In this dimension that Qi Yiming traveled to, the international version of the Xiaolong project is more like the previous Saber II\/Super Seven project. It's just that compared to the various difficulties Cheng Fei encountered in the original timeline, Cheng Fei is doing much better now. To put it bluntly, the international version of Xiaolong is a political product, and there is not much to praise technically. Chengfei can completely face a large number of subsystem contractors with the attitude of being an uncle. If it is really impossible to agree, get out, Koreans Even if you don¡¯t want to order, you can break up the team. Anyway, Chengdu Aircraft has subsequent orders for 30 FC-1s from Iran and 50 FC-1s from Pakistan. There is no need to worry about not getting new orders.
Therefore, Tu Jida, who is more courageous, has also adopted a "come or leave" attitude from the beginning, because it involves equipping some equipment from the United States, which requires the approval of TAA, that is, technology, by the Arms Control Office under the U.S. Army. Support Agreement. Just like a cunning American from another dimension wanted to use this opportunity to obtain technical information about Xiaolong, so he asked for the technical specifications of the entire machine, otherwise TAA would not be approved. Under Qi Yiming's instruction, Cheng Fei was determined to hold on, and Qi Yiming, who was well versed in the political ecology of the United States, spent some money to find a lobbying company through Jacqueline's connections on K Street in Washington, D.C., and conducted a round of public relations and lobbying for the U.S. government. The TAA was approved within two weeks.
In later generations, many Chinese companies have repeatedly suffered losses when doing business with the United States, especially those involved in the government. There are many large companies that have been forced to withdraw from the U.S. market, such as Huawei, the world's second largest communications equipment provider. , I have always been stuck in small shoes in the United States. Huawei's example certainly involves sensitive communication security issues, but Ren Zhengfei himself has invested less than seven figures in government public relations. It can be seen that Chinese companies really have no understanding of the political and economic ecology of the United States.
As a returnee from overseas, Qi Yiming is used to seeing the face of the US government and companies, and some of his behaviors are also very Westernized. He can hit the target at the first sight. There are two magic weapons to deal with such things. Pull one faction and fight another. They have the support and support of their interest allies, and they are also willing to spend money and time on meaningless lobbying.
In addition, Qi Yiming believes that the reason why the international version of the Xiaolong project is easier to pass than the Super 7 case is that it is a mature model and can be cut out for Americans, unlike the Super 7, which requires a lot of help from Americans. s help. In the Super 7 project, TAA stipulated a large number of projects that were not allowed to hand over data to Chengdu Aircraft, such as fatigue spectrum, air intake design, front fuselage shape design and other messy things. The reason is that the United States is afraid that the Chinese will take this opportunity to learn something and eventually improve the design field of their own aviation industry. This is also a consistent trick of the Americans. It is very easy to copy other people's technology. If others want to get their own technology, they must hide it. Tucked in.
However, now China's fighter jets have shown their uniqueness in many aspects. Perhaps there is still a gap between the overall aviation industry and the US aviation industry, but it is undeniable that China does not need to learn anything from the United States. The information fed back by technical personnel from Grumman and other companies greatly surprised U.S. officials, and they launched a plan to poach Chinese technical personnel.
So much so that in the international version of the Xiaolong Project, the U.S. government could not make many obstacles and could only hold on to the meaty bones that the Chinese were not very willing to throw out.
Generally speaking, China has given up at least about 20% of the income from the international version of the Xiaolong project to the United States. Of course, American companies will get more, but the path ahead is clear - take less or not take it, as long as Anyone with a bit of intelligence knows how to choose. In addition, because some of the equipment comes from the United States, part of the income from subsequent maintenance and replacement is also a relief.
After arriving in Chengdu, the evaluation work carried out by the Korean Air Force was actually not very detailed. The pilots they came over were not very good and were not even qualified pilots. Therefore, even if they got into the back seat of the Xiaolong and conducted some Guidance, he couldn't immediately fly by himself, and he couldn't tell what Chou Yinmao was. He could only say: "It's very advanced, very good."
Of course, the stickmen are not without ambitions. When conducting the Xiaolong evaluation project, South Korean Foreign Minister Choi Yoon-soo mentioned to a manager of AVIC: "I heard that your country has developed an F-15-like aircraft for Saudi Arabia. Heavy fighter, I wonder if we can visit it? "
This manager had already accepted the explanation, and he responded in a seemingly enthusiastic but distant manner: "There is no problem. Our Leopard B fighter is a heavy fighter independently developed by our country, and its combat power is quite strong. It's just that the fighter is too powerful, so There are still restrictions on exports.¡±
¡°What he said is like stating in disguise that this Leopard B can be sold to Saudi Arabia, but it is impossible to sell it to you Nanbang.
