The Koch plant dismantles more than 100 Weasel tanks every year. Losing 10 or 20 tanks is not a big deal, but losing 50 at once would be a problem that can be detected by satellite.
At this stage, it is most cost-effective for Jihuo Defense to purchase vehicle bodies. At a landed price of 200,000 euros per vehicle, Rheinmetall has just earned back the equivalent of one KF-41 Lynx.
"One last thing, Mr. Hudson, on behalf of Jihuo Defense and the Guo Navy, I have a business deal to discuss with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, and I hope Rheinmetall can help introduce us."
Xia Yu spoke up.
After gaining a deeper understanding of the development of German submarines after World War II, he realized that he had misunderstood Krupp; their business was not limited to elevators, but also included submarines and warships.
“I understand, Guo Haijun. It’s a small matter. I know their CEO, Dr. Heinrich Hessingen, who is currently in Kiel.”
Hudson had some suspicions, but he didn't say anything and simply accepted the commission.
In the following days, there was still no response regarding Xia Yu's purchase of the weasel vehicle body, while Krupp had finalized the itinerary.
He flew directly from Düsseldorf to Kiel, a port city that has been famous since World War I.
During Operation Rainbow II, more than 200 surface and underwater ships were scuttled in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, but most of them were salvaged and dismantled in the 1950s.
Heinrich said with certainty.
Heinrich also agreed with Xia Yu's approach. After all, putting aside reliability, seventy or eighty years have passed, and there isn't even a single U-boat that is seaworthy.
"There are two. In addition to the one that the Guo Navy has, Jihuo Defense also hopes to purchase one to simulate the Vib-type U-boats of World War II."
Germans have a competitive culture regarding academic qualifications. Those with doctoral degrees may have "doctor" printed before their name on their passports, driver's licenses, and even bank cards and transportation cards.
This U-boat, with an underwater displacement of over 800 tons, was the most produced submarine by Sandoko, and therefore a frequent subject of various World War II naval films.
That's exactly what I was waiting for. Xia Yu came to Germany this time to do group buying. He only started negotiating after Krupp agreed.
Xia Yu confirmed with the other party.
"Hello, Dr. Hesinger, I am Sherlock Xia (Yu), the owner of Firepower Defense."
It wasn't some strategic weaponry; it was guaranteed to pass inspection, but Heinrich wasn't satisfied with the number of one.
“Hello, Mr. Sherlock, I couldn’t connect a company that wanted to run an aircraft carrier museum with PMC until Hudson contacted me.”
Heinrich turned and glanced at Xia Yu, then said as he shook hands with him.
“You’re absolutely right. It’s unnecessary at the national level; PMC companies are the most suitable among enterprises.”
"We hope to get support from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to remove the modern torpedo attack capability of this 206A, restore its World War II straight-running torpedo strike capability, install an 88mm rapid-fire deck gun, and restore the interior decoration to a certain extent, just like this Viic-class."
“A regular aircraft carrier museum can be set up as long as you have money, but when it comes to carrier-based aircraft catapults and simulated air defense operations, the entry threshold becomes very high. Only private military contractors have the channels and capabilities to integrate to this extent.”
Xia Yu began to explain.
Without the strong support of a parent company, and through a gradual process of phases one, two, and three, it would have been possible to achieve this level of success.
Xia Yu, who chose to drop out of school to start his own business, may get along better with Americans, but his old-fashioned privilege of showing respect to top scholars is not annoying.
Following Xia Yu's line of thought, Helixi discovered that this was indeed the case.
Even if you could find the blueprints and replicate a submarine to scale, the price would probably be higher than a brand new Type 206A submarine. So it would be better to use a modern submarine for simulation.
Meanwhile, the British frigates, operating in international waters during Operation Porthole Cover, sank over 100 vessels and had a good time firing their naval guns at targets.
Heinrich offered his advice, drawing inferences from one instance to another.
"It can be sold, but not individually. A contract must be signed for at least two 206A ships."
Channels and capabilities are only one aspect; military strength is another.
Xia Yu scanned the interior of the submarine and spoke proactively.
"Doctor, so you're saying you agree?"
"So this time, you've approached ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, also to develop commercial projects related to military equipment."
We took the hotel's Maybach to the La Boé Naval Museum. Perhaps because it was a weekday, there weren't many visitors to the museum.
After buying a ticket and boarding the ship, Xia Yu passed through the diesel engine room from the stern torpedo room to the living quarters, where he saw the person he was going to meet—Dr. Heinrich Hessingen.
Without beating around the bush, he got straight to the point and stated the purpose of the trip.
Therefore, the place with the most German naval ship remains is Scapa Flow, where Rainbow sank.
