The subtext of his words was also very clear: don't speak up if it's beyond your capabilities, so as not to damage the relationship that has just been established.
"Here's the thing: our general aviation subsidiary, Mahan Air, urgently needs a batch of second-hand helicopters."
The bearded man began to recount the whole story.
Yes, the helicopter business isn't just about attack helicopters and military transport helicopters; the civilian helicopter market is also huge.
Not to mention that Persia is a country with rugged terrain, mainly mountainous and plateau-like, and with poor infrastructure, with less than 3,000 kilometers of highways throughout the country.
Airline passenger planes can only provide point-to-point service between airports, but general aviation companies' helicopters can ignore the terrain restrictions for takeoff and landing, so helicopters are very suitable for use in Yilang.
As for the high fuel consumption and cost, that's not a problem for them. The only trouble is the sanctions, which limit the types of helicopters they can buy.
For example, the Mi-171, nicknamed the "flying tractor," is cheap but has no other competitive advantage in the civilian market, unless it can achieve the level of comfort of the Russian Presidential Limited Edition Mi-8 MTV.
Otherwise, children would vomit from the jolting, and the elderly would break their bones; only soldiers with the physical strength to withstand it would be able to endure it.
As for the Shahed 278 and Shahed 285 produced by the Persians themselves, their quantity and quality are questionable, which is why they sought out Xia Yu.
This Boss Xia, codenamed Weasel, was not only a formidable warrior but also a shrewd businessman, seemingly able to acquire any kind of military equipment or civilian goods.
The two-digit number of A340s parked in the aircraft graveyard is perhaps the best proof of this.
Could you be more specific about the helicopter model and quantity?
Xia Yu also realized the loopholes in his military-to-civilian plan. He had never really considered civilian helicopters before. He had only stockpiled hard currency like female Hinds and old hippos, and only had two light aircraft models, the Gazelle and the Fennec Fox.
It turns out that civilian helicopters can be quite profitable, especially in countries that are under comprehensive sanctions. Not to mention new ones, even a small number of used ones are fine, but if there are too many, problems can easily arise.
If any link in the chain is penalized like this, both the money and the goods will be lost.
It's not that those intelligence agencies are so powerful; many of the losses were reported by their own people, which is quite ridiculous.
"Airbus and Bell are both acceptable, but the specific model cannot be too new or too old, the flight hours should be as low as possible, and the quantity of related spare parts must be sufficient. We can charge extra for this."
"I can't believe it," said the bearded Alireza.
They need European and American products; after all, even the president is still using a Bell-212!
However, helicopters that are too old or too new are not safe. After much consideration, only mature models that are neither too new nor too old are the most suitable choice for them.
"I think the single-engine H-125 and the twin-engine Bell 429 would be good choices."
After thinking for a while, Xia Yu spoke.
The Airbus Squirrel needs no introduction; with over 5,500 units produced, it is arguably the most successful civilian light helicopter. Even the Persians themselves use it, although after long-term use, it has become old and worn, posing a significant potential threat of continued use beyond its service life.
As for the Bell-429, it was the choice of many wealthy people. Apart from the fact that the fuselage was not bulletproof, the comfort level and cabin size were quite good.
When asked about the price, for aircraft of similar condition, one Bell 429 is equivalent to three Airbus H-125s.
Alireza had done his research before coming; he knew that the performance of these two helicopters fully met their needs, the only problem was the quantity…
"I can supply these two models freely, the specific quantity depends on your demand."
Xia Yu said, "I'm fine with anything. You can decide how much you want."
With the entire Chinese market as his backing, he certainly has the right to say such things.
"In that case, we'll start with 75 H-125s and 25 Bell-429s. The exact price will depend on the condition of the aircraft and the quantity of spare parts. What do you think?"
Allireza cautiously stated their needs.
"Yes, that makes 100 aircraft in total. With a 20% down payment for the new aircraft, I can complete the delivery of all 100 aircraft by the end of the year."
Xia Yu also spoke up.
The price of a new machine is roughly 20% of its cost price plus shipping; the rest is pure profit.
Therefore, the blockade imposed by the United States is simply a means to sell goods more effectively. They don't allow others to sell, but instead sell secretly, and only the bold and capable can get a share of the profits.
