Yes, apart from having 15% less maximum payload, its more spacious cargo hold compared to the C-130H version allows for a wider range of configurations.
Anyway, the C-130J Super Hercules can't carry a single Marder, so the loss of this load capacity is insignificant. And after folding down the remote weapon station, two Tiger armored vehicles can still be squeezed into the C-160.
In sudden, low-intensity combat, the key is rapid response, not armor thickness or firepower density.
With armed helicopters deployed at low altitudes, ground vehicles can be reduced in number and do not need to be armed to the teeth.
In addition, the 715-meter and 550-meter takeoff and landing distances allow the C-160 to land on rudimentary dirt runways and decelerate by counter-rotating rotors.
This is what a tactical transport aircraft should be like. Once you leave the major cities in Afica, there aren't many high-standard airports that can accommodate your takeoff and landing.
The US military drone forward base where they are located was originally an abandoned Class 2B general aviation airport in Niger, with a runway only 1,000 meters long that could only accommodate MQ-9 drones.
Or there's the C-27 jointly developed by the US and Italy, but we haven't seen them for so long. It's probably because there are too few of these small twin-engine models, and their payload is only half that of the C-160.
If the quantity of supplies to be delivered is large, it would be better to use a large plane to send them to the airport in the capital, and then transfer them by truck.
Although it's a bit over the limit, the C-160 should be able to take off and land here. Xia Yu plans to give it a try after returning from Central Asia.
The meeting ended, and the next day began.
With his luggage, which Liv had repacked, he boarded a military aircraft bound for Dubai.
Xia Yu didn't know about laundry detergent, but this was the biggest transit point for gold smuggled by Afica, because Dubai allows tax-free imports of gold, and foreigners can apply for VAT refunds at the airport when leaving, which makes it very attractive to many people.
Holding a dumbbell with a 24-kilogram weight plate printed with gold, Xia Yu didn't quite understand why people would buy so much gold.
As the A400M touched down, he waved his hand and, as if by magic, disassembled and recycled the dumbbell in his hand into the storage silo.
Having completed his training quota for the day, Xia Yu picked up his luggage and boarded the airport shuttle bus to the Boeing 767 he was to take that day.
The small plane didn't have a first-class cabin, but even the business class experience was better than that of a military transport plane. Xia Yu, who was only particular about food, didn't care about these things.
After more than six hours, he arrived at Alamut Airport, where a Mi-171 had been waiting for him for a long time.
Alright, we still have to keep going. Luckily, we had lunch on the plane, otherwise we would have starved to death.
After boarding the helicopter and flying for about an hour, they finally arrived at the Retigen military airfield, several hundred kilometers away.
This airport, originally responsible for protecting the capital, houses 81 of the 117 fighter jets in this sale, demonstrating its importance at the time.
However, based on various considerations, Kazakhstan still moved its capital to Nur-Sultan on the Russian-Kazakh border.
The good news is that these fighter jets weren't taken along; they entered China via the railway through Alashankou, a mere few hundred kilometers away, which is very convenient.
However, transporting the remaining fighter jets back to Afica will be a bit of a hassle. Xia Yu can't handle it on his own; he'll have to go through Alexei's route.
“Mr. Sherlock, it’s been a long time.”
Speak of the devil, and he appears. As soon as Xia Yu got off the helicopter, Alexei came up and gave him a bear hug.
He's been here for almost half a month, spending every day watching planes and negotiating with the other side, and he misses Afika terribly.
Besides being able to earn a considerable profit in that land, there is also more sunlight there during the long, cold winters back home. Temperatures that are too high or too low can be solved, but the lack of sunlight is something that can't be helped.
Xia Yu wrapped his B-3 flight jacket tighter around himself; the -10°C wind was a chill he hadn't felt in years.
"Long time no see, Mr. Alexei, it's really cold here!"
Xia Yu opened his arms and greeted her.
Given his physique, this temperature shouldn't be a problem, but it felt like he was in Sanya before boarding the plane and then suddenly found himself in Northeast China after landing. Even though he had changed his clothes beforehand, he was still a little disoriented.
"Hahaha, then you haven't been to Nagulskoy military airfield. It can get as cold as -40 to -50 degrees Celsius there. I went there to retrieve a MiG-31 that had a problem."
Alexei laughed heartily.
There is a lot of demand for the MiG-31, but most of them are sold to private collectors as unusable "model aircraft".
Of those capable of flying and carrying missiles, there are practically no publicly available records of any for sale to date.
The only rumor is that the second-generation Taiyo of the Northern Main Body led a donation at the beginning of the century to secretly purchase a batch of MiG-31s from Russia.
