Chapter 773 Amphibious assault ships are more suitable than aircraft carriers
Next, the people who are most stimulated should be the Weeping Country. They should come to carry out a package of projects, right?
Qin Tao was expecting the Weeping Country to take the bait, but unexpectedly, another country came over first.
Americo, the swarthy Guinea Navy representative, showed his big white teeth: "President Qin, I am very happy to meet you. I heard about your package project for a weak country and strong army. We are very interested in it and hope that we can cooperate happily."
“Mr. Américo, you have abundant oil resources. Normally, you don’t need to take this route and can just purchase them directly, right?” Qin Tao asked curiously.
Guinea is located on the west coast of Africa. The name of this country means the country of black people. It was originally a very poor and backward country, but it is one of the least developed countries announced by the United Nations. The economy is dominated by agriculture and mining, with a weak industrial foundation. We cannot be self-sufficient in food. Bauxite, coffee, cocoa and rubber are the main pillars of the economy, but the scale of commercial crop development is small. Guinea relies entirely on imports for the vast majority of consumer goods.
However, in the past few years, this country has undergone earth-shaking changes. In 1996, oil fields were discovered in this country's territorial waters, and they could finally get rich from oil!
Since 1997, their average annual GDP growth rate has exceeded 40%! Now, they have become the third largest oil and gas exporter in West Africa. Moreover, their country only has a population of 1.3 million, which makes their per capita income exceed US$22,000, which would be the envy of Western European countries.
"Oil? We do have oil wealth, but this wealth is not ours." Americo said: "We don't have to be greedy. Fortunately, we have other wealth in the country. We are rich in mineral resources. Mr. Qin, you should know these things."
Africa is poor and backward, and the only developed country has regressed into a developing country. However, Africa is very rich in resources.
For example, they have the world's largest high-alumina bauxite deposits, with bauxite reserves exceeding 40 billion tons, accounting for more than one-third of the world's total reserves. They are also very rich in iron ore resources, with reserves estimated to be around 20 billion tons. In particular, these iron ore are of high grade.
However, these are not mined very much. For Guinea, like the Rainbow Country, they are famous for their diamonds. They have huge diamond reserves, with 30 to 40 million carats of diamonds that have been proven, and the potential reserves are five times higher. billion carats.
In addition to these, they also have gold, copper, uranium, cobalt, lead, zinc, etc. It can be said that they are very rich in resources. Unfortunately, they have no good leaders in the country and their good cards are poorly played. Just look at oil. Except for a few families The benefits gained were not lost on ordinary people.
As for Guinea’s navy, it is also very backward. According to many media, the navy only has a few hundred people. However, if you look at the ships they own, this number is not enough. There are still thousands of people, but they Still lagging behind.
Now, the Guinean Navy also wants to replace shotguns with cannons.
"Now, we have oil resources, and they are all at sea. If we want to protect our oil resources, we must have enough force. Therefore, we want to build a modern naval force, with aircraft carrier formations as the core. Core!" Americo said.
"Okay, we will do our best to meet your requirements. Now, you can talk to our design department first to determine what configuration of warships you need. Once the negotiation is completed, we will discuss your requirements. Mineral mining issues." Qin Tao said: "I will ask the most professional designers to connect with you."
So, the guests were sent away, and Zhao Ling looked at these people with worry in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Qin Tao looked at his wife: "Are you worried?"
“In West Africa, the most powerful navy is the Nigerian Navy. They only have a few frigates. Now, Guinea’s navy actually wants an aircraft carrier.” Zhao Ling said: “There is a problem here.”
“Of course there is a problem, this black uncle wants to be a warlord.” Qin Tao said.
What?
Zhao Ling was even more worried: "Then if we do this, aren't we helping the bad guys?"
"Xiaoling, you are so old, why are you still so naive? In this world, there is nothing black and white. For us, who is the boss there, what does it have to do with us? As long as we get the Isn’t it enough that we can develop our own mineral resources?”
Our own side has done a very good job. Look at those arms dealers who specialize in instigating a war between the two forces, and then sell the arms and earn mineral resources. They are nakedly robbing them! In a place like Guinea that produces diamonds, I don’t know how many warlords there have been.
This Americo is not the first, nor the last. How can he control so much?