However, the red line still exists. No matter how high the price, Xia Yu will not do business with the other party in weapons and equipment. Selling civilian products is just fine, and there will be room for maneuver if problems arise.
In this deal with Mahan Air, the demand for helicopters far exceeds that for passenger aircraft.
Sure enough, he'll start stockpiling civilian helicopters from now on.
The Persians desperately needed helicopters, and so did Afika.
Almost every prefecture-level city in China has an airport. This country only has a few airports, so it is entirely possible to build general aviation airports with lower requirements to solve the flight needs of one-way trips of several hundred kilometers.
Locals can't afford it, but there are still so many business owners and skilled workers whose expenses are reimbursed by their companies.
Helicopter charter and group booking services will greatly facilitate their daily travel, not to mention that the safety and comfort are significantly improved compared to land transportation.
"It seems like we're using oil in more and more places these days."
After seeing Alireza and his group off, Xia Yu couldn't help but mutter to himself.
The consumption of refined oil products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel has been gradually increasing in recent years. Once the black swan event has completely passed, the consumption at the war museum will definitely rebound.
Perhaps it's time to build a small refinery to meet its own needs; Afica is only cheap for crude oil and crude oil.
Due to transportation issues, the price of refined oil increases the further inland it goes. In the past, the output of my own oil wells was all transported to the refinery in Zha De.
Their current surplus production capacity is no longer sufficient to meet the demands of concentrated firepower defense. They need to build their own refinery at this relatively opportune time to meet the future surge in demand.
Since there's a demand, let's build it!
The profits from the deal with the Persians were used as seed money to build a modular oil refinery in their hometown, aiming to achieve a daily crude oil refining capacity of 50,000 barrels in the first phase.
Frankly speaking, this quantity far exceeds the production capacity of Xia Yu's two oil wells, but he doesn't necessarily have to extract the crude oil himself. As long as the refinery is located inland, there are plenty of channels to obtain the oil at low prices.
After all, these countries have to pay their neighbors to transport their crude oil out of the country! Now, by refining it locally, they can fill their own oil shortage and avoid being exploited by the previous two layers of exploitation.
Thinking of this, Xia Yu quickly walked back to his office and looked at the Afica map hanging on the wall.
Perhaps Kinabalu would be a good choice.
Last time, Ibrahim said he wanted to use gold and uranium mines to offset the cost of hiring firefighters for defense, but Xia Yu now thinks that uranium mines, which are often associated with oil fields, are even better.
He then wants another piece of land nearby to build a modular oil refinery and refine finished oil products locally.
In comparison, Niger has higher crude oil reserves. His hometown has already reached an agreement to help them build an oil pipeline connecting to the port of Baining. Once completed, the crude oil can be directly transported back for refining, so there is no need for him to interfere.
So it seems the fastest way to get gold is still by "stealing" what's readily available from others? *Achoo!*
Elmenjo, who was directing the work in Niger, sneezed. Not only did all his gold fall into Xia Yu's hands, but he would also have to spend the rest of his life mining gold for him.
No, his own daughter is also part of it, so his life hasn't been a complete waste.
After finalizing the future development direction, Xia Yu called his hometown to discuss the recycling of used helicopters and the project to build an oil refinery.
To complete the delivery within the year, he must procure 100 helicopters within 6 months, then complete the maintenance and chronometer adjustments, and deliver them to the client in batches.
There's no need to rush the oil refinery project. It can be completed by the end of next year and put into operation in 2023.
At that time, Jihuo Defense and its many subsidiaries will only need to purchase various lubricants and greases, greatly reducing operating costs and logistical pressure.
Saving money is just one goal; the most important thing is to save trouble. Xia Yu can save half the cost of oil tanker units and the village security team responsible for security along the way.
It's important to understand that a medium-sized combined arms battalion requires 10 fuel supply trucks. Switching to civilian production and construction, and opening up operations, would only increase the consumption.
The biggest assets of Jihuo Defense and its many subsidiaries are actually these truck units responsible for logistics, and many of the trucks were personally sourced by Xia Yu.
Because there wasn't enough time to allocate the work hours, he only repaired the engine and transmission, fixed some minor problems with the drive axle, and didn't care about other issues at all.
In this way, the three-digit number of heavy trucks supported the company's stable operation in various projects in Afica. More will be needed in the future, so he can no longer waste transportation capacity on transporting fuel.
