Chapter 337 The Celestite Design Bureau was left out in the cold
Grishn was very angry, but he could only give in.
Just now, he just wanted to say that he would not sell the boat even if it cost 100 million US dollars. However, before he could say the next words, Qin Tao snatched him away, and then he grabbed the words and kept talking. Go down. (I have never studied Russian, so I don’t know or sell this translation. I used to put it at the end.)
One ship costs US$100 million, is it a loss?
In fact, it is not a loss. After all, for them, without buyers, these submarines will have to rust here. Originally, Ah San was also their big customer. However, due to a lot of friction with Ah San on the aircraft carrier project, Ah San had no plans to purchase their weapons in the near future, especially submarines. Ah San had been a major customer in the 1980s. I’ve started buying, but it’s not time to buy the second batch yet.
However, according to Grishin's plan, these submarines are intended to be sold for two to three hundred million U.S. dollars each. This is also the result he obtained after analyzing with others when he was in Moscow.
Although China has nuclear submarines, the technology is not very good, and the technology of conventional submarines is also very poor. Generally speaking, it is the level of Lao Maozi in the 1960s and 1970s.
China needs to purchase advanced diesel-electric submarines and the flounder they produce! (The Kilo-class is the NATO code name, and Lao Maozi calls it Flounder.)
So, their base price is US$200 million per vessel, but now, this price cannot be raised.
He believed that these people in front of him would really leave. Mr. Qin would never be vague. From the very beginning, Mr. Qin had been playing against him. This conflict was getting bigger and bigger. If Qin Tao and the others left, what would happen to this person? The responsibility for the failure of this transaction must be Grishen's.
What did Grishin do? It was just a few words. Did the other party need such a big reaction?
The other party is clearly deliberately creating tension and provoking conflicts. In this way, if the transaction fails, Grishin will be held responsible!
People here will hate Grishen to death. The look in Lapilov's eyes has told him that if this deal blows up, he will be in a lot of trouble in the future.
Needless to say, he was sapling behind the scenes. Just having Zapilov go to Moscow to make a fuss could make Grishin feel uncomfortable. Grishin deliberately raised the price because he wanted to ask for benefits because the Chinese refused to give them. He benefited, so a good deal fell through!
As this matter continues to ferment, the heads of other military-industrial enterprises will also follow suit. By then, Grishin will probably lose his job.
He is not afraid of losing his job, but in this position, he can protect the interests of the country, so he still cherishes it.
In this way, Grishin could only give in and sell these two submarines to the Chinese for US$100 million each.
Grishin was frustrated and did not attend the banquet at all. Since the price had been negotiated anyway, he had nothing to do with him. He went back to sulk.
This dinner was a great time for everyone.
"This Damao Arms Export Corporation is just looking for trouble." Qin Tao complained: "Especially this Grishin is a guy who goes back on his word. Last time we purchased Su-27 fighter jets, we had already agreed. , they had to intervene. As a result, the transaction was delayed by half a year!"
“Yes, that’s right, all of us are dissatisfied with them, but there is nothing we can do about it. After all, they hold the power.” Rapilov said.
“Director Zapilov, thank you for your support today, cheers!” Qin Tao raised his glass.
“This is what I should do.”
With a glass of wine in his stomach, Lapilov became even more happy: "This time you were able to buy the submarine and help us solve a big problem!"
“Yes, but have you ever thought about what you will do in the future?” Qin Tao asked.
“In the future? Of course it will be the same as now. Aren’t you still going to order new Type 636 submarines?”
Qin Tao shook his head.
Taplov's expression gradually became serious: "Are you saying that we have offended Grishin this time, so it is impossible to get subsequent orders?"
This guy is indeed smart enough.
"Now these two ships are on your slipway, so Moscow can't interfere. However, if we place an order later, it will be a new production. After all, Kilo-class submarines can be produced in Damao's country. , you are not the only one. And, as far as I know, the shipyard in St. Petersburg has a greater advantage. "
"Yes, the Admiralty Shipyard has the best relationship with Moscow. If there are new orders, even the Amur Shipyard can't compete with them. The benefits will definitely go to St. Petersburg!" Lapilov was unwilling, but , and he had no other choice.
Their shipyard standing on the Volga River has no way to compare with those shipyards on the seaside, and they don't have very good interpersonal relationships. Although the previous factory director went to Moscow to get involved in politics, it seems that he has not become famous yet.
What will they do next?
