Chapter 509 Faircon
The Falcon early warning aircraft is an early warning aircraft jointly developed by David Aircraft Company and its subsidiary ELLA Company in the late 1980s. The aircraft is a modified Boeing 707 transport aircraft. Phalcon's English name is the abbreviation of PhasedArrayL-bandConformalRadar, the radar carried by the aircraft.
This system was designed in 1987. In the development of active phased array radar, David was also at the forefront. They directly modified a Boeing 707. Of course, this work is long and has been In May 1993, this advanced airborne early warning aircraft, whose performance far exceeded that of the E-2C and E-3A, finally made its first flight.
Developing such a system must be expensive. Therefore, after the David Kingdom completed it, they hoped to sell it as soon as possible and sell it for money. This was also an inevitable choice for military research and development. Only by selling it and making money can they continue to invest. Funds for research and development.
Across the world, many people have this need, but few have the financial resources.
The economy in the East has developed, so you can still purchase Falcon with grit. After all, modern warfare cannot be without the support of early warning aircraft.
The two parties are no longer cooperating. Mr. Wang and others have been here several times and have seen the Falcon early warning aircraft. Now they mainly accompany Qin Tao.
Qin Tao is in high spirits.
"Actually, it is most suitable to modify it with a passenger plane. Unfortunately, we can't. Once we have our own large passenger plane in the future, everything will be easier." Qin Tao looked at the portholes on both sides of the Falcon early warning aircraft and couldn't help but sigh. One sentence.
To modify an early warning aircraft, a large aircraft is required as a platform. Western countries generally choose passenger aircraft for improvement.
As an evergreen tree of international passenger aircraft, the Boeing 707 has also undergone a large number of modifications. Whether it is an early warning aircraft, a tanker, or an electronic warfare aircraft, it all has the shadow of Boeing.
However, Dongfang cannot be used.
Eastern Airlines has a large number of passenger aircraft, but they are all for civilian use. There was an agreement when they were introduced and they must not be used for military purposes. Therefore, the first problem when building early warning aircraft domestically is the lack of suitable modification platforms.
"Our Falcon system uses a Boeing 707 airliner, which is the same as the E-3, but it has an advanced radar system. A total of six L-band phased array radars are installed on it, which can not only detect the aircraft, but also It can also detect small targets such as cruise missiles. For targets the size of fighter jets, the search distance is close to 400 kilometers, and it can also handle hundreds of targets at the same time."
Katz introduced it to everyone.
In fact, everyone already knows these data, but I mainly want to introduce them to Qin Tao.
Katz didn't know why Qin Tao came here among the Eastern Early Warning Aircraft's inspection group, but he knew that Qin Tao had great energy and must do a good job in reception.
“Yes, it is indeed good, but this installation method will create a certain blind spot at the tail of the aircraft, right?” Qin Tao asked.
“This blind spot is very small. Compared to the Swedish balance beam, our blind spot is almost negligible,” Katz said.
The David Kingdom is not the only one that develops active phased array radar early warning aircraft, but the David Kingdom was the first to develop it, and it is a large-scale strategic early warning aircraft.
Sweden is also a major country in the military industry. The early warning aircraft they built have unique characteristics: a "wood" is supported on the top of the medium-sized aircraft. This shape can also reduce the resistance during flight. However, the 60-degree front and rear are blind spots. , flying the S route to reduce blind spots, this design can be considered unique.
“We don’t compare with the balance beam, we need to compare with the E-3.” Qin Tao said: “The design of this aircraft cannot satisfy us. We need to have an early warning aircraft with a large plate on the top.”
Katz frowned.
The two parties have been in contact several times. The David Aircraft Company has told Dongfang the detailed data. This time Dongfang came here to sign the contract. Who would have thought that such a change would occur?
"Mr. Lin, what do you think?" Qin Tao looked at Mr. Lin, who had been silent.
“Is this big plate important?” Mr. Lin asked.
“Of course it’s important, hasn’t your Air Force done any research?” The two began to sing a double act.
“We have done research, but since Falcon has made the layout in front of us, maybe…”
"That's because the national conditions are different." Qin Tao said: "Look at the land area of the Kingdom of David and how much land area we have? During the war, the early warning aircraft of the Kingdom of David can fly directly over their territory, **** Facing a safe place, or even flying to the sea, we can monitor the movement of the target. What about us? Our country is so vast, we must have an early warning aircraft that can perfectly cover the entire airspace. There cannot be any blind spots, otherwise there will be a war. At this moment, the opponent will fly from behind us and attack us, and our precious early warning aircraft will be destroyed!"