Cui Qianzhu was a little disappointed, but it was also expected. Just like when they bought the F-16 before, they would choose the medium-sized F-16 if they could buy the F-15. After all, a heavy fighterIt must be sold to its most die-hard ally. It is not difficult to understand that China is wooing Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a big financial backer, and China really needs to strengthen its relations with Middle Eastern countries. But if we sell weapons that are too powerful to South Korea, it will inevitably cause another storm on the Korean peninsula.
Thinking back, it would be very satisfying to get the FC-1. The price is cheaper than the F-16, and it is generally evaluated that the combat capability is higher than the F-16, which is suitable for the Korean army to reorganize its combat capability. It is better to grasp the reality than to hope for unrealistic things now.
After three months of inspection, the Koreans finally decided to choose FC-1 as their new fighter. The total number of purchases was 60, and the total contract value was US$720 million, including some weapons and training costs. . South Korea is also the third country after Iran and Pakistan to decide to adopt the Xiaolong. The total sales of the Xiaolong have reached 210 (including 70 replacement F-14s), and it has suddenly become a major player in the international military trade market. A dazzling new star.
The outstanding performance of Xiaolong has also affected the export situation of other Chinese military products. For example, Saudi Arabia has become more inclined towards Leopard B. Even Prince Bandar, who was inspecting Leopard B in China, after learning that the Koreans decided to purchase 60 FC-1s, the Saudis actually proposed to inspect the Xiaolong.
The Saudis won't get much benefit from the UK, but Qi Yiming can be unscrupulous in China. As soon as this dirty prince arrived in China, Qi Yiming gave him a luxury Hongqi made by Qi Yiming. Extended car. For him, the cost is almost nothing, but for Bandar, he thinks it is worth at least one to two million US dollars.
Qi Yiming participated in another round of negotiations with the Saudi Prince on the Al Yamaha Agreement. Now they are the main frontrunners. Qi Yiming is full of confidence in winning the contract.
"Mr. Qi, our pilots from the Saudi Air Force recently visited and inspected your FC-1 Xiaolong fighter jet, and the evaluation was very high. Although our military purchase this time mainly wants to purchase fighters with good ground attack capabilities, it is obvious that Although the Xiaolong is a light fighter, it has considerable advantages in air and ground control. Alas, it is a pity that we do not have enough pilots to operate these fighters." Bandar may have said this to compliment China's aviation industry. However, the speaker is unintentional and the listener is interested.
Qi Yiming suddenly smiled at this time and said: "As you can see, Your Highness, the Xiaolong is indeed a good multi-purpose light fighter. If it has a certain number, it will be very helpful for Saudi Arabia to form a tactical and operational advantage in the Middle East. Even compared to the United States, it is not a problem.¡±
Bandar¡¯s eyes brightened, but then dimmed again. Just having planes was of no use. There was no one to fly them, and there were no supporting facilities. It was still a weak country. As the saying goes, money cannot buy modern national defense.
Qi Yiming spoke eloquently: "If there is a shortage of pilots, I don't think this will be a problem. If necessary, we will establish a flight training school in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia can choose to take a stake. This flight training school will With the ability to train hundreds of excellent professional military and civilian aircraft pilots for Saudi Arabia every year, the Saudi Air Force can completely outsource the training and training of pilots to this training school.¡±
When Bandar heard this, he thought this was a very good idea. In fact, this practice of outsourcing pilot training by the air force of a small country is nothing new thirty years later, and it is relatively rare in this era. Especially for some small developed countries or developing countries like Saudi Arabia that have money but no ability, it is difficult to establish their own complete pilot training system and hardware equipment. Therefore, some powerful countries operate private flight schools to train fighter jets or aircraft for these small countries. Civilian pilot.
Qi Yiming also just thought of this idea. Obviously, the Middle East has huge wallets and a huge demand for pilots, but they lack the ability to train pilots. Of course, Saudi Arabia also wants to operate a larger air force, but it is unable to To build a huge team of pilots, they can only serve pilots from concessions in countries such as Pakistan.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, countries such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman also have similar problems. If this flight school can be professional and have a good reputation, I believe it can attract a large number of pilot students from the Middle East and can also join some The state signs long-term and lucrative pilot training contracts.
From another perspective, this flight school can also become a customer of Hongdu Company¡¯s trainer aircraft, such as Chujiao-6, L-15 Falcon, or even two-seat trainer versions of Xiaolong, Feibao, and Qi Yiming. Placed in this school, it provides training guarantee for customers who use the country's exported military aircraft.