Qin Tao did not fool them. After all, in the later period, even the Navy Department Shipyard was no longer qualified. Only one shipyard in Severodvinsk was still building nuclear submarines. The rest would go wherever they could find a cool place. They were like this What chance does a river shipyard have?
In fact, Rapilov also had a premonition of this, but he did not expect that this day would come soon.
"Mr. Qin, please give me some advice." Rapilov spoke.
"The order for these two submarines will allow you to obtain a sum of funds. To use this fund, you must transform." Qin Tao said: "There is no way that your shipyard can compare with those shipyards along the coast. You should play to your strengths.”
“What are our strengths?”
“Yes, Nizhny Novgorod was originally an industrial city, and you not only produced ships, but also built tanks during World War II.” Qin Tao said: “I think you should play to your strengths.”
“What are our strengths?”
“Yeah, think about it, what are your strengths?”
“Our strength is shipbuilding. Are you asking us to build tanks?”
“You can manufacture railway locomotives, rails, etc., but you can’t give up shipbuilding. I think you should give full play to your advantages and mainly manufacture ships for inland waterways and coastal navigation in the future.”
If he deceives them and emasculates his own shipbuilding ability, it will probably be too much, and Qin Tao can only continue to follow the other party's ideas.
“Inland river? Coastal?”
"Yes." Qin Tao continued to deceive: "You, Damao, have a fairly developed inland water transportation system, and the Volga River is the backbone of it. After the establishment of the Red Empire, a large number of dredging projects were carried out, forming a joint deep-water transport system in Europe. System (EGTS)…”
"I know, but these projects are to make it easier for the warships we build to travel. For example, in our 112th Factory, the nuclear submarines built before can be directly transported by ship to other sea areas, such as the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, and even the Bering Sea in the east. no problem."
Hearing what Rapilov said, Qin Tao was a little speechless. He said it very clearly, but he didn't seem to understand?
"We are not talking about military projects, now we are talking about civilian projects." Qin Tao said: "Here in Damao, by taking a river cruise, you can visit all the big cities in Damao in Europe." Qin Tao said: "For example, It is said that you can take a boat from Nizhny Novgorod to Saratov and Volgograd in the south, and to Moscow or even St. Petersburg in the north. You can go around in a circle, enjoy the scenery along the coast, and create a sense of wonder. How about a leisurely and slow life?"
Taplov's eyes slowly brightened.
They were originally building submarines, so their minds have not been able to change. Now that Moscow has established that arms export company, they are destined to be unable to win orders. What are they going to do next?
Build a specialized river cruise ship!
"As far as I know, almost all the various inland river ships that have been put into operation here in the past few decades were built by shipyards in East Germany, the Czech Republic and other countries. There is no domestic shipyard involved in the construction of these ships, so , as long as you take the lead in entering this market, you will definitely be an instant hit, and from now on, you can develop and grow by building inland river ships!"
“Yes, Mr. Qin, you have said too much. Thank you so much for giving us such valuable advice.”
"These are all what I should do." Qin Tao was also very polite: "In this way, a lot of your current construction equipment will be useless. If you want to make room, I can help you get the extra equipment." Take, for example, something like a plate bending machine that can only be used to produce submarines.”
Xu Zhengyang on the side silently accompanied Qin Tao, but he was filled with emotion in his heart.
Mr. Qin went around in a big circle and finally talked about the real purpose: why there will be no submarine orders in the future, and what to help the other party find a way out. These are secondary, the most important thing is the production equipment here!
It not only produces Type 877 diesel-electric submarines, but also produces other submarines, such as the earliest Type 670, Type 671, Type 945, Type 641, etc. Therefore, the plate bending machine of this shipyard can not only The Type 877 submarine that can roll up to 3,000 tons can also roll up a nuclear submarine with a displacement of 8,000 to 9,000 tons!
I guess this is the real purpose of Mr. Qin’s visit, to talk to the Navy about Kilo-class submarines, which is just a sideshow.
Although I have had contact with the Sanxing Company in the South Pickle Country, the other party is unreliable after all. Who knows what trouble will happen, and it is easiest to succeed with Lao Maozi.
Now, Qin Tao has set out the conditions, it depends on what the other party says.
For Rapilov, although the prospect mentioned by Qin Tao is not optimistic, if he sells all the things for building submarines because of Qin Tao's words, it would be a waste of money.
So, he did not make a decision immediately, he was just hesitating how to refuse. At this moment, another man came over with a wine glass.
“What are you talking about? You look so happy.”