Xia Yu's hometown also supports his idea. In the past, they have always provided assistance in building oil refineries, but now it is finally the turn of private enterprises to enter this field, so naturally they will give their full support.
Just as Boss Xia received confirmation, before he could even contact Ibrahim, the captain called.
“Mr. Sherlock, we may need your help. There has been unusual activity in Gibo, a northern border city adjacent to Marie.”
Ibrahim said in an encrypted satellite phone call.
This was given to him by Xia Yu last time. After the signal is encrypted, it cannot be eavesdropped on like civilian satellite phones. Many sensitive things can be discussed directly over the phone, without having to make another trip.
“Jibo is a bit far from Dundu’s old home.”
The distance indicates that neither the Germans nor the blue helmets are in that direction; according to them, there is only a small government base of 500 men there.
If anyone tries to take down Gibo, these 500 people will be wiped out.
For Kinabalu, whose entire army numbers only 10,000, such a loss is significant. Therefore, if fighting breaks out, Ibrahim wants to save these 500 men to avoid damaging the morale of the army.
"I understand. Since the situation is still unclear, I will send the drone over to conduct reconnaissance first."
Xia Yu thought for a moment and then said.
Intelligence is crucial. To rush into battle without even knowing who your opponent is—what's the difference between that and a mob?
"Thank you for your help. We'll keep in touch."
After hanging up the phone, Xia Yu immediately dialed the internal line and contacted the Howling Eagle crew stationed in Mari.
The CH-4 aircraft leased by Jihuo Defense is permanently deployed in Kidal, and from there, one can fly over the Oga region to enter Kinabalu.
"How is the Roaring Eagle doing now?"
Xia Yu immediately asked about the status of the drone.
This is a reconnaissance and strike drone, so it's impossible for it to be on combat readiness like an F-16; it can only be maintained at a routine maintenance frequency.
"We can depart an hour later if we don't load ammunition, but it will be three hours later if we load ammunition."
The other side replied.
"Then take off without weapons, target Gibo on the border of Burkina Faso, and depart in one hour."
"Yes, boss!"
The eagle crew immediately got busy. They didn't need weapons for the reconnaissance mission because even if they found a suspicious target, they couldn't alert the enemy.
The payload of a single CH-4 is still a bit small, but if this thing were to be mass-produced, all those armored and attack helicopter units would be wasted. The most important thing is definitely its ground reconnaissance capability.
The strike capability is more of a supplement to the operation. If you really want to maximize the depletion of the target's manpower, you still have to send people over.
"Buzz"
The CH-4, fully fueled but without ammunition, accelerated and took off at the end of the runway, then turned and flew straight southwest.
The French did not hire concentrated fire to clear out armed forces in the Sahel region last year, and the losses suffered the year before were mainly by Tuareg separatist groups, which allowed the dormant extremist groups to recuperate.
Xia Yu suspected that the people near Gibo were them, but unfortunately they no longer received intelligence support from the Foreign Security Bureau of the United States, otherwise they definitely could…
Wait a minute, it seems that now it's not about whether they can get intelligence support or not, but that DGSE is very likely to be on the opposite side.
Ibrahim's political agenda had already been broadcast nationwide on television, and his first step was to expel the French—something the French couldn't tolerate.
Perhaps the funds originally used to hire concentrated firepower have been repurposed, such as supporting those guys loitering around Gibo.
"Calling the Howling Eagle crew, report your current location."
Xia Yu quickly picked up the walkie-talkie.
"We are still above the Tiramsey Valley."
"Change the original flight route and bypass Oga and Tinkbatu."
One of these locations is where German fighter jets are deployed, and the other is a helicopter transit station. For security reasons, both locations are equipped with air defense radar.
The power may not be very high, but as long as it flies overhead, it will definitely lock onto the target every time.
Even if the northwest winds can't reach the CH-4 at its flight altitude, the news of the concentrated fire defense deployment has been exposed, and it is very likely that the initiative advantage will be lost.
Taking a slightly longer route and arriving half an hour later won't be a problem.
"Yes, boss!"
The Howling Eagle crew replanned their route, bypassing Niger, a third country, and finally entered Kinabalu, arriving near Gibo to conduct reconnaissance.
At the same time, Xia Yu also contacted Jihuo Air Transport Company to inquire about the current location of the three An-124s, and learned that only one was still in Afika.
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