay more attention to it."

He turned around and stuffed the hard drive into his wife's hand. Then Xia Yu turned around and said to Lao Tang:
He was referring to the relevant information of McDonnell Douglas' "Ultimate Phantom" project, the core of which is its variable sweep wing technology.

It's not that my hometown didn't invest in variable-sweep wing technology when it was popular. We have both real MiG-23 and F-111 and wreckage. The goal is to replace Uncle Wu and Uncle Liu, and develop a single-seat, single-engine supersonic attack aircraft with variable-sweep wings, fly-by-wire flight control, and self-produced engines.

As a result, there was really no technical accumulation at all, and the variable sweep wing mechanism developed was 12% overweight. Coupled with other problems, the project was eventually aborted.

My hometown also sealed up this project and cut off the development route of variable sweep wing.

But with mature technical reference, I first practiced on the old project that was hard to let go, and then replicated the Ultimate Goblin platform, and everything became a natural thing.

"I will try my best, but there is probably no hope this year. Maybe next year or the year after! Next year or the year after, I will definitely help Mr. Sherlock fulfill his wish."

Thompson promised.

There is no leakage problem with outdated technology like variable sweep wing, not to mention that McDonnell Douglas has been acquired by Boeing. He can make money from this, but it is a bit troublesome.

However, when Tac Air develops to the second stage, it will definitely have to purchase a batch of F-18 Hornets, and it still cannot avoid dealing with Boeing.

Thompson decided to push forward both things at the same time and kill two birds with one stone.

"Next year or the year after? Sure. I'll trouble you, Mr. Thompson, then."

Two years is not a very long time. By that time, Xia Yu will have more funds and can officially launch this project.

"It's not a big deal to make money, but I think there's something else Mr. Sherlock told me about that I think is also very promising."

In just a few years, Thompson evolved from a professional soldier to a standard businessman.

"Oh? You mean the private fighter sales?"

Xia Yu also became interested. He had always wanted to sell fighter jets and had previously sought cooperation with Hamish. However, as a British, he could not handle the world's largest private fighter jet market - America.

This does not apply to civil business jets, but when it comes to military fighter jets, only local companies in Laomei have the qualifications to import and sell them.

Tac Air obtained the relevant qualifications when it was founded, so Xia Yu and Thompson expressed their willingness to cooperate last time, but the focus that time was on this batch of A-10s.

It was not until Xia Yu came to Magnesium Country in person today that they were able to delve deeper into this topic.

"It's about private fighter jet sales. I know a lot of wealthy people who are interested in it, but they only enjoy it for an hour or two after takeoff. They want to be able to restore it to factory settings with just one click, just like a mobile phone, as they spend a lot of time on maintenance."

Thompson played a joke on Xia Yu, but to him it was not really a joke.

It only takes dozens of man-hours to prepare the system for a zombie aircraft, while it only takes a few minutes for a fighter jet that has just finished flying.

"They don't seem to be that passionate about building a museum like Paul did. The military doesn't matter to them, and it's too much trouble to hire a small team. With all these factors combined, they find that outsourcing logistics support is a good option, and our PMC companies all over Magnesium are the best 4S stores."

Thompson continued gesturing.

"So we cooperate?"

"Yes, especially for American aircraft. Tac Air does not have the ability to guarantee fighter jets from the Soviet Union or other countries."

Lao Tang said honestly.

Their company's fighter logistics support system is built around domestically produced aircraft. It's not that foreign products cannot be supported, but the process is too complicated, and there is no need for the accompanying business to reach this level.

Xia Yu is not afraid of tediousness, and FHC just happens to have the support capability for Soviet aircraft, and can handle both MiG-29 and Su-27.

As for American phones, they are definitely more professional, so why not give up this piece of the pie?
"Then let FHC come. We can guarantee all the private fighters on the West Coast."

The east coast is too far away, and a round trip for maintenance would be in vain. Crossing the entire country of magnesium by land would cause more damage to the aircraft than flying there, so the business scope of FHC can only be limited to the west coast.

However, in this country where you are God if you have money, customers on the East Coast are willing to pay for a round-trip ticket for the An-124 starting at $100 million, so it is not impossible to take a flight to have your beloved aircraft serviced.

Taking into account the zombie plane of Libya that has been grounded for several years, the Jihuo Aviation Transport Company, which owns three Ruslans, has the ability to open a branch in the country of magnesium.

Europe and Central Asia are the home turf of Big Mao and Second Mao. Apart from the business of Afika and his hometown, Xia Yu's special aviation transport industry can only expand to North America.

Who made Lao Mei not open the sale of C-5 Galaxy to the public? Only Soviet aircraft can compete in this field.

"I know of several companies that have the intention to purchase the F-4, F-5, and F-16."

Thompson continued.

The rich fly less often, so they don’t care whether these fighters have high mileage, as long as they can buy a two-seater model.

"There are some for sale in the market, but the prices are generally high, and the avionics and other equipment cannot be customized, which greatly affects their enthusiasm for purchasing."

"Yes, I know this. Two years ago, I was disgusted by a second-hand Fighting Falcon. The other party dared to ask for 850 million."

Xia Yu followed suit and complained.

A de-weaponized third-hand blank F-16 is not worth that much money at all. Selling it for six or seven million is an incredibly high profit. That company really believes that scarcity makes things valuable.

Now that Xia Yu has come to the United States, we don’t care about other models, but we must lower the price of this Fighting Falcon so that “ordinary people” can afford to fly third-generation aircraft.

"Then you'll be in charge of purchasing and preparation, and I'll be in charge of registration and sales? Is the logistics support like we talked about before?"

"That's it. We both share 50% of the profits."

Xia Yu made the allocation on the spot.

His profit accounts for 50% on the surface, but the real big part is the savings on purchasing and preparation costs.

The actual profit margin of a single aircraft is higher than that of converting unmanned target aircraft. The non-American aircraft also have logistics support services that can continue to make profits, which can be said to be quite good.

“This is a very reasonable number. It’s a pleasure to work with you!”

Thompson smiled and held out his right hand.

He was very satisfied with Xia Yu's distribution method and felt that the other party was truly cooperative. However, Lao Tang had no idea that the little profit he cared about was just a bonus in Boss Xia's eyes, so naturally he didn't care that much.

"Happy cooperation!"

The two men held hands together, which also symbolized that they had reached a strategic partnership in the second-hand fighter jet sales business.

(End of this chapter)