Chapter 187: Press Conference

Regardless of what tricky questions might be raised at the press conference, they had to push through it now. This was a predetermined plan, and numerous matters needed to be officially announced during the event.

The press conference hall was quite refined. Being British, they only had their superficial elegance left, but so be it; when in Rome, do as the Romans do. After a brief commotion, the reporters below found their respective seats, with cameras and lenses occupying every corner of the venue, eagerly awaiting the start of the briefing.

The British staff responsible for venue order walked to the back to announce that preparations were complete. Yang Hui, representing the Southwest Aviation Industry and Science Research Consortium as the primary contractor for the project, naturally took the lead alongside the representatives from Britain’s Marconi and Ferranti companies, walking up to the stage and taking their seats.

A flurry of camera flashes immediately went off, though they came and went in a hurry; the main focus of the press conference was the Super JJ-7, and everything else would have to take a back seat.

"Distinguished friends from the press and the aviation industry, good afternoon. I am very glad to meet you all here at the Farnborough Airshow to hold this press conference. Today, we will announce a series of major cooperation initiatives aimed at deepening the traditional friendship between China and Britain."

After a round of applause, the proceedings moved straight to the core agenda. The first announcement concerned the introduction of radar technology from Ferranti.

"As you all learned this morning, our new aircraft adopts the Foxhunter radar. What we are announcing now is that this radar acquisition goes beyond mere purchasing; it includes technology transfer. In other words, we will acquire the Foxhunter radar technology."

The transfer of the Foxhunter radar technology shocked everyone present. This radar was the frontline airborne radar in active service with the Imperial Navy; was it really a good idea to sell its technology?

At this point, the vice president of Ferranti stepped forward, signaling that it was his turn to speak: "That is correct. In this Foxhunter radar transaction, after the procurement of fifty sets of radars for this aircraft, we will transfer the technology and the production line. This has been approved by the Imperial Ministry of Defence, so there is no need for excessive interpretation."

The reporters below hardly had time to over-interpret the news; they were all writing furiously, terrified of missing even a single word.

Seeing this, Yang Hui immediately announced that the introduction of the radar would be primarily undertaken by 0780: "For this radar introduction, our Republic's side will be undertaken by Changhong Corporation, the manufacturer with the longest history of airborne fire-control radar in our country."

As soon as Yang Hui finished speaking, Ni Runfeng stood up and firmly shook hands with the vice president of Ferranti to demonstrate the great importance attached to the Foxhunter radar technology transfer.

With the radar matter addressed, the introduction of Marconi’s avionics equipment and the procurement of Martin-Baker ejection seats followed in the same fashion, with other items proceeding one by one. Naturally, this consumed a vast amount of the photographers' film, something that could not be avoided.

Finally, it was time for the main event of the press conference: addressing the Arab background of the Super JJ-7, a major issue that everyone cared deeply about.

"Now, let us discuss the Arab background of our new aircraft. We would now like to invite our two distinguished guests from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to speak."

The Saudi tycoon loved moments like this to show off. After breaking into a wide smile, Sultan spoke at length about the new aircraft project: "For decades, Saudi Arabia has consistently purchased combat aircraft already developed by other nations, which in many aspects failed to align with our actual operational needs. Consequently, we embarked on this epoch-making cooperation to build a fighter jet tailored specifically to the Middle East region. This will be a historic breakthrough."

The Saudi tycoon went on and on about how wonderful this new aircraft was and how perfectly it suited Saudi Arabia's needs, unaware that his words were thoroughly disgusting to the reporters. Good grief, what you are implying is that all the weapons previously supplied to you by Western nations do not meet your needs—in that case, why did you buy them in the first place? Saying it so blatantly was quite something.

Fortunately, Madad recognized the issue in time and hurriedly interrupted Sultan's speech. Giving a brief gesture, he took over the microphone and said:

"Of course, the primary purpose of this trainer aircraft project is to meet the needs of Pakistan. As united Muslim nations, we help each other; therefore, incorporating their own requirements, Saudi Arabia has also participated in the research and development of our new trainer aircraft. For this, Pakistan is immensely grateful for Saudi Arabia's generosity."

Hearing Pakistan's statement, everyone chuckled. That made sense; it turned out Saudi Arabia was participating in the development simply to help out their Muslim little brother. They had genuinely thought for a moment that Saudi Arabia was pivoting toward the Eastern Republic in its weapon procurement. What a false alarm.

At this point, a reporter could no longer hold back. Although the official Q&A session had not yet begun, the bold journalist asked:

"Then, what are the investment ratios among the three parties—Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the Republic—in the development of this new aircraft? That is something we are quite concerned about."

On the subject of money, Saudi Arabia grew energetic once again. Sultan preempted the answer: "I will address the financial question. Our Saudi side will provide fifty percent of the development costs, while Pakistan and the Red Republic will each cover the remaining twenty-five percent."

"Gasp......"

Now that was a true tycoon. Participating merely as an investor without undertaking any development tasks—acting purely as a high-roller buyer—Saudi Arabia was shouldering half of the research and development expenses. Such a country was truly a rarity in the world; they were indeed nouveau riche.

Some reporters with close ties to domestic British airframe manufacturers were already plotting whether they could rope Saudi Arabia into participating in future British fighter development programs as well. Saudi Arabia was, after all, a student of the British Empire; the current Royal Saudi Air Force was built with British assistance, and that fact had to be properly leveraged.

Before these reporters could recover from their astonishment, Yang Hui and Sultan exchanged a glance, signaling that the matter regarding the procurement of the new aircraft could now be revealed.

Sultan was exceptionally pleased. Seeing the astonished expressions on the reporters' faces and their shattered spectacles, he felt it necessary to drop another heavy bombshell.

He retrieved a model contract from his briefcase, handed it to an accompanying staff member, and projected the most crucial detail—the procurement quantity—onto the screen beside them.

"As you can see now, after careful consideration, our Saudi side has decided to make an initial procurement of thirty Super JJ-7 combat trainers for pilot training, tactical simulation, and border patrol duties. We are procuring these thirty fighter jets at a cost price of four million dollars each, totaling one hundred and twenty million dollars in procurement value. Should the performance prove satisfactory, we will place a follow-up order for an additional seventy aircraft."

The satellite that Saudi Arabia had just launched was massive indeed. Although everyone had anticipated some level of procurement from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia announcing the exact quantity at this moment still shocked everyone deeply. An initial order of thirty aircraft, not to mention at least seventy more on tentative order, was staggering.

A total order of one hundred aircraft would surely not be used solely for pilot training; more likely, they would be deployed for routine border patrols. If these roles were assumed by the Super JJ-7, the market for Western fighter jets would inevitably be squeezed out. Whether this was a blessing or a curse remained to be seen.

On second thought, however, it seemed the British Empire did not possess this kind of light fighter either, so export was out of the question anyway. As long as it was none of the British Empire's concern, they could do as they pleased. At least the British Empire had participated in the aircraft's development; if this plane sold well, Britain would benefit all the same.

Seeing that Saudi Arabia had announced its procurement program, Pakistan did not fall behind. Madad, who had also attended the press conference, brought domestic procurement orders to generate momentum at the airshow.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the reporters, Madad retrieved an official document from his briefcase, instructed his aide to replace the Saudi contract, and projected Pakistan's massive order onto the screen.

The projector faithfully displayed Pakistan's procurement list onto the giant screen, causing the reporters as well as the staff from Marconi and Ferranti sitting on the stage to draw in a sharp breath in unison.

"What the hell..." (To be continued.)