"The surface ships have been decided, but underwater... they are keen to develop their own submarine force and, on our advice, have become interested in your company's Type 206a submarine, wanting to purchase one retired Type 206a from the German Navy."
"This is only part of it. The Guo Navy's equipment is too outdated, so a special budget has been allocated to purchase 'new' equipment."
Looking around, the most eye-catching thing here is the VIIC-type U-boat with hull number U-995.
"The plan is very meticulous, so no one can find fault with it. Also, these days it's hard to find WWII battleships, but there are still quite a few old destroyers. You can buy one for combat, or you can directly use a modern submarine chaser to simulate it, just use less explosive charge for the depth charges."
The 206a ship in the museum absolutely needs to have its modern torpedo attack capabilities removed in order to circumvent regulations.
"This is a brilliant idea. In times of war, it is acceptable for equipment to be relatively reliable, but in times of peace, safety is the most important thing. Even a single accident can have extremely bad consequences. Using modern submarines to simulate U-boats is the right approach."
Xia Yu planned to use the 206a as the first class to be converted, which was a smaller version of the Viib. A total of 24 Viibs were built, but the number of ace captains produced was just as high.
Other museums sell cultural artifacts, but the Afica War Museum plays with real war machines.
Standing behind the old man, Xia Yu spoke.
Xia Yu explained, following up on Helixi's question.
"Of course, I personally agree and am willing to push this project forward."
The CEO agreed, so there's not a big problem. It's just a pity that German museums can't operate like this.
The same 206a could have been refurbished to seaworthiness, but like the Viic, it could only be towed ashore, drilled up, and turned into a museum, never to return to the sea.
That's how political correctness works; aside from making movies and TV series, nothing else is allowed, and only foreigners can make that money.
"Thank you so much, Dr. Hesinger. The aircraft carrier museum will officially open on New Year's Day. We would appreciate it if you could represent your company and attend in person."
Xia Yu extended an invitation to Helixi.
This time, he bought two and got two free, acquiring a total of four Type 206A submarines. Two of them were given away as part of the spare parts warehouse, and one will be converted into a branch of the aircraft carrier museum.
Just like the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier in New York also carried the USS Black Perch submarine, which was also a warm-up!
After seeing the 206a, do you want to ride the real 206a?
If there are no wealthy people chartering the boats, their "U-99" is also open to ordinary tourists with a certain level of financial means.
If it's not an in-depth experience, there's no need to fire torpedoes; firing deck guns will do the same thing.
With the 206a onshore branch continuously attracting visitors, it will be more convenient to carry out underwater business in the future.
"Definitely, definitely. I'll make time for New Year's Day."
Because of its popularity online, Heinrich had heard about the aircraft carrier museum before, and it was fantastic to be able to visit the opening ceremony in person.
Having reached a cooperation agreement, the two continued walking forward and soon emerged from the bow of the U-995, where they discussed those massive vessels weighing thousands of tons.
"The Navy's Type 212 has no plans to retire for the time being. The older Type 209 is an export model, and after retirement, most of them will become museums in various countries or be dismantled directly. However, Agosta in the United States has decided to queue up for dismantling. You can try your luck with them."
Heinrich offered his advice.
A mere 500-ton submarine is rather paltry compared to the tens of thousands of tons of the São Paulo. It would be more appropriate to equip the 206A with a neighboring submarine of over 1,000 tons.
German secondhand submarines are selling very well, but German nuclear submarines cannot be sold, and their conventional submarines are not very competitive, so most of the retired ones are directly dismantled.
Only the Agosta-class destroyers from West Banya and Pakistan are available for purchase, making them a relatively easy option to acquire.
The Malaysians themselves served four ships, scrapped one, and the second and third ships were waiting in line for dismantling. The fourth ship was given to Malaysia to be used as a museum.
Just as Heinrich suggested, the defense could salvage the next ship, do some minor repairs, set up a ticket comparable to U-995, charge ten or eight dollars, and let the poor guys who can't get on the St. Paul get a taste of it.
Furthermore, this submarine has a double hull and a maximum diving depth of 350 meters.
The 206a, with its single-layer hull, uses titanium alloy as its main material, and can still dive to a depth of 1,000 meters. But there would be problems if it went any deeper.
By drawing inspiration from the Agosta-class design and modifying the Type 206a submarine with a double-layered titanium alloy hull, Xia Yu could definitely achieve the technical specifications he desired.
He preferred military submarines, which were more self-sufficient, to deep-sea submersibles that were extremely dependent on their mother ships.
The problem of insufficient diving depth can be solved by modification. A deep-sea submersible with limited tonnage and single purpose cannot become the Nautilus in every boy's heart.