“But, some people will throw dirty water on us.” Zhao Ling said.
"If we don't do this, it seems that no one will throw dirty water on us." Qin Tao said: "Now, we are doing business with the other party's official personnel, everything is logical, and we don't know if the other party wants to make trouble. . At worst, we will sell weapons to others."
Zhao Ling stopped talking. She knew that what Qin Tao said made sense. This was the case in the arms business.
"However, if they want to have an aircraft carrier, how many minerals will they get?" Zhao Ling thought of other questions: "Their oil wealth has been divided up, and their domestic diamonds and gold must also be divided up. If we want minerals, All that’s left is iron ore.”
"Iron ore is not bad." Qin Tao said: "There is no force to develop iron ore yet, so let's be the first one. We can be more at home there, and there is their bauxite. We can also develop it.”
“Brother Tao, we already have a lot of iron ore. If we continue to expand imports like this, will we not be able to use it anymore?” Zhao Ling asked.
"Can't use it? I'm just worried that it won't be enough in the future, and the Kangaroo Kingdom will take advantage of it again." Qin Tao said: "We don't have too much of this stuff. Our Mingzhou Group has plenty of money. At worst, we will build a mountain of ore in the future. "
How old is it now? In the future, the demand for iron ore will be ten times what it is now! Qin Tao knows this, so he will lay out the layout now.
Zhao Ling nodded, she listened to Qin Tao.
Over there, Yang Dawei personally received Americo.
“Let’s talk about the aircraft carrier first. What kind of aircraft carrier do you need? What is its displacement and the number of aircraft it can carry?”
“We don’t understand this very well, so let’s listen to your introduction first.” Americo said.
“Judging from the environment around you, I think it is enough for you to have an aircraft carrier with a displacement of more than 30,000 tons, which can be the same size as the one in the football country..."
“Can this aircraft carrier carry marines?” Americo asked: “For example, amphibious tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment?”
Amphibious tanks mounted on aircraft carriers? This is not an aircraft carrier, this is clearly an amphibious assault ship! Yang Dawei nodded immediately: "Our Mingzhou Group is the most powerful. No matter what requirements our customers put forward, we can meet them. We can also produce the things you want. Now, let's introduce our four The design plan of the 10,000-ton Type 075... aircraft carrier.”
The design plan of 075 has been prepared for a long time. However, the Navy currently does not have the funds to build this kind of warship. Therefore, it can only be studied as a theory. The design drawings have been drawn. As long as the funds of the Navy are in place, it can be launched at any time. Construction can begin.
Although Yang Dawei described it as an aircraft carrier, it is actually an amphibious assault ship. Its displacement is 40,000 tons, which can fully meet the great historical mission given to the army by the motherland. Of course, since the navy has not yet ordered it, export sales There is still no problem, and during the export process, you can also check whether the design is defective, which will make it easier to modify the design drawings for domestic construction in the future.
The design drawing appeared on the screen, and Américo looked at it seriously: "The island of your aircraft carrier looks a bit big!"
Looking at the appearance of amphibious assault ships from various countries, you can find a special feature: the ship island of this kind of amphibious assault ship is very large, almost like a Lao Maozi Kiev-class heavy-duty aircraft carrier cruiser, occupying such a large deck area , don’t you know it should be smaller?
This is of course due to different design solutions.
There is a hangar below the deck of the amphibious assault ship, but there is also a dock below the hangar! After all, a large number of amphibious combat vehicles, hovercrafts, etc. need to be driven out of the dock. After the door of the dock is opened, it needs to be exposed to sea water, and it must be arranged below.
An ordinary aircraft carrier generally only has a hangar below the deck, and there is nothing below the hangar.
This means that the lower space of the amphibious assault ship is limited. In this case, the only option is to develop to the upper space and occupy the deck area to build the ship island. (This was guessed by the Hero of East China, I don’t know if it is correct.)
Will this allow the amphibious assault ship to reduce the number of aircraft it can carry and operate? That's for sure, but the problem is that the number of aircraft carried on amphibious assault ships is inherently limited. Many even use ordinary helicopters because they don't have vertical take-off and landing fighter jets. Such aircraft have very little requirements on the deck, so there are Don’t worry too much about wasted deck space.