Kazakhstan's batch was acquired through a division of assets, but also at the beginning of the century, two prototype anti-satellite MiG-31Ds were repurchased by Russia.
This time, Alexei carried the same mission.
He only had less than $30 million in his account, so how could he afford 70% of the contract price? Of course, this could only be achieved if someone had prepaid for the 21 MiG-31s.
Ten of them are in good condition and can be upgraded to the MiG-31BM standard to return to service. The rest can also be salvaged for parts.
So from the beginning, Xia Yu never had any designs on these MiG-31s. One was enough for him to collect, but the 10 MiG-21s that were included as a bonus were more interesting.
These are the only 10 MiG-21s left after the North Main Force spent $8 million to acquire 40 MiG-21s of various models from the US in 1999.
Xia Yu thought that with such a good opportunity, he should directly get a multi-purpose MiG-21MF and a two-seat trainer version of the MiG-21UM.
There are more than 20 variants of the MiG-21, and it's unrealistic to collect them all; just pick some representative ones.
As for the price, it can't be like it was more than ten years ago, selling each one for $200,000. $100,000 is a suitable figure, so it can only be a bonus.
As for the MiG-15, MiG-17, and MiG-19, the older Kazakhstan doesn't have them, so Alexei has to go back to Kazakhstan to find them.
"It's not frozen, is it? The temperature is much lower at high altitudes."
Xia Yu inquired.
"The problem is with the aircraft itself. The production line is shut down, and every broken one is one less aircraft. That's why Kazakhstan has sent some aircraft, but they have a few that are not flying."
Alexei spoke the truth.
Operating the MiG-31 is quite expensive. Kazakhstan has money from selling its mines, but if it weren't for the division of assets, they wouldn't really have any need for the Foxhounds, so they sold them all at once.
Let's go take a look at the airplane.
Looking at the time, Xia Yu realized it was almost 3 p.m. and made a suggestion.
He came to Central Asia specifically for this batch of MiG-29s and Su-25s, so naturally he had to get down to business first.
“Let’s go, we’ll head over there now. There are exactly 15 MiG-29s at this base.”
They got into a jeep and drove across the runway to a large hangar complex.
Xia Yu, who was in the car, suddenly felt like he had traveled into the world of "The Lord of Arms". However, the other party bought AKs and female Deer in Wukelan, while he bought MiGs and Sukhois in Kazakhstan.
Furthermore, Xia Yu prefers sustainable development over a one-off deal.
Every two-seater Fulcrum he buys will become a money-printing machine for the third phase of the project, generating tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year.
"Squeak"
The hangar door tracks were somewhat rusty, and even just opening the hatch to allow vehicles to pass through made a piercing sound, indicating how long the MiG-29s here had been dormant.
The storage condition is quite good; both the air intake and the exhaust nozzle have anti-foreign object plugs, and they are all parked indoors.
Of the 81 fighter jets at this base, not all are parked in hangars; 30 are stored in the open, exposed to wind and rain. Among them are four MiG-29s in very poor condition. No wonder Alexei said that they could only dismantle parts.
However, the sheer number of identical fighter jets lined up in the hangar is visually stunning.
"This place was a base for pilots to switch to MiG-29s during the former Soviet Union era, which is why there are so many two-seat MiG-29UBs here. But after the dismantling, there wasn't much left to train pilots, so these four are in the best condition, with just over 1,000 flight hours each..."
An Air Force lieutenant colonel at the base was telling Xia Yu and his group about the history of these old strongholds.
He reached out and touched the fuselage of a MiG-29UB. Apart from the avionics being a clockwork shop, the fuselage was in very good condition.
If it were taken to the United States, it would definitely sell for 7 million. But if we buy all 15 in a batch, the average price can definitely be kept below 2 million. The other 6 are just large-sized figurines worth only 500,000 each, which helps to spread out the price.
We definitely won't lose money, we'll just earn a little less.
"What about the 10 RD-33s on the list and the spare parts?"
Alexei asked, pointing to the booklet in his hand.
The planes were being sold off as a package; these other items were useless to keep, so they were naturally being cleared out along with the planes.
However, more than 20 years have passed, and a lot of engines and parts have been used up. What is left can only provide support for 5 MiG-29s.
"The warehouse next door has been used."
The lieutenant colonel replied.
Replacing engines is an important training subject, but those 10 RD-33 turbofan engines have not yet exceeded the 810-hour overhaul interval, with nearly 2,000 hours of life remaining.
This is already quite good. The initial model needed a major overhaul after 350 hours, and its total lifespan was 2000 hours.
