Upon entering the core area of the Gineya Bend, everyone became more vigilant.
In fact, this is the area where pirate attacks frequently occur. More than 80% of the pirates on the west coast of Afica come from Niriliya.
As a result, Angra cannot compare to this place at all.
The reason is probably because Niri Liya produces too much oil!
As Afica's largest oil producer, they own more than 600 oil fields and can produce more than 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.
The vast majority of these were transported to all parts of the world via oil tankers, and oil tankers, fully loaded with crude oil, were the pirates' favorite.
After all, by eliminating the need for ransom, two or three hundred thousand barrels of crude oil would directly translate into several million dollars in revenue, not to mention that such hard currency is very easy to sell.
Even Xia Yu had used this kind of fuel refined from pirate loot several times, and it was a bestseller throughout the entire Afica West Coast.
The only downside is that the oil quality isn't very good; it needs to be refined a second time to remove impurities.
In addition, black oil can also be obtained by stealing oil directly from pipelines on shore.
The entry barrier for this industry is much lower than that for piracy. You can start a business and grow it into a large enterprise with just an 18-year-old motorcycle. The entire route of theft, processing, and smuggling involves tens of thousands of people.
While making profits, they also brought real benefits to the people of Afica.
With a two-pronged approach, both onshore and offshore, a world where only oil companies suffered losses was achieved.
"When will I be able to own my own oil field?"
Standing on the open platform atop the bridge of the St. Paul, Xia Yu raised his binoculars and looked at an oil tanker passing by in the distance, muttering to himself.
Crude oil is cheap; it fell to $26 a barrel at the beginning of the year.
Even now, the price has rebounded to less than $50. Just the 80 thermite rockets he burned last night, regardless of the actual cost, were enough by Alexei's offer to buy more than $20,000, nearly 30,000 barrels of crude oil.
That's a whopping 4 million liters. After refining all the oils, there are over 1 million liters of diesel alone.
Whether it's the company's T-64B1M or the Leclerc UAE, based on a base fuel consumption of 200 liters per 100 kilometers, they're enough to circle the equator 12 times.
The lifespan of an engine in motorcycle hours is certainly not that high, but it also shows how cheap this black gold is, or rather, if it weren't cheap, it wouldn't have become the lifeblood of industry.
However, wars and international relations affect the price of crude oil, and even a small fluctuation can be reflected in people's lives.
Due to the demand, Jihuo Defense currently relies primarily on purchasing fuel, and the development of oil field projects takes a backseat to the development of uranium mines.
After all, nuclear energy is the future. The energy released by 1 kilogram of nuclear fuel (uranium-235) is equivalent to thousands of tons of crude oil. In addition, the energy supply process emits almost no waste gas or waste (in the kilogram range), making it very suitable for powering deep underground fortresses.
"Boss, lunch is ready."
Leonardo came over from the restaurant and stood on the flight deck, calling out to Xia Yu.
"Wait a minute, something seems to be going on the other side."
Xia Yu, with his sharp eyes, spotted two fast-moving small boats cutting through the waves and encircling the oil tanker.
"We've got some work to do."
Leonardo was somewhat excited.
"They probably won't need us; their ship is equipped with PMSC."
Because of the distance, Xia Yu couldn't hear the gunshots, but he could see the muzzle flash through his binoculars; the other side had retaliated.
"The shipowner got his money's worth; the pirates are starting to leave."
Watching the two small boats leave without looking back, he stopped watching the spectacle, got off the bridge, and prepared to go to the restaurant for a meal.
Retreat if there is resistance; that's the smart thing to do.
With so many oil tankers and cargo ships entering and leaving the port of Gineya Bay every day, it's impossible to hire PMSC for every single ship.
If you make three to five strikes and seize the opportunity to pull off a big heist, you can live off that for several years.
Over time, an unspoken rule gradually formed in the Gineya Bay: pirates would retreat whenever they encountered an oil tanker escorted by a PMSC (Police-Protected Ships and Marine Transport Corporation). PMSCs would also refrain from killing pirates when they encountered them. Ship owners were divided into those who were willing to hire PMSCs and those who were unwilling to hire security escorts.
The power struggle among various factions has gradually led to the current balance, but the price paid is the frequent sacrifice of an unlucky individual.
Xia Yu was the unlucky guy in this situation last time, but fortunately he wiped out his opponent and got his revenge.
What about this time?
No one suffered any losses, and no one hired concentrated fire defense; eliminating those pirates was simply a waste of bullets.
Xia Yu could either sponsor the attack or pretend not to see it, since the other party was sensible enough not to provoke them.
