The Leclerc, also known as the AMX-56 main battle tank, was the heavily armored knight of the French rooster. Back then, a single Leopard 2 tank cost a staggering $10 million.
Xia Yu was stunned after hearing this; when did Joaquin have Leclerc?
He clearly remembered that, apart from the several hundred vehicles used by the Fa Jun himself, only 388 of these vehicles were sold to Ah Lian.
"In two months, Allen will provide us with 80 Leclerc main battle tanks. I am very grateful for their generosity. However, although the tanks are free, the operating expenses are very high, so I will not put all 80 tanks into active service."
Before he could think much about it, the old king took the initiative to explain the reason: it was aid from a brother country.
Yes, buying and manufacturing military equipment is just the beginning.
To fully realize its potential, continuous investment of funds and human resources is required.
The military budget overrun, even with military aid from the US, is a significant burden on the economy of York.
Not to mention that these are all old tanks that have been in use for more than 20 years. Even though the Prince's Army is poorly equipped, the number of motorcycle hours they have accumulated is still astonishing.
Therefore, it would be more appropriate to enlist some and then store the rest.
This is why the old king felt no guilt about exchanging the old tank for the "new" one; the only cost was one less Leclerc to salvage parts, but he gained a powerful and capable tank that was a prized possession.
However, he is good at accounting, and Xia Yu is even better at it.
“Your Majesty, although I am very interested in the Leclerc tanks you mentioned, aren’t Allen’s batch all old vehicles?”
Having figured out what was going on, he continued.
“Back then, they could sell for $10 million each, but now they’re only worth $3 million at most. Even with the premium for active tanks, that’s not enough to buy a Tiger.”
Xia Yu said after careful consideration.
Cars depreciate, and so do tanks.
The Tiger is like a limited edition of an old-fashioned supercar, such as the 1967 Ferrari 412p, while the Leclerc is like a modern production supercar, such as the Bugatti Veyron.
The price difference may not be that huge, but that's the principle: you can't exchange one car for another; he has to pay extra!
"Oh, tell me your thoughts, and I'll see if they're suitable."
The old king knew that one tank wasn't enough, so he signaled Xia Yu to make an offer.
“There’s something I must mention first. This mid-model Tiger is a key piece in our museum’s promotion, so it’s listed as not for sale. But I have a late-model one that’s being restored, and that one can be used for a trade.”
Before quoting a price, Xia Yu gave the old king a heads-up.
Mid-range Tiger tanks with diving capabilities are extremely rare. With all the necessary parts, you could definitely trade it for three used Leclercs.
But he didn't need to exchange so many, so he planned to use the later-stage model he was still saving up for the trade.
"As long as it can fire, that's fine. You can continue."
The old king only wanted Tiger tanks, the kind that were fully repaired and in good condition; he didn't care about the model or anything like that.
However, he was surprised that Xia Yu actually had a Tiger tank hidden away. It would be difficult for others to find another one, and it seemed like he was doing wholesale.
"I've looked into the Leclerc main battle tank. Allen's order apparently included 388 Leclerc UAE tanks and 46 Leclerc ARV armored recovery vehicles."
The tanks of a small company are for attacking fortified positions, like the male lions in a pride of lions, where there are only one or two.
The lionesses, who are the main hunters and also more numerous, are infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers.
With one T-64B1M, adding one more tank unit is enough; however, more support vehicles are needed.
Especially when deployed separately, Xia Yu cannot personally maintain the suspension of the T-64B1M. Even if a problem occurs, there is an armored repair vehicle that can tow the broken-down tank back.
Rescue and repair are also part of armored warfare. In the past, with this human-shaped armored repair vehicle, it was rare for armored vehicles to break down in combat. However, as the company continues to expand, normalizing the logistics system in a timely manner is the best option.
He originally wanted to modify the Marder chassis into an armored recovery vehicle, but unless it was a chassis as large as the KF-41, the Marder's small size might not be able to tow a heavy main battle vehicle weighing fifty or sixty tons.
Redundancy was a problem that Xia Yu had to consider. His initial idea was to unify the chassis and integrate a Brem-64 himself.
But then he saw that the Buffalo 2 repair truck, which used the Leopard 2 chassis, was also quite good. However, before he could even start any operations, the old king pulled this stunt on him.
There's no other way, you're the one, Leclerc ARV.
"You have a good eye for these. Old Xie gave me a total of 12 of these repair vehicles. The Chief either stored them away or I sank them at sea, but the Chief ARV is still in use!"
The old king couldn't help but complain.
