America: My Time

Chapter 1606 Testing
Chapter 1596 Testing

"Human hearts are indeed so unpredictable. I hope the Middle Eastern tycoons will back down this time, otherwise they will pay a heavy price. Compared to those old guys, the Middle Eastern tycoons have no use for anything, no matter how much wealth they have. I wonder if they can listen to advice. I hope the worst doesn't happen!" John shook his head as he thought of this. Once this crisis of trust occurs, even the slightest one will destroy their cooperation.

Many people are watching John and Gulfstream Space. They all want to know how John will react and whether Gulfstream Space will cooperate with Middle Eastern tycoons, since those guys are really rich.

It's easy to fish in troubled waters. When many people set their sights on Lockheed Martin, capital naturally began to stir up trouble. Driven by capital, the power of the media was fully demonstrated, and many media outlets around the world began to analyze everything and Gulfstream Aerospace's ideas.

Fortunately, those guys didn't drag John into it, otherwise things would have been troublesome. After all, John is also a media mogul, and triggering a media war is not good for anyone. Not to mention that those guys from Oil Capital have something on John, and if they dare to do anything excessive, it will provoke John's wrath.

In other words, the Middle Eastern nouveau riche have changed. Middle Eastern princes are coming to the United States, forcing John to put aside some things. Otherwise, the oil capital market would not be as prosperous as it is now, and they would feel the pressure from major media groups.

Jennifer Connelly dared not get involved in such a major event as Gulfstream Spaceflight. She knew it was beyond her control. Although many people had asked her for advice, she had refused them all. She didn't want to make a silly mistake and ruin all her previous efforts because of a moment of foolishness!

Professional matters should be handled by professionals. Moreover, there are clearly too many calculations and interests behind this Gulfstream Spaceflight incident. The only one who can truly make decisions is John. She will not be complacent or lose her mind because of those people's flattery. At times like these, she must be more cautious!

Today, countless people want to learn about Gulfstream Aerospace through the beautiful women John is with, or even through John's family, but unfortunately, they haven't gotten the results they wanted.

Under the watchful eyes of many, the private jet of the Middle Eastern tycoon prince landed at the airport. At that moment, countless people were secretly watching. After all, smart people knew what the purpose of this tycoon prince's trip was, and they all wanted to know how John would deal with all this, and whether he would make an exception for the Middle Eastern tycoon and lure them into the game!

Perhaps the Middle Eastern tycoon was in a hurry. After getting off the plane, the tycoon prince did not go to the hotel to rest immediately, but went to visit John right away. This hurried itinerary made many people sigh and made the guys in the oil capital extremely worried. If the Middle Eastern tycoon succeeded, they were afraid that they would have no chance at all. This was unacceptable. They had to stop all of this from happening and not let the US military industry be affected by external forces!
Good heavens, at this moment these guys remembered that they were Americans and thought of using American interests to target the Middle Eastern tycoons. They just didn't think about what the old guys in the American financial groups would think of their move!
“Please sit down, Your Highness. There’s no need for such formalities between us. I understand your purpose in coming, but what I want to say is that your idea is unlikely to succeed.” Upon seeing the wealthy Middle Eastern prince, John cut to the chase and stated his thoughts without any attempt to conceal them.

"Why? Since Gulfstream Aerospace is going to spin off Lockheed Martin and go public to raise funds, shouldn't we be able to participate? Even the British are interested, Mr. John can't let us friends have no chance at all, can he?"

"You're overthinking it. No matter how much the British try to stir things up, it's useless. This is not something they can interfere with, at least not now, and neither can you. I've already communicated with you before, explaining the difficulties Gulfstream Aerospace is facing and that the splitting up of the military industry is necessary. Otherwise, someone might take the opportunity to cause trouble, which would have a negative impact and could even cause Gulfstream Aerospace to slip out of my control. You all agreed to that, so why are you in such a hurry now?"

“Mr. John, to be honest, what worries us most is the actions of the oilfield capital and those guys in Israel. According to our understanding, they have already started to take action and have their eyes on Lockheed Martin. If they succeed, I'm afraid they will find out everything about the equipment we have!”

"Heh, if that's what you think, I can only say it's ridiculous. As long as the US military has the equipment, all the information you have will be known to those guys in Israel. That's why I'm cutting off cooperation with the military and splitting up these military industries. I don't want them to know Gulfstream Aerospace's secrets, and this is the best way to protect the secrets of your equipment. Only by completely cutting off cooperation with the military can our cooperation proceed smoothly. The previous leak and the hacking of your equipment are lessons learned!"

As soon as John finished speaking, a glint of light appeared in the eyes of the Middle Eastern prince. Although he agreed with John's statement, he did not think that John's plan was entirely for their benefit and that there were other reasons behind it!

“Mr. John, so it seems that my trip was a complete waste of time and energy, and even caused you considerable trouble.”

John nodded and said, “There is indeed a little trouble. If I’m not mistaken, the power of oil capital is already at work. They will probably use US national security as an excuse to stop your plans and then bring me into the public eye. You know, I’m trying to stay behind the scenes right now, but those guys don’t want me to! As for wasting time and energy, it’s not really a waste. We’ve only been communicating on the phone before, and there are many things that are not clear. Now we can talk face-to-face and clarify things so that there are no doubts left in each other’s minds.”

At this point, John paused slightly, giving the Middle Eastern prince time to process his words. After all, his words would have a significant impact on the prince, who had come with a mission and naturally needed to think things through. Whether John could make the decision regarding their conversation was no small matter; it concerned their cooperation and future development.

