Chapter 144

Of course it's not done yet; this is just a beginning!

This shows that the J-7 fighter jet has already caught Iraq's eye; next, to get them to accept these jets, we still need to help them solve the money problem, after all, in war money flows like water.

"The jets Qin coordinated for us will definitely be right." At this moment, Wudai completely trusts Qin Miao; actually, he just wants to keep earning merits, so he can accumulate more political capital in Iraq's regime and later take over his father's position.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to inherit the position, and in the end his father still screwed him over.

Wudai doesn't understand aircraft, and he may not fully trust Qin Miao either, but he has to trust Musatafa.

"What missiles can this aircraft carry?" Musatafa continued to ask.

The airframe is satisfactory, the avionics upgrade is also satisfactory; next comes the missiles—the cannon is a last resort, normally we use missiles.

"We in the East have advanced air-to-air missiles; of course, if you need, we can also help match other air-to-air missiles—French, American, or even Soviet ones are fine."

Now Musatafa is even more satisfied, meaning their existing missiles can also be used!

If this were later times, if missile suppliers didn't provide weapon interfaces, mixing them would be impossible; but now electronics are still primitive, not so refined, so Old Ba, after buying J-6s from the East, simply mounted American Sidewinder missiles on them when he returned.

As for French missiles, they've been exported to many countries, their interface data is almost semi-public, so matching them on our side poses no problem.

Lao Tu felt cold sweat trickling down his back; Qin Miao, you've blown big talk, and now the tough problems all fall on us—if we can't fulfill your promises, won't our reputation be ruined in the international market?

"If we place an order, when can the aircraft be ready?"

"About three years should be enough for delivery."

Lao Tu breathed a sigh of relief; three years is plenty!

Now it's Wudai's turn to be dissatisfied: "Qin, why so long? If we order now, can't we have delivery in half a year?"

"Ah, Wudai, my friend, I'm really sorry." Qin Miao's face showed an embarrassed expression: "I... my ability still isn't enough; currently the fighters are all being produced for the Eastern Air Force, and the Air Force allowing Iraq to purchase the same model is already the biggest favor—our Iraq order will definitely have to come after the Air Force's order... sorry."

This self-reproachful attitude instantly turned Wudai's mood from cloudy to sunny: "No, Qin, it was my rashness."

Musatafa said: "In international arms procurement, it's normal for fighter jets to need two or three years delivery after ordering; Your Excellency Wudai, we don't need to rush—I believe our Eastern friends will seize the time and produce for us as early as possible."

Lao Tu nodded: "That's right, we'll sign a three-year contract, but we'll strive for delivery!"

"Wudai, our order quantity can't be too small, otherwise after the Air Force slots in its follow‑on order, if we want to buy a second batch later we'll have to delay again." Qin Miao said.

"That's right, exactly so; Qin, what quantity do you think would be appropriate for us to purchase?"

"At least a hundred aircraft!"

My goodness! Lao Tu's heart was overjoyed—a hundred aircraft! With this deal, Chengfei will come fully back to life! No, no, it can even grow and expand!

But… now it's Iraq's turn to frown.

A hundred aircraft—what a joke, what scale is that!

During WWII, propeller fighters cost about the same as tanks, and air forces of all countries equipped them in large numbers; at peak, scenes of hundreds of fighters dueling in the sky would appear. Those major powers' fighter inventories weren't just thousands or tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands, even hundreds of thousands!

Among those countries, Italy was at the bottom, still with over ten thousand; the strongest, the United States, built over three hundred thousand!

In the jet age, fighter prices shot up rapidly, and because speed is high, air combat airspace must expand, so nations' fighter numbers quickly dropped—having a few hundred advanced jets already qualifies as a first‑rate power!

Before the Iran‑Iraq War, Iraq possessed over three hundred fighters, organized into four wings, while Iran opposite had over four hundred.

During the war, Iraq kept buying advanced fighters; by the end, its air force total had surged to over nine hundred aircraft, while Iran, due to wartime attrition, was left with only about three hundred.

Now Iraq has only three or four hundred aircraft total; suddenly buying another hundred would expand the air force by a quarter—this isn't something those present can decide.

Mahdi spoke cautiously: "Mr. Qin, is a hundred too many?"

"What's too much? This is only how many! Iraq is currently at a disadvantage in the air and must strengthen its air power; a hundred is still too few, better to buy two hundred!" Qin Miao said: "What are we fighting in this war, if not war potential? What is war potential? Obviously, who can withstand consumption; without sufficient equipment, can one endure war's attrition?"

Wudai nodded: "Exactly, to win this war we must have ample weapons and equipment; a hundred isn't many!"

"Your Excellency Wudai… we… probably don't have that much money."

You say 'buy' here as a simple sentence, but do you know how much money the state would have to spend? And how would we raise that much?

"Mr. Mahdi, the East and the Soviet Union are different; we aren't that greedy. You're my friends, so this aircraft must be sold to you at a friend's price." After Qin Miao finished, he turned to the opposite side: "Mr. Tu, how much does the J‑7 fighter jet sell for to the Air Force?"

"Well… that's a secret."

"What secret, what secret? Among friends we have no secrets—rest assured, the Air Force won't blame me; I just got married a few days ago, and Old Lin even personally attended my wedding!"

"Alright, an aircraft with domestic avionics only needs one million; using Marconi‑improved avionics raises the price to 1.5 million."

Everyone present widened their eyes.

Iraq: Really cheap!

In the 1970s, Iraq's first batch of MiG‑21s cost $2.04 million each; by the early 1980s the price had risen to three million, yet the Eastern product needs only one million! Buying a hundred would be just a hundred million, and even if we switched to Marconi avionics it would only rise to 150 million.

Qin Miao: I regret it—I didn't even give Lao Tu a heads‑up; why quote so low? At least you should have said two million! You're really an honest person!