Melnichenko retorted.
"Moreover, I think those Yankees are overestimating the Persians. Given their financial situation, they simply can't afford the Su-57. At most, they can squeeze out a budget to purchase a batch of Su-35s to completely replace the few F-14As they have left."
After all, it's a project that even the Indians wouldn't dare to touch. Those who know how deep the water is in there understand. The more mature flanker system is more suitable for them.
Returning to the movie, the Americans went to great lengths to rewrite the script so that the Tomcat could take down the fifth-generation stealth fighter. To be honest, they put in a lot of effort, but it was really unnecessary.
To make the F-14A have such a fun time using its cannon, they specifically set up a scenario. They might as well just blow up the Su-57s on the tarmac. That way, they could destroy an entire squadron and no one would say anything.
Furthermore, the idea that a Super Hornet could take down a Su-57 from behind with a single close-range air-to-air missile within visual range is also far-fetched. While the Osros radar may be inadequate, it shouldn't be so blind as to be that ineffective.
They've given up on stealth combat and are now fighting in close quarters, so why aren't they using radar?
So nowadays, Hollywood blockbusters are all about special effects; the plots are just for fun, and most of them don't stand up to scrutiny.
"Andrei, you like tomcats so much, why don't you take down a Persian cat with such a good opportunity?"
Someone then asked Melnichenko a question.
Everyone knows that yachts are his top priority, followed by fighter jets, and he has collected a lot of valuable items under the guise of a museum.
No one can let the F-14A go unpunished, not even the US military!
"I already got the static display model, it can fly... Even if they're willing to sell it, I wouldn't dare buy it, I'm afraid it'll crash."
Melnichenko shook his head and said.
Safety is very important, especially for wealthy people like them. They cannot let their interests jeopardize their personal safety.
"Yes, their F-14As are too old. In terms of airworthiness, the Super Tomcats at the Afica War Museum are the best, but unfortunately, the owner won't sell them."
Someone else said regretfully.
How many people who come to Afica for the premiere aren't fighter jet enthusiasts?
They had Sukhoi, but they couldn't have a tomcat.
This sexcat is the eternal white moonlight in the hearts of these middle-aged men who have lived through the Su Lian era.
The alliance is gone, and the cats created to fight the alliance are gone too. The glory of weapons and equipment also requires mutual support.
“I spoke with Sherlock and offered to pay $100 million for an F-14D, but he doesn’t need the money at all.”
Old Mei was also disappointed; he had tried but had not succeeded.
One hundred million yuan can get Boss Xia to lead a team to work diligently for a month, but one hundred million yuan can't buy an outdated fighter jet from him.
“Andrei, this isn’t about whether we need money or not. It’s about how they can make hundreds of millions from just one Super Tomcat. Unless you pay for the remaining lifespan of this F-14D and the median cost of its ammunition consumption, they won’t sell it.”
Mikhail Prokhorov, a graduate of the Moscow Institute of Finance and Economics, had a clear understanding of the situation. These F-14Ds were the golden goose that Boss Xia was laying, and he would never kill the goose that laid the eggs and sell them to others.
"I'd better not. My net worth has already shrunk considerably since February, and if I sell more stocks to raise funds, the price will only continue to fall."
Mr. Mei quickly waved his hand and said.
Even sentimentality must be considered in light of reality. These guys haven't been having an easy time lately, and this trip to Afica is to relax and vent their frustrations.
Violence is the most primitive and direct form of venting.
They each had prepared tens of millions of dollars, intending to "kill" to their hearts' content.
As for target drones, other customers are fine, but for the Oslo customer, intercepting a formation of Tu-95 bombers with an F-14D is just too horrible, too hellish.
Therefore, their opponents this time are "Haired people".
Those with smaller orders placed two Mirage-2000s, while those with ample budgets, like Mr. Mei, ordered five, including four unmanned target drones and one piloted by a human pilot.
Horseshoe bats really go all out with having so many offspring; their contracts with tube-nosed bats will end next month.
The salary after returning to the team is only so much, so I have to make one last big profit before going back to China and bring back as much foreign exchange as possible. A single launch costs 500,000 dollars!
The same goes for the tube-nosed bat, but he's in charge of the F-16 manned target drone, so the showdown between the falcon and the cat will be a little later.
"Gentlemen, the movie is over. The plot may have been a little disappointing, but our Super Tomcat has been waiting for you for a long time."
Xia Yu also appeared in the screening room after the movie ended. He also felt that "Top Gun II: Maverick" didn't quite feel right.
Especially that manned aircraft at the beginning with a top speed of Mach 10, is this a joke?!
Machines have no limits, but pilots do. However, as a businessman, he has no reason to turn down money.
The joint promotion between the aircraft carrier museum and Paramount wasn't for the film's box office revenue, since they didn't share any of the profits; it was simply to lure more people to Afica and the fruit.
In an era where traffic is king, even the best wine needs advertising; Xia Yu must generate buzz.
"That's fantastic! When can we take off for combat?"
Boss Mei asked on behalf of everyone.
