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

Chapter 517: Fierce Competition, Not Enough (asking for monthly tickets!)
Norwei is not large in area, but it has a long and narrow terrain and a long coastline.

Several air force bases are deployed in different places. The Bodø Air Force Base where they are currently located is located within the Arctic Circle, where they can see the polar days and nights that excite foreigners but make the locals depressed.

The F-16s stationed and sealed here are not kept in the open air. The thickened hangars that can withstand severe cold and snow are made of solid materials.

【Project: F-16AM Block 5】

[Completeness: 97.5% (can be repaired)]

He walked into the hangar and touched the single-seat Fighter Falcon closest to him, and the system popped up relevant information about it.

It is still from the Block 5 batch, which is really old. In the 90s, the MLU mid-term upgrade, in addition to extending the life of the fuselage, only replaced the AN/APG-66(V)2 radar, added the AN/ALR-69 radar warning receiver and the AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasure pod.

This configuration may not be enough now, but it is enough to modify the unmanned target drone.

It is difficult to convert a single-seat version for civilian use. If it is not put into operation, the most appropriate way to deal with it is to consume it.

Compared with the large number of F-16AMs of the Norwegian Air Force, their F-16BMs only have 12 to . This is also the target that Xia Yu values ​​most, and he must take them all down if he has the chance.

The other party has decided to completely retire their F-22 fleet 16 years ago. By then, not a single one will be left, and naturally there will be no need to train new pilots. The two F-2BMs in service are also on the sale list.

Of course, that would have to wait until the royal family members completed their final fighter jet flight around Norway.

This year it is Princess Ingrid Alexandra, and next year it will be her brother Prince Sverre Magnus' turn. He will just fly the last royal rear seat flight and then retire to fulfill the delivery terms. There is no rush anyway.

It’s not just Jihuo Defense that is interested in Norway’s batch of F-16AM/BM. Not to mention Romagna, when Xia Yu completed the inspection of the 12 Fighting Falcons stored at Bodø Air Force Base, he had dinner and settled down at the base.

"Dip~dip~dip~~"

His satellite phone rang and the caller ID showed it was Thompson.

"Sherlock, are you in Norwei now?"

Lao Tang asked as soon as the phone was connected.

"I'm here, but I don't think I'm on camera?"

Xia Yu was sure at first, but then became confused.

Norwegian royal family activities must bring a film crew to publicize the princess to the people of the whole country.

As an outsider, he basically avoids being on camera, but where did Lao Tang get the news from?

"It's Jared Isaacman, the boss of Draken International. This guy said that a company wants to steal his F-16. His plane is flying to Europe tonight, and he will be able to take part in Princess Norwegian Princess's Royal Backseat Flying Event tomorrow."

Thompson broke the news across the Atlantic Ocean.

"I used to think that ATAC was the only competitor, but I didn't know that Draken International was also interested in the Fighting Falcon?"

There are seven PMC companies that want to contract the Air Force and Navy's adversary business. Among them, ATAC's CEO Jeffrey Parker bought 7 old Fighting Falcons from Yiselie and is a strong rival of Tac Air in the Navy project.

Now Draken International has come from behind and wants to purchase a batch of old war falcons from Northern Europe to join the competition between them.

Lao Tang, who intercepted the intelligence, immediately contacted Xia Yu, intending to attack Draken International together with his partners.

Well, just like when Xia Yu took the initiative at Rui Shi.

There was no way. The other party was a large company with a valuation of 2 billion US dollars, and all of Tac Air's assets and development potential combined were only more than half of theirs.

If they fail to catch up with this step, it will be difficult for the F-5AT alone to resist the F-16 cluster encirclement of the two companies.

If you can't beat them, just join them. Tac Air can also operate F-16s!
Originally, Thompson would be very conflicted, because his next step was to buy a batch of Hornets to take over the Air Force contract, but the cooperation with Xia Yu allowed a double-digit F-16C/D to flood into the magnesium civilian fighter market.

The wealthy are busy with their daily affairs, and their physical fitness cannot sustain frequent flying. These idle fighter jets can be rented to their companies!
In other words, leasing can be used to offset maintenance costs. Rich people who think that it is expensive to maintain business jets and yachts will choose to rent them all out to balance the expenses of holding them. Naturally, similar operations also apply to fighter jets.

It’s just a little short of double digits. Double it to make up a fleet of 20+ F-16s just right.

However, Thompson was too late to arrive, so he quickly contacted Xia Yu and asked him to help him obtain 12 single-seat aircraft and at the same time attack Draken International's procurement plan.

"12, right? I'll try to pick the newest batch for you, with more remaining flight hours."

