The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

It has been 1970 years since the world entered the era of third-generation fighter jets, starting from the first flight of the F-14 'Panda' fighter prototype in 36.

The major military powers also mainly use third-generation fighters as the main force of their air force fighters.

But that doesn’t mean there is no market for second-generation and second-generation and a half fighter jets.

You know, there are dozens of countries in this world whose air forces are mainly based on first-generation fighter jets!

Even among the five permanent members, except for the United States, whose fighter jets are all third-generation fighters or a small number of fourth-generation fighters, the air forces of the other four permanent members are all equipped with second-generation fighters.

The British Air Force is equipped with more than 500 Harrier fighter jets. According to current reports, the Harrier fighter jet is a second-generation and a half fighter jet.

The French Air Force is also equipped with hundreds of Super Etendards, Mirage F1s, and Mirage 3/5s!

As for the Russian Air Force, let alone, even though it has exported a large number of fighter jets in the past decade, Russia still retains a large number of Su-24, Su-25, Su-22, MiG-21, MiG-23 and other aircraft.

The Chinese Air Force is also equipped with a number of J-7 and J-8 modified aircraft.

Apart from the five permanent members, it goes without saying that for many countries, the second-generation and a half fighter jets are the most advanced fighter jets! Even the second-generation fighter jets are already advanced fighter jets!

Third-generation fighter jets are often more expensive and most countries cannot afford them. After all, the export price of a US F-16 fighter jet is already between 5000 and 9000 million US dollars. The price of an F-16V fighter jet is as high as 8000 million US dollars.

In comparison, the prices of second-generation and second-generation and a half fighters are undoubtedly much cheaper.

Even China's latest J-7 and J-8 modified models, the top-end configurations, cost less than 2000 million US dollars.

Here, most countries in the world can buy the weapons and equipment they want.

The Zhuhai Air Show was in full swing. Not far away in Hong Kong, Liu Tao was hosting Al in a villa.

At this time, Al was already an old man!
The failure of the Iraq War made Al seem to have aged all of a sudden.

This time, Al passed through Persia and then flew to China with the Persian delegation.

Liu Tao did not look down on Al because of the failure of the Iraq War, but still treated Al as an old friend.

Liu Tao frowned slightly when Al proposed to buy a drone.

"Al, my old friend, to be honest, drones are not suitable for you. You don't have enough electricity!" Liu Tao kindly reminded, "and you don't have enough talent to operate drones now."

Controlling a drone is neither difficult nor easy.

Now it is good enough for Saddam and others to be able to hold on to their current territory.

Drones are a new type of weapon, and Iraq does not have the talent to acquire them.

Aldao: "If no soldiers can do it, then we can hire mercenaries to help us train them."

"I know you have business in this area. You have technicians helping Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries train them on drones. We can also pay for it!"

Several drones, including the 'Wing Loong' drone and the 'Rainbow' drone, have been exported to countries such as Saudi Arabia.

Even these are not secrets, they have been officially reported.

Panshan Group exports drones to various countries, including Persia.

So much so that drones are now appearing in the battlefield in Afghanistan.

Al now has only one ideal, which is to see the Iraqi army drive out the US troops, restore Iraq, and let the Iraqis be the masters of their own destiny before he dies.

To realize this ideal, we must unite the forces that can be united. Since 2003, Al has encountered more than assassination attempts, but he still works in neighboring friendly countries to raise funds for Iraq.

War is fought for money!

Without funds, Saddam would not have been able to survive in the Kurdish mountains until now.

Fighter jets and the like are not suitable for Iraq now because there are no airports capable of taking off and landing in the mountainous areas.

What are suitable for Iraq are armed helicopters, drones and the like!
Liu Tao was thinking in his mind.

He said that just now, not only because Saddam had no money and no technical personnel in the field of drones, but also because of another very important reason, which was that it involved the United States!

The Americans are unhappy about the appearance of drones in Afghanistan.

Grenades, guns, and bullets are fine.

Weapons that are too high-end or too advanced are not good.

Even the 'Vanguard' portable air defense missile has long disappeared from the battlefield in Afghanistan.

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Instead, it was replaced with an anti-aircraft missile that looks very much like a Soviet-era one, causing the United States to protest to the Russians.

These tacit understandings are not written down in black and white, but they do exist.

If drones appear on the battlefield in Iraq, the Americans will definitely bomb them.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is a top priority for the Chinese people. Not only must we host it, but we must also host it well. We must also strive to attract more countries to participate in the 2008 Olympic Games!

"Al, my old friend, you have given me a big problem." Liu Tao sighed softly, "You can't have drones before 2008, but you can send people to learn."

Al immediately understood what Liu Tao meant.

You can’t own a drone in 2008, but you can in 2009!
Al immediately smiled.

As an expert with rich experience in diplomatic work, Al naturally understands that there are some unspoken rules in this world.

Under the threat of nuclear weapons, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council maintain a certain tacit understanding.

It is also because of this that even though it has been 60 years since World War II, the S3 season has not broken out, and no matter how tense the situation is, all parties will reach a compromise in the end.

Given their current situation, getting a drone is not a matter of money!

"Liu, you are our Iraq's good friend and old friend. It is our Iraq's honor to have your support and help in our just cause! Believe me, as long as we can restore our country, Iraq will always be your friend and will never be your enemy!" Al said firmly.

It is not an easy task to drive out the Americans and let the Iraqis rule themselves.

What they can do is unite all the forces that can be united.

Liu Tao said with a smile on his face: "Al, we have always maintained friendly relations. We have always respected the sovereignty of all countries and nations and have not interfered in the internal affairs of any country. The affairs of a country should be left to the people of that country to decide. Hegemony is unpopular!"

"I also believe that your just cause will soon see the light of day. The great Iraqi people are invincible and will surely defeat their enemies! The glory of ancient Babylon will never end!" Liu Tao's words carried some hints.

After hearing what Liu Tao said, Al became even happier, as if he understood the meaning of Liu Tao's words.

As long as Liu Tao still supports them, their career will have hope and they can get continuous external support. (End of this chapter)