"The earliest we can expect to be here is the day after tomorrow. We'll be familiarizing ourselves with the fighter jets and taking a training course on the fire control system of the F-14D in the next two days..." Since we're looking for excitement, let's go all the way!
Unlike the modest Franklin who only buys a trial package, these super-rich individuals need to complete a proper modification of the Super Tomcat. Instead of a thin training certificate, the museum will issue them an F-14D driver's license.
The minimum spending requirement is $10 million. Director Xia has already signed their pilot licenses and stamped them with the official seal. These are all major clients.
As for Haman Dan, who previously clamored to drink the Super Male Cat Soup, five days ago, the former UAE president, who was also Haman Dan's older brother, passed away.
The entire United Arab Emirates will be in mourning for forty days, and his younger brother naturally cannot attend. He even called to tell him about it.
Xia Yu first told his old friend to take heart, and then said that the museum's spare plane would be reserved for him for the first time, and that he would personally act as the pilot and take him up in the sky to relax.
This is a friend who fought alongside him against pirates. When he's sad, Xia Yu definitely has to do something.
The new UAE president and the new leader of the Abu Dhabi Nahyan family are the half-brothers of the former president and Haftar.
The new crown prince will be born from one of his four sons, symbolizing the transition from a minor lineage to a major lineage. Fortunately, the UAE is not like the neighboring Shat, so there was not much infighting, and the handover was very smooth.
Otherwise, Xia Yu would have to personally intervene and ask the other party to give him face in order to save his old friend.
Sure enough, while children should be born, too many should not be allowed. The old king, who had 38 wives and 127 children, was the source of today's situation.
There are so many brothers, but there's hardly any real affection between them.
The succession from brother to brother ultimately turned into succession from father to son. No wonder they say history is a cycle!
Two days later, Melnichenko and Prokhorov, dressed in anti-G suits, boarded the front cockpits of two Super Tomcats.
Two veteran naval pilots from the former VF-31 Tomcat squadron also took their seats in the rear cockpit.
"Woo-wah woo-wah woo-wah"
A piercing alarm suddenly sounded, jolting everyone on edge.
"This is the operations command center. Calling Archiangi Blue Cat and Donskoy Cat from the duty room, take off immediately to carry out the interception mission..."
And so the show began. During the combat readiness duty of carrier-based aircraft, the pilots are usually in the cabin next to the hangar. When a mission comes, they either run or take the elevator to their aircraft.
It's relatively rare to see them sitting directly in the cockpit on duty, but their departure speed is indeed fast.
Two deck towing vehicles each supported the front landing gear of an F-14D and towed it to the elevator, and then took over to the starting position of the steam catapult.
"Buzz"
Pulled by a tremendous force, the Archian Blue Cat crew, lightly fueled and fully loaded, was launched into the air.
Even after modifications, the original catapults on the São Paulo could not launch the F-14D, which has a maximum takeoff weight of 33.457 tons.
If there's not enough fuel, you can refuel in the air. However, if there's not enough ammunition, apart from Xia Yu, who's a cheat code, humans currently have no way to reload in the air.
Two Super Tomcats were launched in succession, and tourists on the shore held up their phones and cameras, their flashes chasing the exhaust plumes of the two fighter jets.
The upgraded aircraft carrier museum has not yet officially opened to the public, but thanks to the movie's promotional campaign, combined with the F-14 and the museum's existing fan base, many people came to Komluga weeks, or even a month, in advance.
Although they can't afford to ride the Super Tomcat, many people still want to try their luck. The odds of winning in Afica are much higher than in North America, even though it's the same 10 lucky winners.
At the same time that the two crews were queuing up for in-flight refueling, Mirage-2000 target drones took off one after another at Pointe-Noire airport not far away.
It wasn't until the last Mirage 2000 with a pilot engaged afterburner and took off that they formed a formation and flew away into the distance.
At the designated air combat zone, the Jihuo is patrolling, with two transport AS550s in the hangar providing security.
Their upcoming return to Malacca is merely a temporary arrangement; a dedicated support vessel will be deployed next month, and the museum will temporarily use a dock landing ship as a backup.
"Activate radar and locate the target aircraft group."
After refueling, both aircraft, fully fueled and armed, activated their AN/APG-71 pulse-Doppler radars.
This digitally improved version of the AN/AWG-9 radar was worth $3 million back then, but now that phased array radars are everywhere, it's only still usable in the Afica War Museum (Earth Online Military Classic).
A detection range of 213 kilometers for fighter jets is still adequate, but it's outdated.
These kinds of systemic components are always replaced directly with new ones; Americans themselves wouldn't remove them and put them on other aircraft.
"Beep beep beep"
"Target group detected, a total of 8 enemy aircraft are flying towards our side."
The alert sounded that a target had been detected, and the real pilot, who was posing as a radar officer, reported to Mr. Mei in the front seat.
“Call the Donskoy cats, let us keep them all.”
Melnichenko turned on the radio and contacted his wingman, the bad boy oligarch Prokhorov, speaking confidently.
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