"Ravkovsky? Come, let me introduce it to you." Lapilov took this opportunity to change the subject: "Qin, this is the chief designer of our 112 Design Bureau. Under his hands, the Developed advanced submarines one after another.”
Qin Tao looked at the new face in front of him with a smile on his face: "Mr. Lavkovsky, I am very happy to meet you. You are the best submarine designer in Damao! Our domestic 033 submarine is the same as yours." A big connection.”
When mentioning Lao Maozi’s submarine design bureau, the first thing that comes to mind is the Ruby Design Bureau. After all, this design bureau designed a series of advanced submarines. In the Red Empire era, two-thirds of the submarines were designed by them.
Slightly inferior is the Malachite Design Bureau, the most famous nuclear-powered submarine design bureau of this design bureau. Lao Maozi's first nuclear-powered submarine and the first titanium alloy submarine were all designed from this design bureau. .
As for lapis lazuli? It seems that there is no name at all.
There is nothing we can do about it. The code name of this Celestite Central Design Bureau is 112, which is the same as the code name of the red Solmovo Shipyard. This is because this design bureau was originally the design department of the shipyard. Later, it was transferred from the Malachite Design Bureau. Some people were diverted to form this design bureau.
The design bureau is of course also in Nizhny Novgorod, together with the shipyard. The products designed by their design bureau are also directly handed over to the Red Solmovo Shipyard for manufacturing.
It can be said that these are a pair of brothers who are incompatible with each other. Their combination is incomparable to that of St. Petersburg.
Although the Celestite Design Bureau is not well-known, it has a very deep connection with the East. After the establishment of this design bureau, its first work was the Type 633 conventionally powered torpedo attack submarine (NATO codename Romeo class, referred to as R class) . Only 22 of these submarines were built by Lao Maozi, and then they began to be exported, such as 6 to Egypt, 2 each to Bulgaria, Algeria and Syria. In 1959, manufacturing was transferred to China with the "February 4th Agreement", and the domestic name It is type 033.
In the following decades, the motherland's underwater waters were guarded by such backward submarines. Although the Type 035 submarine was later developed, it was still improved on the basis of the former.
With the advent of the nuclear power era, countries have different choices. For example, the United States has eliminated all conventional diesel-electric submarines and entered the nuclear power era. Although Lao Maozi has both, there is no doubt that nuclear-powered submarines are the best choice. most famous.
As for nuclear-powered submarines, the products of Celestite Design Bureau are very rare.
Their first mass-produced submarine was the Type 670 nuclear-powered flying missile nuclear submarine (NATO codename Charlie class, referred to as C class). A total of 11 ships were produced between 1964 and 1972, and then between 1974 and 1979. Six improved Type 670Ms were built.
Compared with other design bureaus, this number is really pitiful.
In these years, the Celestite Design Bureau has of course been working hard and designed advanced submarines one after another. However, all of them have failed without exception. Other design bureaus have made great progress, and the Celestite Design Bureau cannot stand still. They Holding back the ultimate move!
With the emergence of the Los Angeles-class attack nuclear submarine, Lao Maozi was greatly stimulated. They proposed a strategic technical mission statement for the development of a new multi-purpose nuclear submarine, with very high technical indicators. For example, the diving depth is 1.5 times greater than that of the second-generation nuclear submarine; it must be equipped with the latest torpedoes and missile weapons; its silent performance must be better, etc.
The Celestite Design Bureau faced the difficulties and made various innovations, especially overcoming the technical difficulties of welding large-size and thick-thick titanium alloy materials. It took ten years to complete the development of the Type 945 nuclear submarine.
The biggest feature of this kind of nuclear submarine is the diving depth, which can reach a depth of 900 meters. Not to mention the submarines of Western countries, even the opponent's anti-submarine weapons, such as torpedoes, cannot adapt to this depth. In other words, If they were discovered by the West in the ocean, they would just drill into the deep sea, and the Westerners would just stare without any countermeasures.
However, like other submarines, its number is small. Type 945 and the improved Type 945A will build two units each, for a total of four units.
After the collapse of the Red Empire, the Celestite Design Bureau never produced any products again.
They should be relatively lonely now, right? Thinking of this, Qin Tao already had a new plan in mind.
At this time, after hearing Qin Tao's words, Lavkovsky's face showed pride: "Yes, our design bureau is the best, and the products we design are unique."
