Military industrial hegemony

Chapter 882 Deception, doomed to miss the "Bumblebee"

"Okay, Mr. Hugo, this matter is over. I hope that in our future negotiations, the various data and materials you provide us are true and reliable, otherwise we cannot guarantee that our cooperation can be carried out Go on. You should know that weapons and equipment are different from other products, they must be rigorous and reliable, and you must know that even a decimal point can affect the victory of a battle." Jiang Chen said to Hugo and the others.In fact, this is just a reminder or a victory in a short-term confrontation, and its effect is very limited.In publicity, people always like to exaggerate some advantages of products, and then ignore some disadvantages.Arms sales are also commodity transactions, so this is inevitable. This requires Jiang Chen and the others to judge whether the data is true, the water content, etc. more calmly and objectively.

"Jiang, I guarantee that the data and information I will provide you in the future will be true and reliable. Of course, this is within the allowed range. You know that this fighter has entered our navy's service, so in some materials and information We can't provide it to you, please forgive me." Hugo quickly explained to Jiang Chen.

"I understand." Jiang Chen nodded and said, "However, I have a question now, that is, since this fighter has been put into service in your navy, do you have the right to export this fighter, and can we buy it? Woolen cloth."

Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Hugo hesitated for a moment and then said to Jiang Chen: "The problem you mentioned does exist. When we got the navy order, it was indeed stipulated that this fighter plane cannot be launched outside for a short period of time. Exported. If it can be approved by the Navy and passed the review of our National Science and Technology and National Security Council, then this fighter can be exported to you. This is why we fuzzy some data. We have signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Navy."

"Oh, if this is the case, then why did you come here? Do you have a way to convince your navy to have that safety committee?" Jiang Chen asked.

Hearing Jiang Chen's questioning, Hugo smiled and said, "Jiang, don't worry, let me explain to you slowly. That's right, our fighter jet was developed with a lot of money, and only a few dollars from the Navy An order of 18 planes will definitely not satisfy us, so we have already turned our attention to overseas markets. In fact, as early as when we signed the agreement, we had a related agreement with the Navy, that is, we have the right to purchase the roadbed of this fighter. Version for export. You know that our fighter is currently a naval carrier-based aircraft, and some of the designs and parts on it are designed according to the standards of carrier-based aircraft. Therefore, the Navy requires us to keep the technology on this fighter secret and restrict Export. But after removing these technologies and components, we use the platform of this aircraft to redesign and develop the new F_18 "Hornet" fighter based on the most advanced road-based fighter development ideas. We call it the F_18L "Hornet" fighter .And because this improved fighter does not need to install heavy shipboard equipment, the F-[-]L is lighter in weight and better in performance."

Hearing Hugo's introduction, Jiang Chen shook his head and said, "Mr. Hugo, I know about the export rules of this fighter plane, you are not using the 'castrated' 'Bumblebee' to fool us, right? I think you are too insincere."

"No, no, Jiang, you can't think so." Hugo immediately said anxiously: "Well, let me tell you the truth, this matter is not related to technical reasons, but to some agreements. Although the research and development work is led by us, there are several other companies involved, so there are many responsible agreements and terms involved. Of course, I haven’t finished it yet, so you don’t need to worry. As the current and our The country remains a friendly partner and potential ally. We can actually export the F_18A/B model to you. And I told you the basic version so that you have a choice. Because of your purpose and target, I will tell you You recommend this road-based model."

Wait, Jiang Chen hastily interrupted: "Didn't you just say that you want export restrictions? Why is it possible now? Is this feasible? I need your affirmative answer, and there is no room for mistakes in this matter."

Hugo smiled and said: "Hey, buddy, don't be so anxious. I didn't lie to you about this matter. You know, as early as a few years ago, we delivered the first batch of F18A/B fighter jets to the Australian Air Force. Its entire structure is the same as that currently used on our naval aircraft carrier. So we believe that it is not a problem to export this fighter to your country. After all, you need an advanced fighter to deal with our common enemy .”

"Well, Mr. Hugo, this is something we need to conduct related investigations. And if you really want us to provide this fighter and want to win this contract, you must ask us to provide relevant documents and explanatory materials , otherwise we wouldn't waste our precious time on this." Jiang Chen objected.He had to be cautious about such things.And in his impression, it seems that this Northrop company has signed a contract with other companies for several years because of this F_18 "Hornet" fighter jet.To be on the safe side, Jiang Chen still felt that it would be safer to ask Hugo to show relevant certificates and explanatory materials.

Seeing what Jiang Chen said, although Hugo still wanted to fight for it, but seeing Jiang Chen's firm attitude, he had no choice but to adjourn the meeting temporarily.He said that he would get the relevant materials approved as soon as possible, and looked forward to the next meeting with Jiang Chen.However, this meeting may never be possible again, because shortly after Jiang Chen and the others sent the report back to China, Jiang Chen and the others received a notice from the domestic intelligence department.The above shows that Hugo and Northrop do not have the ownership of the F_18 fighter.The real ownership is McDonnell Douglas, which owns the property rights of all models including F_18L. Other companies have no authority to sell fighters including F_18L, technical data, and even spare parts. .

It turned out that according to the original cooperation agreement between McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, McDonnell Douglas was the main contractor for the ship-based type, and Northrop was the main contractor for the land-based type.However, the cooperation between the two giants in the aviation industry cracked almost immediately, and a major disagreement appeared on the export of the F-18L. Once foreign users expressed interest in the F-18 land-based model, McDonnell immediately cut into the direct Sell ​​the carrier-based version to customers.Northrop executives were outraged by this breach of the agreement, and in October 1979 Northrop launched multiple legal proceedings against McDonnell Douglas.Claiming that McDonnell Douglas has engaged in unfair competition, the F-10A marketed to foreign users uses a large amount of Northrop F-18L technology, and also accused McDonnell Douglas of trying to directly compete with F-18L to make an improved F-18 Sold to Israel.Northrop is asking the court to bar McDonnell Douglas from selling any F-18 variants that incorporate Northrop technology to foreign governments.The lawsuit dragged on for several years and was not resolved until April 18.Under the agreement, McDonnell Douglas became prime contractor for all existing and future Hornet models, while Northrop ceased development of the F-1985L.

After such an explanation, Jiang Chen and the others understood that there were so many stories in it.Now, no matter what evidence Hugo presents, Jiang Chen and the others dare not negotiate with Hugo again.Thanks to the timely notice from China, if an agreement is reached with Hugo, it will cause huge losses, and even Jiang Chen and the others will be involved in complicated disputes between the two companies.Even Jiang Chen was thinking that Hugo might be a liar, using Jiang Chen's information lag to set up a trap against Jiang Chen and the others.Of course, such things were not uncommon in that era.Even in later generations, such jokes appeared several times. The most famous one was the news that the legendary family of the richest man in the world met with the president of a certain university.

(End of this chapter)