America: My Time

Chapter 1154 The Pressure on Gulfstream Spaceflight

Chapter 1144 The Pressure on Gulfstream Spaceflight
John didn't need to say anything; the old man, with his wisdom, would naturally understand why. John believed that when those old guys arranged for the invitation to be delivered to him, the old man must have known, and even Morgan knew everything, not to mention the White House. The reason nothing had happened was because they all wanted to see his reaction. Under such circumstances, they could see more, so neither the old man nor Morgan intended to inform him.

Would discussing countermeasures be useful? Absolutely not. Their scheme is blatant and aboveboard. If you refuse, the responsibility will fall on John, and they will gain the upper hand. If John appears, it will inevitably lead to a struggle between a donkey and an elephant. No matter what John chooses, it will not be good for him.

Time is of the essence, and John doesn't want to give those old guys time to react. If given enough time, they might come up with a solution, which is not what John wants to see.

Under John's arrangement, these beauties soon boarded a private plane and headed to San Francisco, USA. Although they were not officially recognized, they were all approved by John's family and had children, so it was not a problem for them to go to San Francisco as their first stop.

After arranging everything, John breathed a sigh of relief. However, to his surprise, someone else came knocking on his door soon after. This time it was about aviation. McDonnell Douglas had now joined forces with Boeing, but McDonnell Douglas had a lot of cooperation with China, just like Gulfstream Aerospace's cooperation with China on the Fokker 100.

"A collaboration on large aircraft?" John frowned. Although Gulfstream Aerospace also had its own large aircraft, such a collaboration was not something you could do just because you wanted to. First, you had to appease the White House. If the White House didn't agree, such a collaboration would be impossible. Secondly, you had to deal with the British. After all, Gulfstream Aerospace had a huge production base in Britain. If the British didn't agree, it would also affect the collaboration.

"Difficult, very difficult. I'm not making excuses for myself; such cooperation is almost impossible. The merger of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing will send a storm through the entire aviation industry. The first to be hit won't be Airbus, but Gulfstream Aerospace. This merger means that the three-way balance of power within the United States has been broken. The previous problems weren't so big because they hadn't completed the integration. Now that they've succeeded, their first target will be Gulfstream Aerospace. If this were in the 1980s, cooperation wouldn't be a big problem and wouldn't be hindered, but now it's practically impossible!"

John sighed. Despite his influence changing many things, he lacked the power to intervene in major decisions, especially those of this magnitude. He was naturally drawn to China's vast market; the Fokker 100 collaboration was just the beginning. However, problems arose when they tried to take things further. Gulfstream Aerospace wanted an engine manufacturing plant in China to address cost concerns, but this proposal was immediately rejected by Rolls-Royce.

The British have a strong aversion to technology outflow, especially core technologies like engines. They fear their interests will be affected by China's rise. With McDonnell Douglas's cooperation with China preceded by Gulfstream Aerospace, how could the British not be cautious? Moreover, the current environment makes things even more difficult.

Gulfstream Aerospace has faced considerable pressure amid the wave of mergers and acquisitions among US military-industrial companies, and its market in the Middle East has also been impacted. John would like to change everything if he could, but he can't do it; he can't bear this heavy pressure. If such a cooperation were to take place, Boeing would definitely target him and Gulfstream Aerospace.

John's modifications to the large aircraft he acquired from Er Mao's family have already caused discontent among many, not only Boeing but also Airbus, as this has severely squeezed their market share. If all the modifications hadn't been done in Britain, with the British blocking the way, the pressure would have fallen on John.

Although it was expected, a hint of disappointment still appeared on the faces of the Chinese personnel upon hearing John's answer. However, they also understood the immense pressure Gulfstream Aerospace was facing. With McDonnell Douglas's departure, Gulfstream Aerospace was now the only Chinese company cooperating with China, and the pressure they were under was unimaginable.

Don't be fooled by their optimism about the Chinese market; getting them to contribute their technology, especially advanced technology, is no easy task. Past collaborations have always been fraught with problems. However, the Fokker 100 project with Gulfstream Aerospace is progressing smoothly without any issues.

“Mr. John, we are preparing to establish a commercial aircraft company and would like to cooperate with Gulfstream Aerospace.”