Mr. Lin thought about it carefully, and then nodded seriously: "Yes, we must not make this kind of mistake, Mr. Katz, we need an early warning aircraft with a large plate!"
Katz’s face looked ugly.
"It's getting late. Let's meet again tomorrow to discuss the order." Mr. Lin said.
Order!
This news made Katz very excited, but the way he asked for a big plate made Katz really embarrassed.
The visitors from the East went to the hotel to rest, and Katz reported to the company leaders and relevant experts in the company's conference room.
"How is this possible?" Radar engineer Omri Afiq immediately objected: "We have no relevant development experience at all. Only the United States and Da Mao have it. Moreover, after the collapse of the Red Empire, Da Mao also lost this ability. There is no way we can order radomes from the United States for them to use!”
Why do they want to build an early warning aircraft with a big nose and big cheeks? Isn't it because they themselves are too timid about the research and development of that kind of radome and simply use the characteristics of phased array radar to simplify the design? Now, the Orientals actually want a big deal?
They can make the radar antenna on the inside, but not the radome on the outside.
Don’t underestimate such a radome. After the electromagnetic wave passes through the radome, it must be completely and evenly scanned 360 degrees, and its thickness must gradually change according to different electromagnetic waves. At the same time, the wind resistance, pressure resistance, and loss rate of the entire radome must also be designed according to the highest standards. This thing is not so easy to make, and it is much more difficult than the radome of a fighter jet!
“Even if we can make a radome, it is impossible to solve the matching problem between the airframe and the radome. That big plate will cause huge aerodynamic problems.” Another person said.
With the addition of a large plate, the aircraft must be modified. Otherwise, the maneuverability will be seriously reduced, and even threaten the safety of the aircraft itself!
Their IAI company does not have that capability.
"I think the relevant work will be left to the Easterners. We are only responsible for installing the equipment!" Finally, Boaz, the head of the Davidic Aircraft Company, spoke.
“Easterners, can they solve it?”
Afik is a little worried: "What if they can't solve the problem and then stop cooperating with us? This is a contract worth hundreds of millions!"
“They have no choice but to cooperate with us. After all, they do not have the ability to develop early warning aircraft. Looking at the world, only we can provide them with qualified early warning aircraft radar equipment.” Boaz said.
This is indeed true. There are few countries in the world that can independently develop early warning aircraft. Even the United Kingdom has given up its own research and purchased E-3 early warning aircraft directly from the United States.
Orientals have no other choice!
“If we put the radar antenna into a large dish, we still need to modify the software, but this technical difficulty is not very difficult.” Afiq said: “We are confident that it can be completed within three years.”
“Four years, we have to leave enough time to avoid default,” Boaz said.
Everyone nodded.
In this world, the shrewdest businessman is of course David. They will never make any mistakes in business, and this business is the same.
“That Mr. Qin is very powerful and always likes to deceive others. We must be more careful in our negotiations with them,” Boaz continued.
“A sneeze!” Qin Tao sneezed.
“This season is really not suitable for coming to the beach.”
This was Qin Tao's first time to the Kingdom of David, and the Air Force provided travel expenses, so he was not polite. Of course, he wanted to walk around, especially the beach.
The seaside here is also a very famous tourist destination, and there will be many boldly dressed women to feast your eyes on. Who would have thought that this is the wrong time of year.
Although this place has a Mediterranean climate, it is still winter after all, and the outside temperature is only a dozen degrees, so no one comes here to show off their bikinis. The beach is deserted, except for a few soldiers with live ammunition. can not see.
The sunset shines on the beach, and the scenery is quite nice.
“Yes, Mr. Qin, let’s go back.” Xu Zhengyang said to Qin Tao, “This is not suitable for you.”
Qin Tao nodded: "Okay, let's not cause trouble for the security personnel. It's true that Mossad didn't send an agent to get close to me. It's boring."
Xu Zhengyang was speechless for a while. Everyone is worried about your safety. Unexpectedly, you actually want to use yourself as bait to catch a Mossad agent? Aren't you looking for trouble?
“However, they will definitely install a bugging device in our residence, so that’s good, let’s lay the groundwork first.”
the next day.
"After careful study, we believe that the early warning aircraft plan proposed by you will significantly increase our development time. In order to ensure our research and development progress, we suggest that the modification of the airframe be carried out by you and you will be responsible for it. Installing the radome and backup generators, cooling systems, etc., the radar equipment is installed by us.”
"If that's the case, I hope you can lower the price." Mr. Lin said: "According to the previous modification plan, you gave a quotation of 250 million US dollars. Now that the modification of the airframe is left to us, , can the modification cost be reduced to 200 million?"