Xia Yu agreed on the phone.

He originally planned to buy only a dozen Fighting Falcons, but Lao Tang proposed a group purchase. With such a good opportunity, he had to get the price down no matter what!

"Thank you very much. Jared can't catch up with the batch from Norwei. If he goes to Hehe and Xinmai to buy them, he will lose the initiative."

Thompson's heart finally settled down in his stomach.

If everyone has connections, it means they are all on the same starting line, and not engaging in an arms race means there is no competitiveness.

Once these 12 F-16AMs were purchased, hundreds of millions of dollars were spent, and the little profit that was finally made after working hard for a whole year was gone!
Hundreds of millions in turnover and hundreds of millions in profits, these are the real revenue figures of a technology PMC company.

The reason why Jihuo Defense has such a high net profit is mainly because Xia Yu was lucky. Others would not be as lucky as him.

Nothing happened that night. Xia Yu got up early the next morning and went to the base restaurant for lunch.

There was only dry bread with butter and salmon in it. The Atlantic salmon caught locally tasted pretty good.

It’s just that the bread is too harsh on the teeth. I guess these Nordic people don’t get mouth ulcers very often!

Xia Yu was halfway through her meal when the princess and the crew arrived at the restaurant. Yesterday she visited the base, learned about the takeoff and combat procedures of the F-16 and F-35, and underwent relevant physical examinations to confirm that she was in good health and could fly.

This is the same at the aircraft carrier museum, where not only a physical examination is required, but a no-liability agreement must also be signed.

After a day of hard work, the two-hour royal backseat flight will start the next day, which is today. In addition to the boss of Draken International who came to the event, representatives of the Roman Nia Air Force also attended the event.

An event of the royal family unexpectedly brought together three forces interested in Norway's batch of F-16AM/BM.

I have to say that the royal family is indeed a good signboard. Except for the unpopular royal family of the Japanese, the royal families of many modern constitutional monarchies are very useful in politics and economics.

Especially since this princess is the future Queen of Norway, her brother's inheritance rights will come after her.

But in terms of beauty, Princess Rui Io next door is still more beautiful. Xia Yu hopes that his beloved Charlotte will not be inferior to her when she grows up.

As for the princess of Ying with the same name, she is cute, but her facial features are too similar to her father William, so she basically poses no threat.

After breakfast, Ingrid went to the locker room and changed into a well-fitting anti-gravity suit. While she was communicating with a major general of the Roman Air Force, Jared's private plane finally arrived.

In Northern Europe, as soon as he got off the plane, the boss of Draken International and Xia Yu looked each other in the eye. Both sides confirmed their identities without saying a word, but the real confrontation was not yet at this time.

He was led by the Norwegian military chief to the princess and had a few words with her, but the camera did not film him either.

It was not until the Air Force Commander Major General Rolf Volland personally took to the battlefield, piloting the F-691BM No. 16, which was also in the best condition, carrying Ingrid into the air, that the three forces finally came face to face.

"Gentlemen, Roma Nica urgently needs the Norwegian F-16AMs, and there are only 32 of them. I hope we can reach a solution that satisfies all three parties."

The major general of the Roman Niya Air Force spoke first and stated their demands.

Yes, they only buy 32, and the remaining two companies can be redistributed.

But in addition to them, there was another PMC company that did not come to the scene, represented by Xia Yu.

"What are your country's specific requirements for these 32 F-16AMs?"

Xia Yu asked.

"We bought a batch of F-16s from Portugal for pilot training, but they were second-hand aircraft purchased from the Magnesium Air Force, so for this batch of 32 aircraft, we need the aircraft with the best condition and the most remaining flight hours."

Hearing the major general say this, Xia Yu also relaxed.

Good condition of the aircraft means it is expensive. Even the F-16AM is more expensive than the batch of F-16C/D he bought earlier.

Xia Yu, who owns the system, will never choose this kind of second-hand machine that can maintain its value. He needs those old fighter jets that are on the verge of being scrapped and whose prices can be reduced by a huge margin.

"Jihuo Defense is willing to give your country priority in selection, but we need all the F-16BMs."

Xia Yu also expressed his attitude.

"I agree!"

Jared was also prepared to give face to the Roman Niya Air Force, but Xia Yu would not give him face. After deducting 32 aircraft, he would take on all the defense of the remaining Fighting Falcons.

The Norwegian Air Force originally had more than 16 F-70s. Excluding those that crashed, donated to museums and schools, there are a total of 64 in storage and in service.

Among these 64 aircraft, there are 13 spare parts aircraft that are not suitable for repair, and their value ranges from tens to one million, depending on the extent of the missing parts.