This is the level of professionalism that comes from being involved in such a scandal. In comparison, the pirates of Angra were far too rude.
"bite"
After lunch, Xia Yu went back to bed to take a nap when she heard a notification sound.
[Project: H225M Naval Combat Version]
Printing progress: 100%
As is well known, a medium-sized long-range tactical transport helicopter becomes an attack helicopter when armed, just like the Mi-8 Hippo AMT Extreme Armament variant, which can carry 6 rocket pods and has a firepower output stronger than the Mi-24V.
Therefore, he deliberately ignored the basic transport version and printed the anti-ship version of the Pasig Navy.
[FNM3P machine gun pod: HMP250 (250 rounds of 12.7mm), HMP400 (400 rounds of 12.7mm)]
[Aircraft cannon: Kiat M621 (20mm)]
[Rocket Nest: FZ-233 (70mm)]
Lightweight air-launched torpedo: MU90 Impact
Anti-ship missile: AM39
…………
When I opened the weapon list, several pages loaded immediately.
The German-made anti-ship Caracal, of German descent, can't function without the Exocet missile. With the decommissioning of the São Paulo, the Germans can no longer afford another second-hand conventional aircraft carrier. But helicopter carriers (amphibious assault ships) don't have so many complicated issues.
This time it seems they want to curry favor with the British, but the British Ocean only entered service with the Japanese Navy in 1998, it's a new and powerful ship, so they'll have to pay extra.
Xia Yu isn't very interested in these weapons right now; the digital cockpit of the Caracal is more appealing.
Although the Super Frelon's avionics underwent a mid-life upgrade in conjunction with the two Clemenceau-class destroyers, they are not significantly better than the Mi-24Vs that Xia Yu acquired at the time, making another upgrade necessary.
Communication equipment, navigation systems, heading and attitude systems, air data computers... all of these need to be upgraded, as does the most important autopilot.
Xia Yu has already installed the Tiger's 4-axis dual autopilot on the Mi-24V, but isn't there an option to go straight between attack helicopters and transport helicopters?
Of course, the integrated electronic warfare self-defense system is also very important, but there was only one set that was taken from the Tiger, which he used to upgrade the Mi-24V. It was impossible to print another one because there was no mothership.
The good news is that the anti-ship version of the Pasig Cat for the Bashi Navy was later equipped with Saab's Integrated Defense Auxiliary Kit (IDAS). This system integrates a radar warning receiver, a laser warning device, an ultraviolet missile approach warning system, a directional infrared jamming system, and can be adapted to the fuselage's own heat decoy launcher.
Xia Yu wanted this kind of integration, which was much better than his piecemeal approach.
Saab's IDAS system is also the best option for most international users.
The probability of survival under a single man-portable air defense missile attack is high, but once the enemy concentrates fire, the Blue Helmet Tiger crew is already dead.
Electronic warfare self-defense systems can only guarantee that you won't be hit as much as possible, but whether you can survive after being hit depends on the defensive capabilities of the armor kit.
The advantage of transport helicopters over attack helicopters is that they can sacrifice their own transport capacity to carry thicker armor than attack helicopters.
Yes, the tail rotor is still fragile; no matter how thick the armor is, it still needs to be well protected.
He didn't even bother taking a nap at this moment, and immediately started dismantling the Frenzied Cat, taking apart all the parts that needed to be upgraded and putting them, along with the Super Frenzied Hornet in the hangar, into the modification module laboratory.
[Found 1 flying vehicle and 12 usable modification parts; can be modified]
Xia Yu continued to invest a large amount of titanium alloy, and the system immediately generated a variety of modification plans.
He picked the one that looked best to him, made some minor adjustments, and then officially made his choice.
"Modify!"
A progress bar popped up in the system.
Estimated remaining man-hours for modification: 38.7
Less than 40 working hours, that's pretty efficient. After all, the more modifications you make, the more technical reserves you accumulate.
Time flew by on the ship, and when they arrived in the waters near Guinea two days later, a cargo ship was heading toward the São Paulo.
The West African Star was the cargo ship that Xia Yu personally escorted during his first arms deal. Of the 5,000-ton cargo capacity, only 1,000 tons were used this time, all of which were various non-hazardous chemicals that Xia Yu's storage warehouse was running low on.
Its original destination was Kongluga, but thinking of a possible switcheroo, Xia Yu arranged for the handover to take place in international waters near Kinaiya.
They were transferred to the West African Star by small boat. The captain was not the original Antonio, because, as a precaution, he asked the shipowner to replace the entire crew.
These people didn't see the loading process, and the ship's hold seals are still intact, so only Xia Yu knows what goods are inside.