The Falcon that was inspected before had a big nose and big cheeks, and the David Aircraft Company could directly modify it. Now that it is required to be a large-scale model, the modification unit has also changed, and of course the price has to change accordingly.
“We can reduce it by one million dollars, and those modifications don’t cost much at all. What we sell are mainly the most advanced active phased array radar systems in the world, and these are the most critical.” Katz said.
“It doesn’t cost much to modify it? Then we won’t bother. We can just fly the IL-76 over and you can modify it.” Qin Tao said: “We don’t have to do our own research just to save a million dollars.”
“But this will extend our construction period.”
"How much can it be extended? Can half a year be enough? A simple radome, half a year is enough?" Qin Tao said: "We can afford to wait."
The person on the other side stopped talking.
Katz's mind was thinking rapidly. Does the other party want to use this argument to bargain, or does it have other ideas?
At this moment, a clerk walked in hurriedly and said a few words in Kaz's ear.
Katz's face suddenly changed. He looked at the person opposite and forced a smile: "Everyone, let's put the price aside for now and talk about it later. Now, let's ask our radar expert, Mr. Afiq, to I would like to introduce to you the revised radar layout plan and the layout of the internal electronic equipment. I have something to do and will leave temporarily."
“Mr. Katz, please.” Mr. Lin said with a smile.
Next, Afiq introduced the radar and equipment. He introduced it in detail, and everyone present listened carefully. After all, this is the first time for Mr. Wang and others to develop a modern early warning aircraft. Now through this project, it is very important to contact experts who have already developed a mature early warning aircraft.
In another room, Kaz met Boaz.
“Now, the other party is insisting on changing the design and asking us to lower the price.” Katz said: “Mr. Boaz, is there any inside story about this matter?”
As the head of the Great Patriotic Aircraft Company, Boaz did not plan to show up at the beginning. He used the excuse of being abroad and did not meet with the Easterners. He waited until the talks were almost complete before coming out, so that if the talks fell apart, there would be room for change. .
Now, the subordinate was called over urgently during the negotiation. It was obvious that there were other important matters.
Boaz nodded: "The Mossad just gave me a recording. You should also listen to it."
Recording?
Katz’s face was serious and he nodded. As a receptionist, he could understand Eastern dialect directly and did not need an interpreter.
“Mr. Lin, Mr. Wang, their early warning aircraft sound very powerful, but in fact, they are not reliable at all without being tested in war.”
“In this world, the United States has the most advanced early warning aircraft technology, and the second one is Da Mao. Da Mao currently has dozens of A-50 early warning aircraft on hand. We should purchase them from Da Mao!”
When he heard this, Kaz immediately understood: "This Mr. Qin has the best relationship with Lao Maozi! He comes here to disrupt our business!"
Qin Tao is also well-known. He has done many major things. Of course, people from the David Aircraft Company are also aware of Qin Tao. Last night, Katz studied Qin Tao's information in detail.
It is easy to get information: Qin Tao has a very good relationship with Lao Maozi. From the chief officer of the Pacific Fleet in the Far East, to the big bosses in Moscow, to the design bureaus in St. Petersburg, the Northern Fleet, etc., they all have a close relationship with Qin Tao. .
So, if we could put a label on Qin Tao, it would be Lao Maozi’s spokesperson.
Dongfang purchased a lot of weapons and equipment from Lao Maozi. In terms of navy, from the modern class to the Kilo class, and later to the Glorious class, Qin Tao was active in it.
So, if there is an arms business, Qin Tao will definitely want to win over Lao Maozi, so that he can also make a fortune. The development of Mingzhou Group is inseparable from Qin Tao's role as an arms dealer.
This time, the Eastern Air Force was coming to the Kingdom of David to purchase Falcon early warning aircraft. After Qin Tao learned about it, he wanted to mess up the deal and then purchase it with Lao Maozi. In this way, Qin Tao could continue to make money from it. .
Too much, too much!
Not only interfering in naval projects, but also in air force projects.
Since yesterday, I started to mention the radar layout of the disk, and I am laying the groundwork!
"We have inspected Lao Maozi's early warning aircraft, but the technology is backward. There is no comparison with the Davidian Falcon." This voice belongs to Mr. Wang, this old expert has always been the technical leader.
"The technology is lagging behind. That's because Lao Maozi's electronic skills are too poor." Qin Tao's voice continued: "They have also realized the backwardness of the electronic system, so they plan to upgrade. This is a good opportunity. We can definitely order it. The upgraded versions they upgrade can also be upgraded together with Lao Maozi’s experts, so that you can also learn experience.”