But the 206a has that potential, and Xia Yu also looks forward to the day when its modification is completed.
"Thank you for reminding me, Dr. Hesingen. I'll go right away."
Without hesitation, Xia Yu, a man of great execution, temporarily bid farewell to Heinrich and left Kiel for the Kingdom of Hair.
He also has connections in Germany and can acquire some second-hand equipment through exchanges. However, conventional submarines that are meant to be dismantled can be bought if you're willing to spend the money.
"So 2 million euros, right? That's too expensive! I can offer 1 million!"
After obtaining the transfer permit, Xia Yu negotiated the price with the other party at the shipbreaking yard.
Pakistan's additional order for three ships in the 1990s was worth $950 million, while the Agosta-class ships, now scrapped, are worth only a million or two million.
The depreciation price is almost catching up with that of French cars. People say that if you want to drive a car until it's scrapped, you should buy a French car, and if you want it to hold its value, you should buy a Japanese car.
However, with the development of new energy sources, French cars remain the same, while Japanese cars are no longer what they used to be.
With new car prices plummeting in round after round, and older car prices remaining stable, the only promising option seems to be reselling pickup trucks to Afica.
“1 million euros is too low. The Agosta-class destroyer uses HLE80 steel, and the wiring also consumed tens of kilometers of cable. The cost of recycling just those two metals alone is more than 1 million euros.”
The shipbreaking yard owner said angrily, "The price has been ripped off to the point of being a major drain on resources."
"You know about that 1.5 million, I'm taking it back to use as a museum. No matter how high the price of scrap copper and steel is, it's useless."
Xia Yu lowered the price a bit.
He can keep the scrap steel and extract the copper from the cable to print bullets.
"make a deal!"
The boss was very decisive this time. The shipbreaking yard doesn't make much money from dismantling conventional submarines; what they really make money from is dismantling nuclear submarines. So it's fine not to dismantle them; they can just give the few hundred thousand yuan they make to the other party.
Xia Yu doesn't care about the profit or loss of several hundred thousand; he only cares about whether he can achieve his goal.
After negotiating the price in Germany, they now have to negotiate again in China.
A 206A frigate with no refurbishment value sells for 400,000 euros, but a 206A frigate in good condition that will be retired and refurbished to seaworthiness within 10 years is being offered by Krupp for 22 million euros.
The other party has already lowered the price a bit, but it's still not enough.
"Gentlemen, this price is too high. I think 12 million is a very reasonable price."
As CEO, Heinrich did not participate in this meeting, and Xia Yu, being a businessman, directly cut the price.
This directly resulted in the loss of one KF-41 lynx, and the remaining money could buy another one with several loads of ammunition, which shows the premium in the weapons market.
"20 million, Mr. Sherlock, your offer is too low. We really can't do it for 12 million."
Unsealing and refurbishing submarines is very labor-intensive; they can't afford to lose money.
This loss refers to earning less, so there is still a lot of room for price reduction.
"Our company's ship cost 13 million, and the Guo Navy's ship cost 14 million. We provide the 88mm deck gun and 37mm anti-aircraft gun ourselves."
Xia Yu quoted prices separately.
“Mr. Sherlock, we can only offer 17 million and 18 million.”
If the concentrated fire defense team has some of its own weapons, then giving up a little more is also acceptable.
"How about we each give a little more leeway, 14.5 million or 15.5 million?"
Xia Yu finally gave his target price: 30 million euros for both ships.
After a brief internal discussion, the Krupp team felt that they were underpaying at this price, but it was still within their acceptable range.
Without further ado, 30 million it is, and the deal was reached with difficulty.
Oh, and in addition to the simulated combat boat and the standard combat boat, they also have to give away two accessory boats.
With 30 million yuan spent on four submarines and 1.5 million yuan on the Agosta, Xia Yu's trip to Europe was truly fruitful.
After confirming some more details, Hudson also received news that the deal for 50 Weasel truck bodies had been approved.
Without touching Rheinmetall's inventory, Armin granted special approval to repurchase 50 Marder armored vehicles from the Koch Armor Dismantling Plant, and the price was reduced to 100,000 euros per vehicle, so the purchase was completed for 5 million euros.
Spending an extra hundred or so hours to save 5 million euros is still worthwhile, not to mention that Rheinmetall also included a turret, which directly saves back the extra hours spent.
If a customer wants to buy the Weasel S30 in the future, the RH202 that was disassembled can be modified into a BTR-82S.
He doesn't like big, heavy-duty trucks, but he can't resist clients who prefer thin-skinned, generously loaded trucks!
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