He broke the seal and climbed into the first cargo hold alone, releasing the folded "Cat Bee".
Then they climbed down to the second floor and, without even checking what kind of chemical raw materials they were, directly put all the stockpiled chemical raw materials into the storage silo.
"Swish"
The late-stage Tiger tank that was traded to the old king appeared out of nowhere, along with all sorts of ammunition.
With the agreed delivery date approaching, I was thinking of rearranging the ship. Perhaps it would be better to use the West African Star to complete the last leg of the journey and send the Tiger to Yogi along the way.
This achieves three goals at once, and the shipping costs are still charged to the old king.
Xia Yu originally wanted to take responsibility herself, but the other party was just too enthusiastic!
After finishing his work, he returned to the deck and immediately called the crane to lift all the first layer of removable hatch covers.
"Wow, boss, you bought another helicopter!"
Mariano said in surprise.
"To be precise, it's two. Don't you think we really need a tactical transport helicopter? Before the instructor team joined the concentrated fire defense, the Mi-24V was already insufficient."
During Zhong Fei's deployment, one-third of the personnel traveled by land due to the need for transport vehicles. However, for the remaining two-thirds, Xia Yu borrowed a Mi-8 from Busa to complete the entire deployment.
Now, they have their own tactical transport helicopters.
"But our company has more than 20 people, we don't need two Super Frelons!"
Mariano recognized the model of the folding helicopter because he had previously conducted joint exercises with the French.
"We can't use them, so one is used in conjunction with the Mi-24V, and the other is left in the park to pick up and drop off tourists."
Xia Yu will only bring out the second Super Hornet around the time the second phase of the project is operational; for now, he's just giving the guys some time to prepare.
When the company expands to the point where even the Super Hornet isn't enough, then he'll really have to look for a Chinook.
Soon, the crane lifted the Super Hornet onto the deck of the St. Paul, and under Xia Yu's command, all the hatches were put back in place.
New seals were put on the personnel hatches, and the corresponding delivery orders have been sent to the old king. He will soon be able to meet his Tiger tanks, and Xia Yu will soon be able to fight alongside his Leclercs.
My main goal was to try out the new car, see its performance before modification, and compare the improvements after modification.
"Wait a minute, boss, this helicopter looks brand new!"
It was Lawrence who spoke.
They also conducted exercises with the French Navy, and I still remember the Super Frelon's cockpit was dilapidated.
"It's been drastically modified. The state it reached me was completely unusable, so I decided to spend some money to make some minor changes."
When Xia Yu mentioned "slight modifications," he meant a total of four large screens and two small screens, with various upgrade kits installed all over the device, as well as various unseen changes inside. He must have spent a lot of money on this.
How should I put it? Let's try our best to make money for the boss and recoup the cost of the two helicopters.
"We should be able to enter the port around noon. Mole, fennec fox, and raccoon, stay behind. You guys are responsible for escorting all the equipment and supplies to Mari."
After watching the West African Star return along the same route it had come from, Xia Yu, back on the aircraft carrier, convened a meeting with everyone.
The vanguard of the concentrated fire defense will depart after entering the port, with a three-plane formation consisting of Gazelle, Doe, and Super Hornet, taking 90% of the employees to Mali.
“Shrew, you lead the way with the Wolverine, the Osmog with the whole Group 2, the rest of Group 1 and the instructors’ group, and the Begonia Rabbit will come with me to Super Hornet.”
Xia Yu continued making arrangements.
Currently, he's the only one in the company who can pilot the Super Frelon. Once Andrei is familiar with the operation, they should split the transport helicopter in half.
The company has three helicopter pilots: Xia Yu is mainly responsible for attack and secondarily for transport; Andrei is mainly responsible for transport and secondarily for attack; and Lyman is purely supportive. Their roles are clearly defined.
"Yes, boss!"
The crowd responded in unison.
"Then disband! Go back and pack your equipment immediately!"
The crowd dispersed, leaving only Andre and Lyman. They helped Xia Yu refuel the Super Hornet and initiate a self-check.
Taking this opportunity, Xia Yu explained to the two the many differences in the operation of the Super Hornet.
We'll have to wait until we get to Marie to do the practical exercises; for now, I'll just give a brief introduction.
The tugboat continued on until it delivered the São Paulo to its designated berth.
"It's the Foch. I used to deliver supplies to her all the time when I was young!"
The captain of the French Navy's supply ship, the VAL, put down his binoculars and remarked with emotion.
"But she was sold to the Basils, and now she's in the hands of a PMC company."
The deputy had barely finished speaking when the sound of the helicopter's rotors began to whistle.
"Splash splash"
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