"Upgrade? Are they going to upgrade the early warning aircraft?" Mr. Lin's voice was filled with excitement.
"Yes, they plan to upgrade the A-50 to the A-50U, and the radar has also been improved to the Bumblebee-M. Its performance is very powerful, with a detection range of up to 650 kilometers for high-altitude bombers and transport aircraft, and a detection range of high-altitude and low-altitude fighter jets respectively. It is 300 kilometers and 230 kilometers away, and can detect cruise missiles with a radar cross-section area of 1 square meter at a distance of 215 kilometers. In the past, it could only track fifty targets at the same time, but now, after improvements, it can track 140 targets at the same time. After we installed our own data link system, we were able to guide dozens of fighter jets into combat at the same time without any problems."
“This is obviously bragging!” Katz said angrily.
I originally thought that Qin Tao came here to deceive the people of David, but I didn’t expect that Qin Tao came to deceive their own people!
"And the most important thing is that it's cheap." Qin Tao's voice continued: "Da Mao's A-50U only costs 200 million US dollars to buy the whole set. What about David's? Just the radar equipment costs us two points. Five hundred million! We cannot let these businessmen make money from the money our Air Force digs out from between its teeth!"
Katz gritted his teeth with hatred and really wanted to ask Mossad to kill Qin Tao.
"Yes, it is a bit expensive." Mr. Lin said: "Tomorrow, we will bargain with David. If it can be reduced to 200 million US dollars, we can still consider it. If it exceeds 200 million US dollars, we will go Let’s check it out at Damao. Even if we improve and upgrade it, it will still be cheaper than purchasing it from the Davidians.”
Twenty million, the other party’s psychological price is 200 million!
"If the other party is willing to lower the price to 200 million, we can purchase three sets." Mr. Wang said.
Although the price is low, the other party wants a lot. Three sets is quite a lot. At this time, Kaz already has a comparison in his mind.
At this time, the sneers continued.
“Everyone, you have to think about it. Doing business with the Davids is risky. What if their father decides not to sell to us?”
Daddy has spoken?
This sentence is too unpleasant to say! Kaz clenched his fists: "Damn it, he actually slandered us like this just to help Da Mao sell planes!"
“Kazi, don’t get excited.” Boaz said: “Now is not the time to complain. If we want to do this business, we must find a solution to reassure the Easterners.”
Katz nodded.
Half an hour later.
"I'm sorry, I'm very sorry, I'm back." Kaz had a smile on his face and looked towards Qin Tao with sharp eyes.
Qin Tao had a smile on his face: "Mr. Kaz, we came all the way here, and your boss didn't come to greet you. You also left during negotiations. This really doesn't take us seriously. Mr. Lin, Wang Lao, I think we’d better stop talking and let’s go!”
"No, no, no." Kaz shook his head: "Our boss is abroad and can't come back for the time being. I just went to apply with the boss. Everyone, our boss has already agreed and is willing to pay the US$200 million you mentioned. Of course, the premise is that the radome and airframe are all settled by you, and we are only responsible for the installation of the internal equipment."
Mr. Lin's face showed joy: "If it costs 200 million US dollars, we can buy three..."
"Mr. Lin, why are you in such a hurry? This kind of contract must be carefully considered. Arms procurement is not just about spending money, but there are also many political factors involved." Qin Tao continued to add fuel to the fire.
“Everyone, in order to reassure you, we are willing to add clauses to the contract. If we cannot complete the modification of the early warning aircraft on time, or even fail to deliver it due to an accident, we are willing to compensate you for your losses.”
Katz said while looking at Qin Tao.
"Huh, what's the point of compensating for losses? What's the point of compensating millions or tens of millions? Our Air Force can't afford to wait, Mr. Lin! For our military purchases, we must choose reliable suppliers, and we will not be subject to any harassment. Make things difficult.”
If it were anyone else who dared to say this here, he would probably have been beaten out by now. Even if Qin Tao had status, his words would still make everyone present feel dissatisfied.
"We have decided to compensate you for your losses according to the contract amount." Katz said: "If you buy three aircraft, the contract amount is 600 million. If something happens, we are willing to return the advance payment and compensate you 600 million more. Dollar!"
Compensation of the same price!
This is the confidence, this is the reassurance!
This was a decision jointly made by Katz and Boaz after discussion. They used high compensation to prove their sincerity and tie the hearts of the Easterners.
Sure enough, after he finished speaking, he saw Qin Tao's face turned pale.
"Mr. Qin, are we sincere enough?" Kaz said with a bit of pride.
(End of this chapter)