Although the Celestite Design Bureau does not have many products, each of their products is cross-generational, has a transitional nature, and can solve the urgent needs of the Red Empire. This is also their pride. .
“So, do you have any new works now?” Qin Tao asked: “I am very interested in your submarines.”
This sentence stopped the other party from asking, what new product is it? How many years has their design bureau not paid wages? In order to save themselves, the product they recently designed is a front-loading washing machine!
Lavkovsky blushed.
"I'm sorry, I offended you. This brand-new submarine must be your biggest secret." Qin Tao said, "I shouldn't make things difficult for you."
Ravkovsky finally got rid of the embarrassment. He nodded slightly: "Yes, advanced submarines are kept secret."
"So, can you tell us about the previous submarines?" Qin Tao said: "For example, was your Type 945 submarine that set a diving record designed by you? This submarine is still under construction. Is it? We didn’t see it on the slipway today.”
This time it was Rapilov's turn to be embarrassed.
"We also have a completely closed submarine production workshop here." Lapilov said: "The Type 945 nuclear submarine is produced there. However, all submarines have been assembled. The one that started construction in 1990 is being Being dismantled.”
Speaking of the 945 submarine, what the outside world knows is that the 945 and 945A, especially the K-276 submarine, directly collided with the Yankee's Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine "Baton Rouge" underwater and scrapped it, while he was only slightly injured. The fact that it returned to service after only a few months of repair is very talkative.
Few people know that there is actually Type 945АB. The performance of this improved version is close to the level of the fourth-generation nuclear submarine. The construction of the first submarine, K-123, started in March 1990. However, in that chaotic era and the subsequent Maoist era, it could not be completed. This submarine was decided to stop construction and dismantle by Moscow in 1993.
At this time, Qin Tao's heart beat violently after hearing Rapilov's words.
Although Lao Maozi has a large number of nuclear submarines, some of which are made of titanium alloy, the highest achievement of titanium alloy submarines is the Type 945! Now, since we have encountered such a good opportunity, how can we not seize it?
“Since the submarine has been dismantled, you should be able to handle the dismantled scrap metal yourself, right?” Qin Tao said to Lapilov.
Rapilov nodded: "Yes, the dismantling work has just begun. Although the superiors have not said anything, according to usual practice, our shipyard can handle it. However, those are not scrap iron, but titanium alloy."
“It’s scrap titanium alloy.” Qin Tao lowered his voice: “I think it’s worth three hundred dollars a ton.”
Three hundred dollars a ton? Thirty thousand dollars is not much!
Three hundred US dollars is just the price of high-strength steel for an aircraft carrier, and it is absolutely impossible to compare with the titanium alloy of a nuclear submarine.
At this time, Rapilov was very dissatisfied, but Qin Tao's next words made his heart beat violently.
“If we can purchase those scrap titanium alloys, you will be paid three million U.S. dollars.”
Three million US dollars, this is something Rapilov would never dare to imagine. He can get huge benefits as long as he nods.
A Type 945 nuclear submarine uses more than 600 tons of titanium alloy. If these titanium alloys are sold at 300 US dollars per ton, it would be 10,000 to 20,000 US dollars. However, Lapilov could get 3 million US dollars!
(The exact amount used has not been found. There are various theories. Some say that the Soviet Union consumed half of the country’s titanium alloy production, which is 1,200 tons. Some say that the inner and outer outer shells are made of titanium alloy. The inside is a pressure-resistant shell, which must be made of titanium alloy, but the outside is also made of titanium alloy? How luxurious is this? So, East China Heroes set it to more than 600 tons with only an internal pressure-resistant shell. After all, this thing is light. !)
Although it is much more expensive than the titanium alloy submarine I bought last time, this is a brand-new nuclear submarine that was only started in 1990, and the titanium alloy used on it is also the most advanced.
The price of three million US dollars made Rapilov excited. However, the people present at this time were not only him, but also Lavkovsky!
Is this appropriate?
After Qin Tao and Lapilov finished talking, they looked at Lavkovsky again: "Mr. Lavkovsky, we need all the processing technology for these titanium alloys. I think it is worth three million US dollars." .”
The benefits are shared equally. Although Zapilov’s three million belongs to him and Lavkovsky’s three million belongs to the design bureau, since he is the head of the design bureau, then this money also belongs to him. .
However, Lavkovsky was not shocked by the huge surprise. He looked at Qin Tao with a meaningful look in his eyes: "Excuse me, what do you want these for? Do you want to build a titanium alloy submarine?"
(End of this chapter)