King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer-Chapter 1023 - 913: You give me an inch, I’ll give you a yard
Chapter 1023: Chapter 913: You give me an inch, I’ll give you a yard
Joe Ga didn’t bother arguing with ’Cobra’ about the issue of ’cost’!
This old ace’s skills are beyond doubt, but he doesn’t have much concept of how to operate a company or manage a region.
In fact, the fighter jets Joe owns now—there aren’t many countries in the world that can afford them.
Were it not for his external connections allowing him to resolve the parts issue himself, these planes couldn’t even make a few trips before being grounded.
In Africa, apart from Egypt and Algeria, even South Africa couldn’t afford to maintain them—let alone other African countries.
Joe has been pulling strings everywhere to create a united air force, all to share the financial pressure and spread P.B.’s influence from Central Africa outward via a unified command center.
If jet fighters hadn’t extended P.B.’s operational range to nearly 1,800 kilometers and reduced response time within 1,000 kilometers to under 2 hours, Joe wouldn’t have bothered scaling up the united air force at any cost.
Because there’s really no need!
The fighter jets in his hands, apart from the somewhat decent F-16s, are all quite outdated and have absurdly high operational costs.
For mid-range engagements, the Griffin-1 is definitely more practical!
Letting these pilots fly combat missions around Sangha Town is to demonstrate power to potential clients while pressuring Congo to come begging for aid.
Otherwise, for distances of around 300 kilometers, deploying ’Hind’ helicopters is far more cost-effective than fighter jets.
Future battles around Sangha Town will likely see Griffin-1s or even helicopters as the main offensive force.
Jet fighters’ primary role is still to meet the needs of the united air force.
If the price is right, the united air force will stay busy, and ’Cobra’ and ’Archerfish’—those two old-timers—can fulfill their dream of flying until their very last second.
Joe Ga didn’t discuss funding with Cobra. Upon hearing the roar of fighter jets overhead, he looked up, hesitated, and sought out the unpaid worker, ’Rooster’...
’Rooster,’ ’Hen,’ ’Three Yellow Chickens’—these three chickens, one stationed in Sangha Town, one in Libya, and one in Iraq—all handle logistical work, but they’re incredibly capable.
Joe watched as ’Rooster’ handed off a document to ’Wrench,’ signed a task order, and then smiled and said, "You’ve been here for a while. How’s the outcome?"
’Rooster’ smiled modestly and replied, "Very good. Our people have familiarized themselves with various aircraft types and gained real combat experience...
20,000 US dollars per training session is quite reasonable!"
Joe Ga chuckled, patted ’Rooster’s’ arm, and said as he walked, "The Su-27 is a good plane, but its avionics system is way too outdated.
I can get radar and avionics systems made by Northrop Corporation, but there’s no mature modification package for the Su-27..."
’Rooster’ stared at Joe, his eyes suddenly lighting up like a bulb...
"I’ll have to ask, because in at most two years, the J-11 will be replaced by the J-10C. Our people aren’t particularly interested in the J-11 anymore, but our technical expertise is definitely adequate. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
As long as we have a prototype, we should be able to provide you with a modification package."
’Rooster’ looked at Joe, whose expression remained calm. Gritting his teeth, he added, "Boss, there are many things we’re not convenient to handle, but if you need a long-range heavy fighter jet, I recommend the MiG-35.
With auxiliary fuel tanks attached, this model can fully meet your needs. Also, according to reports from Russia, the MiG-35 has maintenance costs 60% lower than other comparable models.
We have accurate intel that the first batch of MiG-35s delivered to Egypt has already been discreetly rolled out.
If you’re interested, you can give us a letter of authorization, and we’ll find someone to procure two units for you."
Joe immediately caught the implication—this so-called ’procurement’ involved fronting the payment. Otherwise, he wouldn’t need intermediaries to buy jets himself.
The external price of the MiG-35 is 45 million US dollars, even pricier than the expected fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57.
This plane might manage to fool Egypt or India, but it’s unlikely to find buyers elsewhere.
The Mikoyan Design Bureau is poor enough to be eating dirt—if Joe Ga agreed to speak up, they’d personally deliver the jets to his doorstep, perhaps even offering a hefty discount.
At this stage, America has no interest in causing trouble, France is preoccupied, and as a major sponsor of the united air force, they wouldn’t utter a word of protest about Joe’s purchases.
’Rooster’s’ mention of a 90 million US dollar fighter jet being given as a gift—Joe caught the hidden subtext and asked curiously, "What’s the matter? You don’t have confidence in the Su-27’s modification plan?"
’Rooster’ hesitated and said, "Boss, the Su-27 has inherent flaws. Replacing radars and avionics systems isn’t as worthwhile as simply buying new jets.
If you’re reluctant to part with the two jets gifted by Russia, we can try partial upgrades without completely overhauling them—that would save time...
We have existing phased-array radar and multi-spectrum scanning fire control systems, but their advanced capabilities are still slightly inferior to foreign fourth-and-a-half-generation models.