Although Yogi had two deserts, the Nevd and the Negev, he didn't store some of his decommissioned weapons in the desert; instead, he sank them directly into the sea.
A large number of Chieftain tanks, several AH-1F Cobras, and even A130 Hercules tanks.
Over the years, the entire marine cemetery has become a paradise for diving enthusiasts and marine life.
This made Xia Yu, who had access to the system, exclaim that it was a disaster. The concentrated fire defense hadn't even acquired a single transport plane yet, and he was practically drowning.
We have to extort money from him. One tank plus an armored recovery vehicle, that's the price!
"Alright, two it is, deal!"
Seeing that Xia Yu was adamant about the price, the old king, who was eager to acquire tigers, had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
A "model tiger" that can't be driven or fired, and is just an empty shell, can be bought for a maximum of a million dollars, but why does he insist on this kind of tiger that can run and shoot at full health!
Accept the premium, face reality, anyway, he didn't spend any money on those two Leclercs.
Having a good ancestor is one thing; even without oil underground, it doesn't stop the old king from begging for alms everywhere. Fortunately, Xia Yu is not bad either; he also has a system.
Spending a few hundred thousand on raw materials and a bit of time on refurbishment to get two Leclercs in return is not bad!
The agreement stipulated that the goods would be officially loaded and delivered two months after they departed for Marie.
There's no need to transport it all the way to Kongluga; we can unload it halfway through in Ghana, then escort it across Tsukinafaso to Mali. Xia Yu wants to take this opportunity to put it into practice.
"Speaking of which, I was just about to ask, how combat-ready is your modified Weasel?"
The old king then changed the subject to weasels.
He has finished his personal business; now it's time to discuss official matters.
The Jordanian Army's infantry fighting vehicle force mainly consists of more than 500 YPR-765PRI infantry fighting vehicles.
This heavily modified M113-based armored vehicle has decent firepower, but its protection is ridiculously poor.
What we can really boast about are the 75 Marder A3 infantry fighting vehicles.
These weasels were specially sourced by the old king for counter-terrorism purposes; their protection is much better than that of the YPR-765. However, the small 20mm water pipe actually reduced their firepower.
He intended to upgrade some of the 75 Marder A3 tanks and preferred to work with Rheinmetall, but today he unexpectedly saw the Marder S30 from Jihuo Defense, and it seems their modifications are quite good too!
Of course, they didn't need the quadruple Kornet launcher; after all, using anti-tank missiles to fight terrorists was too extravagant. Upgrading the machine gun would suffice.
As for active interception systems and anti-tank kits, these are all prioritized after machine guns.
"Calling the Mole crew, emergency situation, drivers of Weasel S30s, dispatch immediately."
Xia Yu immediately turned on the walkie-talkie and called Kuhn, because no matter how much you talk about something, it's not as effective as taking action.
He felt this was a new order, and whether they could secure it depended on their performance.
The old king peeked out from the commander's tower and soon saw the weasel S30 charging menacingly towards him.
"Knock knock knock"
The vehicle did not stop; the MK302/ABM main gun fired while still in motion.
Dozens of programmable airburst bombs exploded into death storms five hundred meters away.
If there were terrorists there, after such a strike, there probably wouldn't be a single person left standing.
If we switch to 20mm RH202 cannons, the muzzle angle will have to be lower, and more shells will be fired to take out up to half of their men.
Therefore, the main weapon for clearing out enemies with the Weasel S3 or A3 is still that coaxial machine gun. The difference between a 20x139mm ammunition and a 7.62x51mm bullet is more in terms of damage to lightly armored targets. Their efficiency in killing people is about the same. At most, they can attack soft targets behind cover. Otherwise, they are not economical.
Fighting terrorists is unlikely to involve positional warfare; it's mostly urban and rural street fighting. The high penetrating power of the weapons used is also a problem.
Only programmable ammunition can control the kill radius, preventing over-penetration and stray bullets that could harm innocent bystanders.
This is also why shotguns are better for home defense in North America; they have a higher hit rate and are safer enough that you don't have to worry about projectiles penetrating wooden walls and randomly picking off a lucky passerby.
"The counter-terrorism pressure in Kenniya is also very high. They modified 15 Weasel S30 vehicles with me, and they were all delivered some time ago. According to the feedback, the performance is very good."
Leading the old king into the crew cabin of the Weasel S30, Xia Yu began to promote his product to him.
"An infantry fighting vehicle is ultimately just a platform. The amount of firepower you equip it with determines its combat effectiveness."
"Knock knock knock"
The old king fired a few shots and realized that Xia Yu was right.