In short, various reasons have led to the large through-deck amphibious assault ships of various countries having a large island with a very long longitudinal axis.
Now, Américo can see this problem, not because he is professional, but because he studied the aircraft carriers of various countries before coming here, and now looking at the design drawings, he feels something is not pleasing to the eye.
So, Yang Dawei introduced it. Listening to his introduction, Américo kept nodding: "Well, that's right, that's it."
Did he understand? Still don’t understand and pretend to understand? Yang Dawei was very curious about this man's behavior.
However, since the customer understands it, it will be easier to explain.
"Well, we are very satisfied with its overall design. It can carry fewer aircraft, but it must be able to carry amphibious equipment." Americo nodded: "You continue."
"Okay, let's talk about power. There are currently two power solutions. One is a mature steam turbine. This power solution has been used in many types of equipment. It has good reliability and fuel economy. The other is a gas turbine, which is a new generation gas turbine developed by Tianjiao Aviation, a company jointly established by us and Ermao."
In the past, there was only one way to burn boilers, but now, with the advancement of technology, they finally have other power solutions to choose from. This 40,000-ton amphibious assault ship only needs two 40-megawatt units. A gas turbine is enough. Although it cannot propel the warship to a high speed of thirty knots, on this flat deck, even fixed-wing aircraft take off and land vertically, and do not require much speed from the aircraft carrier.
Although gas turbines are still under development, with Lao Maozi’s technology, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.
“Among them, the former is cheap and the latter is expensive, so we still recommend that you choose the former.”
"No, we need gas turbines. The way of burning boilers is too backward." Americo shook his head. Price and other things are not a problem at all. After all, they don't have to spend money. They just need to let Mingzhou Group mine more ore. .
“Okay, let’s tentatively decide on the gas turbine, and then let’s talk about the aircraft it carries. This aircraft carrier will mainly be helicopters and can carry twenty helicopters and ten vertical take-off and landing fighter jets…”
In another office, Qin Tao had a smile on his face after hearing what was discussed in the meeting. It seemed that it was as he had guessed. However, Yang Dawei was becoming more and more competent and knew how to sell customers the best products for them. product.
For small and medium-sized countries, aircraft carriers are not suitable for them. In comparison, amphibious assault ships are more suitable. After all, the aircraft on the aircraft carrier cannot compete for air supremacy, and many times it is unnecessary. It is a waste. Look around Guinea. You know the environment. Those neighboring countries are already very strong if they have a few MiG-21s. They have almost no opponents. Carrying dozens of vertical take-off and landing fighters is not only expensive, but also unnecessary. Besides, Well, even those black uncles can't fly this kind of vertical take-off and landing fighter jets. When the time comes, they will still have to look for hired pilots all over the world.
Compared with fighter jets, helicopters are better to fly.
"It seems that, as you said, this guy wants to be a warlord." Zhao Ling said.
The other party offered to carry some amphibious equipment. This is obviously not only to protect the oil at sea, but also to land across the sea and become the boss on land. The motive is not pure.
Qin Tao smiled: "This guy still has a brain. You should know that the capital of Guinea is on the island."
Any coastal country with a large area of land and some islands will undoubtedly design its capital on land. After all, it is safer on land.
However, there are exceptions. Guinea is a weird one. They designed their capital to be on an island. They cannot live on the mainland, so they have to live on the island.
Considering the political situation in African countries, it seems that it is safer to live on the island, but now, with the navy having powerful amphibious landing ships, the island is already very unsafe.
"Yes, what you said is correct, but it is also a good opportunity for us. Through this transaction, we can finally start building amphibious assault ships. In the future, the Navy's amphibious assault ship orders will also be ours. "Zhao Ling has already seen this.
No matter what others do, developing yourself is the way to go.
"Yes, just think of it as training. In this way, they will have to pay more money. We have to mine iron ore and bauxite together. We will not touch the valuable ones, but only touch the ones that have not been developed. , this way the resistance will be smaller.”
We talked about the model and configuration of the warship for two days. On the third day, Américo came to see Qin Tao.
"Mr. Qin, we have already discussed one 075, four 054s, four 039s, plus a supply ship." Américo said: "The entire project plus supporting carrier-based aircraft and amphibious combat vehicles , a total amount of US$6.5 billion.”