When John heard this, it was like a thunderbolt in his mind. COMAC had been born ahead of schedule. What impact would this have on the future? What would Gulfstream Aerospace need to do? John was thinking about this question. After all, this was no small matter. Once a decision was made, he would have to bear greater consequences.

"What do we need to give up, and how will the shares be divided?" After some thought, John asked. "Same as the previous joint venture factory, except we need Focke's complete technology!"

Today, Fokker has disappeared, Gulfstream Aerospace has completely withdrawn from the Netherlands, and the current Gulfstream Aerospace is no longer what it used to be. After acquiring Lockheed and Grumman, it has a sufficiently strong technological foundation, not to mention the technological reserves it obtained from the Russians after their collapse.

The original plan for the Fokker 100 was to have a series, but all of that was put on hold because of John. So when he heard the request, John nodded thoughtfully, and he understood.

"Sure, I personally have no problem with it. Gulfstream Space will follow up. But as you all know, Gulfstream Space's support here is limited. Fokker's personnel haven't been integrated into Gulfstream Space!"

This collaboration seems to have remained unchanged, except for a different name. Gulfstream Aerospace contributed Fokker's technology, and it appears that nothing else has changed. However, John doesn't think so; this collaboration is not simple!
Everything was completed quietly and quickly, and fortunately, it did not attract the attention of others. After all, Gulfstream Aerospace had cooperated with China before, and in the eyes of many people, it was just a change of name. Even Boeing was the same. In fact, the guys at Boeing were wondering if this was due to their merger with McDonnell Douglas.

After acquiring McDonnell Douglas, Boeing considered itself the leader in the US aviation industry, deeming Gulfstream Aerospace insignificant. It believed Boeing would dominate the large aircraft market. After all, Gulfstream Aerospace was a relatively new company with a limited product range, far inferior to Boeing. In the civilian market, Boeing didn't take Gulfstream Aerospace seriously; instead, it considered Airbus its biggest rival, its strongest competitor in terms of both technology and resources.

In contrast, Gulfstream Aerospace focuses on continuously improving and refining a single product, showing no intention of developing new ones. The Fokker 100 has been refined multiple times, as has the Gulfstream's large passenger aircraft, not to mention its private jet program. This gives the impression that Gulfstream Aerospace has financial problems and is hesitant to undertake further research and development.

Actually, it's not that they dare not, but that there's no need. Although the civilian market is huge, it's not easy to win more orders. The reason Gulfstream Aerospace's large aircraft was able to survive is because it had the full support of Pan Am. Without Pan Am's support, it probably wouldn't have been able to survive at all.

Although the British have the Commonwealth, the assistance they can receive is very limited. If it weren't for the strong support from Middle Eastern tycoons, Gulfstream Aerospace's large aircraft would have failed under such circumstances, since the market is the foundation of everything.

Personalized customization is the reason why Gulfstream Aerospace's large aircraft has been able to sweep through the Middle Eastern elites. Everything can be customized according to the client's requirements, which directly opens up a new market: a personalized customization market for the wealthy.

Many people only see that Gulfstream Aerospace's debt is constantly shrinking and the company is growing step by step, but they don't see the pressure Gulfstream Aerospace is under. You should know that Gulfstream Aerospace is able to develop rapidly with the help of Middle Eastern tycoons. Without the help of Middle Eastern tycoons, it would probably be in crisis.

It is precisely because John saw this that he has been continuously reducing its debt to alleviate the pressure on Gulfstream Aerospace. However, a complete turnaround will take much longer. As the Middle Eastern market becomes saturated, the impact on Gulfstream Aerospace is naturally increasing, and this pressure is further amplified by the US military's tightening of funding.

The British are unreliable, and John needs to be prepared to deal with the impending crisis. If the British don't get more orders, Gulfstream Aerospace will be in trouble. It's difficult to rely entirely on Pan Am to support the large aircraft project. Fortunately, South Korea and Japan have some orders; otherwise, there would be no chance to make money on this project, which would put Gulfstream Aerospace in a difficult situation.

Why is this happening? The company expanded too rapidly, and in order to fulfill overseas orders and ensure profits, it didn't do much consolidation. Therefore, Gulfstream Aerospace is now facing significant internal problems. It's only currently supported by overseas orders; otherwise, it would be in the same crisis as other defense companies.

(End of this chapter)