He also took the time to visit the Bali Military and Police Defense Exhibition last time, and naturally noticed Rheinmetall's newly launched KF-31 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle.
That car looked tempting; it used a weasel chassis, and its reliability was definitely higher than that of the unreliable Cougar, but it was also priced beyond his means.
As for going to Rheinmetall and saying that I only want to upgrade the main gun, they probably won't do that deal.
Modifying one car doesn't make much profit, and he'll sell one less Pajero. So he won't modify it.
Xia Yu was willing to make the changes, since his cost was just a little alloy steel processing time, and a pure upgrade would save him the trouble of importing the car body.
"I'll think about it and give you an answer tomorrow."
The old king ultimately did not make a decision on the spot.
He can make decisions on some things directly, but he has to discuss other things with the domestic authorities.
Xia Yu expressed his understanding, after all, whether to change it, how much to change it, and how to change it all need to be discussed, and it can be done slowly.
As darkness fell, the group drove away from the training ground and returned to Wani Village.
After a quick dinner, the old king immediately returned to his room and convened a video conference.
Most people at the meeting agreed with his firepower upgrade plan, but argued that all 75 vehicles should not be upgraded, as that would not only put too much pressure on the budget but also easily lead to excessive firepower.
The correct choice is to use a combination of 20mm and 30mm lenses, both high and low.
There's no need to install active protection systems and explosive reactive armor kits, since they operate as a system, and add-on armor and slat armor are sufficient.
The large number of equipment is a problem. There are only 15 Kenniya tanks in total, so naturally they want to build up some defenses to avoid losses of infantry fighting vehicles.
The engine was already in bad shape, not to mention that with so many upgrades, even the engine had to be replaced, otherwise it wouldn't run.
After much discussion, it was decided to modify 25 tanks, upgrading only the main gun. This way, one S3 tank paired with two A3 tanks could form a platoon.
If the armored forces in the Middle East are not downsized, and you just send Afikas with some armored personnel carriers, that's a company.
"25 vehicles, right? I understand."
Having received professional training, Xia Yu suppressed a laugh and calmly replied.
Business came knocking on our door! Investing in museum projects was definitely the right choice.
In the past, they had to promote their products while fighting, but now they have an additional channel for showcasing their products.
Those countries equipped with weasels can also become Xia Yu's clients.
After modifying these 25 vehicles, he will have to go to Rheinmetall to purchase a batch of parts.
Even though the shipment volume of the MK302/ABM machine gun has been large over the past ten years, including this, Xia Yu's total number of units used by himself and sold to others has exceeded 50.
He only actually paid for 5 guns, lest the dealers find out that there are so many new guns on the market when they check the inventory.
If it's a counterfeit, how come the quality is the same as mine?
Just order a batch of goods and become a legitimate distributor, and there won't be any problems.
For example, you can enter 50 doors and exit 100 doors, thus sustainably profiting from promotions.
The price wasn't too expensive: $1 million for the cannon, $250,000 for the modification, and the removed RH202 cannon would be his.
Xia Yu discovered that there weren't many customers in Afica who could afford the MK302/ABM autocannon, and he mainly sold German autocannons.
Integrating the old RH202 and making an armed pickup truck for customers who need an organic cannon is a good choice.
Moreover, as long as the goods can be shipped, he can make money by selling ammunition, which is very suitable for clients who are not wealthy.
Just like Pinduoduo, which quietly achieved a market value several times that of JD.com, it was targeting the lower-tier market.
Machine guns are outdated; he wants to make cheap autocannons affordable for every customer.
Good heavens, the intensity of the war has been escalated. From now on, Afica's pickup trucks won't be enough, and Xia Yu must bear half the responsibility.
The draft contract states that 25 vehicles would cost $31.25 million. The client doesn't want machine gun bullets or smoke grenades, so the initial cost is $200,000.
Without further ado, the old king asked for 50 base amounts of 10 million, totaling 41.25 million US dollars.
Five vehicles will be converted and delivered in batches each month, with a total of 25 vehicles to be upgraded within six months.
With the groundwork laid by Kenniya, Xiayu appropriately increased its production capacity.
With no objections to the contract, both parties formally signed it, and the first batch of five A3 trucks will be loaded onto the ship within a week.
"Your Majesty, it's a pleasure doing business with you!"
"It's a pleasure doing business with you!"
Over the next two days, the old King tank, which he had just ordered, was thoroughly tested on several other classic tanks before reluctantly leaving Konluga.
He wanted to stay for the opening ceremony, but he couldn't cancel many of his scheduled visits.
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