However, just because the Norwegians couldn't repair it doesn't mean Xia Yu couldn't. This time he really had an unexpected surprise.

At that time, these spare parts will be directly maintained to an airworthy state, and then converted into unmanned target aircraft, thus directly reusing the waste.

然而64-32-13-12=7架，距离老汤的需求还差5架。

Alas, clearing out the Norwegian Air Force's hangars is not enough. Looks like he'll have to postpone his return home. He'll have to buy a dozen more old Fighting Falcons in Europe to meet Tac Air's needs.

"Our company needs 12 F-16s. Excluding the 13 spare parts, there are 19 fighters left. Can we reach a consensus with your company?"

Jared said and looked at Xia Yu.

Draken International also wants 12 F-16s. It seems that Lao Tang’s intelligence is very accurate and has directly hit the opponent’s lungs.

But there are only 7 airworthy aircraft left for concentrated fire defense, and he still talks about reaching a consensus. This old guy is not sincere, so he doesn't need to be polite.

"Mr. Jared, it seems that it is difficult for us to reach a consensus. Fire Defense hopes to obtain 13 F-32AM/BMs, including 16 spare parts."

Xia Yu said directly.

With Tac Air sharing the pressure, there is no pressure in the package acquisition of Jihuo Defense, and you can even buy another batch.

Here, this country and this company divided up Norway's Fighting Falcon fleet. Everyone present had never seen such an efficient transaction.

Lao Jia was stunned for a few seconds, then quickly realized that it was Thompson and the other party who were sniping him, and he had no way to stop them.

In business, only customers with large demands have the final say. Their 12 planes are too powerless in front of the opponent's 32 planes. They should just admit defeat and choose a backup plan.

The problem is that these 32 aircraft are far from enough to meet Xia Yu’s needs. Isn’t Draken International’s backup plan also a concentrated fire defense plan?
After watching the other party give up and leave, Xia Yu immediately called Lao Tang.

"It worked. The other party admitted defeat and left Nuowei. But judging from his unconvinced look, he obviously won't go back directly. Do you know if they have any backup plans?"

Xia Yu told Lao Tang that even if he took all 32 F-16s, he still could not meet the needs of the two companies, so he planned to "rob" the other party again.

"Billy, he has some connections in Billy, but the country hasn't released the news that it wants to sell the Fighting Falcon like Norway has. You'll have to go there to find out the details."

Lao Tang immediately replied that its intelligence was limited, and it only followed Billy, and the details were not clear yet.

"Billy? Billy is good. I happen to have some connections. If he goes to He and Xinmai, I really can't do anything about it."

Hearing that it was this country, Xia Yu said something meaningful.

The United States has extraordinary influence on Belgium, but you have to ask them why they bought so many F-16s during the Cold War instead of purchasing Mirage 2000s from Dassault.

The main reason was that there was not enough time. The French third-generation aircraft made its first flight in 78 and was not mass-produced until the 80s. Mirage 5 user Belgium could not wait and purchased F-16s in bulk with three other countries.

The 160 aircraft purchased in two batches far exceeded the country's size, so after the end of the Cold War, Belgium sold a large number of second-hand Fighting Falcons and recovered a lot of funds.

The F-16 fleet that is still retained is also being gradually replaced by the F-35, but only 34 aircraft have been purchased, so they are not as powerful as they were in the past.

Or it should be so. Backed by the British, the Belgian Army does not even have heavy infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks, and the Air Force only undertakes responsibilities within the system.

Jared went to Billy, a traditional seller of F-16s. If Xia Yu had not made any move, he might have been able to get a batch of F-16s in good condition, especially the additional order placed by the other party in the 90s. The age of these aircrafts is less than 30 years today.

Such a good Fighting Falcon should be strengthened by Tac Air, not Draken International.

Being Xia Yu's friend is much better than being his enemy. The person Lao Tang should be most thankful for is Boss Huang, the first person he hooked up with.

If Jared had gotten there first, now I would be the one having the headache.

After hanging up the phone, Xia Yu dialed a few more numbers until two hours later when the F-16BM and the accompanying F-16AM appeared in his sight.

The princess is back. She flew around Norway and returned to the base. She accepted an interview as soon as she got off the fighter jet.

Xia Yu didn't pay much attention. He just watched the other party leave his fighter jet and then found the newly formed Air Force asset sales team to negotiate the specific price of 32 Fighting Falcons.

The price of each of the 32 aircraft in Rome's batch is over 1000 million euros, while the batch from Firestar Defense is much cheaper.

(End of this chapter)