"Okay, we admire your generosity." Qin Tao said: "Next, it's time to calculate our ore transactions. If we only mine your iron ore, the current price is about forty dollars per ton. , this requires 1.6 billion tons, plus our mining costs, at least 3 billion tons will be mined. If this project is agreed to last for ten years, then every year..."
“No, ten years is too long, five years, at most five years!” Americo said: “We can’t wait that long.”
"Five years? That means 600 million tons need to be mined every year. This is an impossible number. After all, the mining area of the mine is certain, so in addition to iron ore, we also need to mine your bauxite. , each extracting 300 to 400 million tons every year.”
"Okay." Americo had no hesitation about mining the minerals in their country. Anyway, the things were there and they couldn't mine them. If the Easterners could mine them, let them mine them.
Three hundred million tons, four hundred million tons, even if it is one billion tons, he doesn't care if it takes decades to mine.
In this way, the agreement was reached. Taking the contract, Americo muttered: "It's a pity that I don't have to say it now. I have to take it back to the dead old man to sign it. With such a huge equipment purchase, maybe the old man will be suspicious."
This is his only headache. Will the old man agree to such a large order? If the old man disagrees, what should he do?
"The sea is not peaceful now. There are always some pirates at work." Qin Tao said: "Some pirates are very rampant and will occupy oil drilling platforms and demand high ransoms from oil companies. How can we protect them without a strong navy? Your maritime rights and interests?”
Americo's eyes lit up. Most of the income from the oil business went into the pockets of the old man's family. This is a good idea!
Americo returned with a huge order.
“Report, our navy and Mingzhou Group have reached a cooperation plan, please take a look.” Americo handed the plan to the old man.
The old man took it over and looked at the thickness of the plan. He was a little suspicious. When he opened it and saw the contents inside, his face became even more ugly.
“Didn’t we say that purchasing two frigates is enough? Why so many?”
What decent military power can be found around West Africa? Everyone is equally poor!
For a long time, the impoverished Guinea has not had much ability to develop a navy. It would be good to have some patrol boats. After 1996, their country became rich after developing oil resources. In order to protect the oil resources, they felt that they should develop Let's go to the navy.
However, in the old man’s plan, purchasing two 4,000-ton frigates was enough, and they could travel along the entire coastline of West Africa. He never thought that the navy would have such a big appetite.
If these equipments are in the hands of the navy, the navy will suddenly become the most powerful force among the three armed forces. How is this possible? If this Americo had any ideas, wouldn't he be in danger?
No, absolutely not!
The old man rolled his eyes at Americo angrily: "This plan is scrapped and we will start purchasing from the Orientals again. We only need two frigates!"
“Okay, let’s talk about it again.”
Leaving the old man's office, Americo's face darkened. He called his men and gave them instructions.
Oil wealth has not made this country rich. It is still poor and backward. The equatorial sunshine does not bring them warmth, only a burning feeling.
Under a desolate land, a young man is encouraging others.
“Oil resources on the sea belong not to some people, but to all of us. But now, all this money has flowed into the pockets of a few people. This is unfair!”
“We are still worried about not having enough food to eat, but those rulers are living and drinking abroad. We want to change all this!”
“Yes, it’s time for us to change all this, but how should we do it?” one person asked in confusion.
"Use our swords and our plows to get the land in exchange for tomorrow's bread!" The young man said: "I have obtained a batch of AKs through various means. We can live a good life through this batch of AKs. "
After speaking, he pointed to the sea in the distance: "The drilling platform standing there is our target!"
That night, a small sampan left the coast and embarked on the road to wealth. The next day, a surprising news reached the old man.
“What, our offshore oil rig was robbed?”
“Yes, a group of unknown armed men stepped onto the drilling platform and robbed the staff of their money and personal belongings.”
The old man breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, only money and personal belongings were robbed. Our drilling platform did not suffer any damage, right?"
“No, it’s still in production.”
On the other side, Americo, who got the news, cursed angrily: "Those fools don't know what is the most profitable. Why didn't they take away the oil storage tanks floating there and only robbed some personal belongings? They are really I haven’t seen any money!”
(End of this chapter)