I heard that the improved RD-33MK, the model used for shipboard pivots, has doubled its operating time to 4,000 hours.
If there are only one or two aircraft, then better engines should be used. Four aircraft can be operated and two can be kept as backups. The mid-range RD-33 would be fine.
If they're scrapped, just dismantle the single-seat MiG-29s; they're all consumables anyway, so collecting one or two is enough.
If they wanted to sell, to be honest, all Syria would want is an upgraded version of the MiG-29SM, capable of launching air-to-ground missiles and precision-guided bombs.
The upgraded avionics at Xiayu are all for internal use. Selling out this level of integration would be too risky, and there's no need to make money from it.
"I want to see the Su-25."
After checking the condition of the spare engines and spare parts in the warehouse and confirming that there were no problems with this batch of MiG-29s, Xia Yu took the initiative to speak.
"Since you're interested in attack aircraft, why don't you also take a look at those MiG-27s?"
Alexei seized the opportunity to promote his product.
He was under a lot of pressure because his flagship product was the fighter-bomber. Other aircraft, like the Su-27 fighter jet, were doing better, but the profit margin on the Su-25 attack aircraft was too low.
While the MiG-27's variable-sweep wing looks cool, it's troublesome to use. Even those that could still be repaired in India are starting to be retired across the board, and Afica and the Middle East can't find any customers for them.
Therefore, the options are very limited, and they can only deweaponize it and sell it to North America.
Americans love this; they keep crashing the variable-sweep wing MiG-23s, yet they keep buying them.
The problem is that single-seat units are hard to sell!
Wealthy individuals who can afford private fighter jets tend to prefer two-seater aircraft, as there is a professional pilot to cover for them even if they make a mistake. The risk of flying alone is too great, especially since the fighter jets they own are driven by money and their pilots are not as skilled as Chien Po-cheng.
It's possible that a wealthy person might be willing to buy a MiG-27 as a substitute for an F-14 and leave it unused, but the number would definitely not be large, so even if Xia Yu were willing to support just one, it would be a good thing.
"No, the Su-25 is fine."
Xia Yu refused outright.
What does he need the MiG-27 for? It's something he bought but can't sell.
Collecting is a hobby, but being a businessman is his profession, and besides, he already owns one.
"If they had added an extra seat to the MiG-27, it would have been just as popular as the two-seat MiG-23."
Alexei shook his head and said.
As long as there are two-seater models, if the single-seater models can't be sold, spare parts can be sold cheaply. But in the current situation, it's very difficult to do so.
"No rush, take your time. There are so many rich people in the United States. There are less than 10 here. We will definitely be able to sell them all."
Xia Yu comforted Alexei.
"But they're all recently retired fighter jets; I hope this won't cause any international controversy."
A small number is not a big deal, but there are more than 100 of them, so it's impossible to pretend that nothing happened.
"Some old planes, and they're being disposed of as scrap metal, so it's fine."
Alexei reassured his partners that they didn't need to worry.
All I can say is that these people have some really wild methods. Xia Yu has never seen any scrap metal that can fly or drop bombs.
He only buys genuine scrap metal. Except for the Germans who were a bit strict and refused to sell to him, which is why he had to take a roundabout approach, everything else was legal business.
"But it's getting dark. Let's look at the Su-25 tomorrow. It's time to go have dinner now."
Looking at the darkening sky outside the hangar, Alexei made a suggestion.
"Following your suggestion, I'm actually a bit hungry."
The group arrived at the canteen, where the person in charge brought out pilaf, vegetable salad, and lamb bone soup that had been prepared in advance.
This is the kind of food we should eat in this weather. Even if there aren't many varieties, you'll feel warm all over after eating it.
That night, Xia Yu stayed at the air force base. Leaning against the headboard, he connected to the internet and started searching for fun places to visit in Kazakhstan.
He was about to finish looking at the fighter jets he wanted to buy, but Alexei and the other party were having some disagreements about the price.
Xia Yu suspected that finishing within a week was considered fast; otherwise, it would take about 10 days. He took the opportunity to steal a moment from his busy schedule and enjoy the local scenery.
I should have brought Liv along. Now I can only take more photos to show her when I get back.
Baikonur Cosmodrome
While searching for natural landscapes, Xia Yu suddenly discovered a man-made landscape.
This place once nurtured the glory of the former Soviet Union's space industry. More than fifty years ago, Yuri Gagarin launched from here, becoming the first human to enter space. It was still in operation until the collapse of the Union.
This chapter was so hard to write, it took me nine hours. And I just realized that double monthly votes start tomorrow, so I'm asking for votes too early...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com