I’m worried the outcome won’t meet your expectations..."
Joe sighed and said, "What good are two more money-burning machines to me?
I might as well find someone to modify those four F-16s. If they can just hold more fuel, they’d fly far enough."
’Rooster’ laughed awkwardly and said, "Boss, it’s actually unnecessary. With two Su-27s, two F-14s, and two more MiG-35s, six long-range jets would suffice."
Joe hadn’t expected a casual suggestion to push his air force further toward the "multinational brand" direction.
But thinking on it, if he added two MiG-35s—standard fourth-and-a-half-generation planes—the P.B. air force would dominate Africa without challenge. Hesitating for a moment, he nodded and said, "Alright, let’s get two...
But I don’t want intermediaries. I’ll buy the top-tier configuration myself, and you guys cover the bill.
You wouldn’t mind, would you?"
’Rooster’ spread his hands and said, "Of course not. If you can get the SABR Agile Beam Radar, we can repurpose some of the Su-27 prototypes in storage as exports for domestic use and deliver them to you. Those babies haven’t even flown 40,000 kilometers..."
Joe quickly waved his hand, saying, "No thanks. Send a batch of 120 vehicle-mounted mortars to Libya for me.
After they pass through Haftar’s forces, I’ll figure out how to transport them back myself—that way nobody’s inconvenienced.
If possible, I’d like production lines for 155mm shells and aerial bombs.
These things aren’t technologically demanding. I can establish a Greek company and handle the contracts myself to arrange delivery."
’Rooster’ was startled by Joe Ga’s ambitious plan. Little did he know that with P.B.’s expansion, ammunition supply pressure had become an urgent issue for Joe.
Yugeinbert Company is undoubtedly reliable, but the distance between them is too great.
You can wait for weapons before war breaks out, but during wartime, how can you wait for ammo?
With the ’Professor’–designed ’Pathfinder System’ seeing great success in P.B.’s hands, Seville’s old stock of aerial bombs isn’t as available anymore, and new bombs are far too expensive.
For Joe, producing his own would definitely be more cost-effective.
While his aerial bombs are largely for personal use, 155mm shells are valuable commodities in Europe and America.
Their demand isn’t high, so they don’t produce them in-house, resulting in military procurement coming mostly from the peninsula. Joe figured he could easily compete in this space.
He even envisioned placing shell and aerial bomb production lines on Crete in Greece.
For personal use, the goods could be shipped across the sea to Tubruq, and three transport planes could quickly facilitate transfer.
As for selling to external buyers, it would be even more convenient—the European Union would surely look out for ’local enterprises.’
Basic models of these goods can sell for 20,000 US dollars per shell, and throwing in some marketing gimmicks can bump the price to about 80,000, with absurdly high profits!
Seeing ’Rooster’s’ slight hesitation, Joe didn’t push him but instead patted his shoulder and smiled, saying, "I’ll procure the materials, and you can research them locally or take them anywhere you want—it’s up to you.
About the production lines, ask around for me. I want something fairly advanced; outdated goods aren’t of interest to me.
If you can’t get them, just convert it for me into ’Blue Sword Missiles’—or take the Libya-Haftar route.
This way, neither side will be inconvenienced!"
After finishing, Joe lightly slapped ’Rooster’s’ forearm and said, "I’m not in a rush; you can take your time...
I heard the commissioned training squad lost a dozen people. Give them my thanks.
If possible, gather the names and family info of those who sacrificed themselves. I’ll have Jia Liang Trade issue some compensation payment.
When they were alive, I couldn’t afford to pay them, but now that they’ve given their lives, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, right?"
’Rooster’ finally realized why Joe Ga had suddenly brought up the Su-27 modification plan—he was indirectly expressing gratitude!
’Rooster’ suddenly felt both touched and awkward. The numerous restrictions made this retired staff officer feel particularly helpless...
Gazing at Joe Ga’s receding figure, ’Rooster’ hesitated and said, "Boss, thank you!"
Joe waved his hand without turning around and said, "Tell everyone to take it easy and don’t recklessly charge ahead. In a few days, I’ll ramp up the offensive.
This time, I have precise intel. When I catch them, I’ll skin them alive!"
Joe’s words stunned everyone nearby. Dorian, who had been waiting around, rushed over excitedly and asked, "Boss, you found those bastards?"
Joe raised his phone and shook it, smiling as he said, "I told you—I’ve got precise intel.
In a few days, we’ll ramp up operations, wipe out the surrounding guerrillas first.
Then, we’ll pay those bastards a visit..."
Dorian, curious, asked, "Where are those guys?"
Joe spread his hands and said, "Kinshasa...
Those people used ships to transport mutated mosquitoes to Yamako. Along the way, several areas showed cases of virus infection, yet the Congolese idiots were completely clueless.
Their civilians are suffering from viral outbreaks, and they know absolutely nothing.
I’m going to damn well ask them—in what hell are they operating?
After all the things I’ve done for them...
They better pay me more money!!!"