“Mr. John, then please give us your guidance. Don’t worry, we’ve always been on your side. Since you say there’s no chance this time, we can give up. As you said, we’ve only communicated over the phone before; many things need to be discussed in person!” John breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the wealthy prince’s reply. Thankfully, this guy had the right to make his own decisions; otherwise, having to consult with the Middle East on everything would risk outsiders learning about their cooperation, which would be extremely dangerous for Gulfstream Space. He had created such a commotion to give everyone the illusion that Gulfstream Space was weakened!
"I won't go into the details of the situation in the US, as I'm sure you're already aware of it. The military-industrial complex has been affected by the overall environment in recent years, but with the unrest in the Middle East, a major outbreak is imminent. So, it's simply unrealistic for you to want to participate in this struggle for interests at this time. Not only will the oil and Pacific capital and those guys in Israel try to sabotage you, but even the old guard of the conglomerates won't accept it. You're competing with them for profits! I know you don't care about these profits; you just want to ensure your own safety. But some people don't think that way!"

John didn't need to say who these people were; the Middle Eastern tycoon prince also knew. He could understand the targeting of those guys, because it wasn't something that had happened overnight, but rather a long, long time ago, long before they cooperated with John.

“Mr. John, we’d like to know if this breakup of Gulfstream Aerospace will affect its development? When we heard that there were already internal conflicts within Gulfstream Aerospace, everyone was worried about this!”

"There will certainly be an impact, but it won't be too significant. After all, Gulfstream Aerospace's complete transformation will be unacceptable to some, especially this split, which involves separating all production related to the US military. This will naturally lead to some opposition within Gulfstream Aerospace! I couldn't be too explicit on the phone before. Going forward, Gulfstream Aerospace's focus will be on drones, artificial intelligence, and the Starlink project. While improvements to multi-role fighter jets will continue, they will no longer be the focus. Of course, this doesn't mean Gulfstream Aerospace will completely abandon military R&D. We will still develop new fighter jets, but it will take a long time, as avoiding the military's concerns is no easy task."

"That's good. We can rest assured now that you've said that. After all, we were worried about the future upgrades and replacements!"

"Don't worry, this is not a problem. I am not the kind of irresponsible person who would harm my friends for my own benefit."

“Mr. John, Gulfstream Aerospace isn’t just sticking to its previous development without any other projects, is it? This doesn’t seem like your style.” The Middle Eastern prince’s gaze fell on John, testing his 'sincerity'.

"That's natural. The success of the drone program has shown me other directions. Unmanned ships are also a possibility, but it will take some time. The UK still needs some evaluation, but I prefer Mexico to the south. After all, unmanned projects are all about money, and the cost is a big problem!"

John's words relieved the Middle Eastern prince. John was still the good friend they knew and could still be trusted. At least he hadn't hidden anything from them about the development of Gulfstream Aerospace. They desperately needed unmanned ships, since their pampered soldiers were unlikely to form a strong fighting force.

"When will it be successful?" After regaining his composure, the Middle Eastern prince asked. They desperately needed this equipment, given the turmoil in the Middle East and the immense pressure they were under. The recent Gulfstream Space's restructuring plan had had a far more profound impact on them than words could describe.

The reason why the prince had to come out to see John in such a short time was because the impact from the Middle East was too terrible, and many people were worried that the transformation of Gulfstream Aerospace would cause them to lose equipment support!
"This will take time, but it's not a big problem. After all, we've fully absorbed the old Russian technology in shipbuilding over the years. As long as the electronic equipment keeps up, everything will be fine. The most important thing is the production cost, which is our biggest pressure. If it's just a trial, Britain can produce it, and even South Korea has the capability. But if we want to mass-produce it, we need to carefully evaluate it!"

John paused slightly as he spoke, seemingly deep in thought. This gesture immediately made the Middle Eastern prince realize that Gulfstream Aerospace must have other plans, otherwise John wouldn't have hesitated so much. However, these plans were not so easy to come by.

“Mr. John, if Gulfstream Aerospace has any other plans, please feel free to speak up. As long as they are valuable to us, we will definitely invest. You don’t need to worry about our financial pressure!”

"Prince, have you heard of ground effect vehicles? We have some ideas here. The space carrier is based on the An-225, which is being modified. Meanwhile, some people have proposed ground effect vehicles for both sea and land use. However, while the idea is good, it is not an easy task to realize. There are many difficulties to overcome. As you know, Russia has already abandoned the development of ground effect vehicles. In addition, we also have other ideas for the space program, but it will take time and funding to turn these ideas into reality. Most importantly, we must keep it a secret."

When John suggested keeping it a secret, the Middle Eastern prince nodded in agreement. Gulfstream Aerospace was under scrutiny, and launching these programs at this time would easily expose them. Therefore, these programs could not be initiated until the breakup was completed and the hidden dangers within Gulfstream Aerospace were eliminated.

"Mr. John, how confident are you? After all, this is no ordinary investment."

“Saying it’s 100% is a bit of an exaggeration. After all, although we have the detailed blueprints from the Russians back then, their plan is different from ours. So it’s easy to see initial results, but it’s difficult to meet our overall plan! If this plan is to be implemented, it will be comprehensive, and the required funds will be considerable, which will put a lot of pressure on us!” John sighed as he spoke.

(End of this chapter)