Two days later.
DYB North America R&D Center.
Li Jianguo projected the screening report onto the holographic screen, which listed three full pages of active and retired main fighter jets worldwide. F-15, Su-27, F-4, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, F-14... Each one was clearly marked with its modification cycle, estimated cost, and feasibility assessment.
Fu Haoran read it from beginning to end, tapping his fingers on the table twice at a leisurely pace.
"The F-15's refit cycle is nine months, which is too long."
"The Su-27's airframe procurement costs are too high, and the supply chain is a bottleneck."
"The F-4 is too old; its potential for modification is practically zero."
"The French are so tight on arms sales that we can't get Mirage 2000 units in bulk."
"The MiG-29 has too short a range; its combat radius can't even cover a distance from Washington to New York. It's useless."
He raised his head, his tone calm yet undeniably firm. "None of them will do."
Li Jianguo offered no explanation.
He knew that what Fu Haoran wanted was a platform that could be mass-produced and put into combat use within five months.
Finally, Fu Haoran's gaze fell on the MiG-25 and MiG-31 models at the end of the Manifest.
The modification requirements and structural redundancy of these two Soviet-made fighter jets perfectly matched his core needs. However, the biggest problem was where to obtain a large number of airframes in good condition.
Just then, JARVIS's voice suddenly rang out:
"Sir, my web crawler has retrieved some breaking news: the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan has just announced a new round of global auctions for retired fighter jets. They are willing to sell 117 retired Soviet Union- era fighter jets for a package price of $3.83 million."
A long Manifest of mechs instantly popped up on the holographic screen, and Fu Haoran's gaze froze on it.
This batch of fighter jets included not only the MiG-25 he had his eye on, but also several other models such as the MiG-31, MiG-29, and Su-24, many of which are still in service with the air forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The report content scrolled across the screen: The Kazakhstan Air Force has been undergoing a large-scale modernization in recent years, with the core objective of transforming from a Soviet-style air force system to an advanced Western-style air force. To this end, it has decided to retire a large number of old fighter jets left over from the Soviet Union era. The models being auctioned off are the core assets to be disposed of in the modernization plan.
Fu Haoran stared at the "MiG-25" designation on the screen, his finger completely frozen in place.
" JARVIS, retrieve the complete airframe data for the MiG-25."
The holographic model slowly unfolded in the air, and the structural line drawing of the MiG-25 rotated 360 degrees, revealing its core parameters: 80% of the airframe is made of stainless steel welded structure, the maximum level flight speed is Mach 2.8, and the service ceiling is 24,000 meters.
It is equipped with two original R-15B-300 turbojet engines, each with a maximum afterburning thrust of 11 tons.
It has four underwing hardpoints for heavy-duty payloads, with a maximum payload of four tons.
The pure hydraulic flight control system is so simple in structure that even a small-town sheet metal factory can perform maintenance and repairs.
Li Jianguo's recommended solution was also marked next to the model. His core idea for upgrading and modifying the aircraft was to remove the old RP-25 radar and use its huge radar bay space to directly insert a domestically produced AESA phased array array adapted for the F-22, without making any structural modifications to the fuselage.
Fu Haoran stared at the model for a long time before finally making his decision. "That's it."
Li Jianguo leaned closer to the holographic model, his brows furrowing instantly. He steeled himself and reminded him, "President Fu, I must explain the shortcomings of this model to you."
"The MiG-25 is an interceptor design from the 1960s. It has extremely poor low-altitude maneuverability, a standard combat range of only 1,800 kilometers, and its original radar lacks look-down and shoot-down capabilities. In today's air combat environment, its shortcomings are very obvious."
"What I need is a combat platform that can mount an engine and take to the skies, not a king of aerial combat." Fu Haoran interrupted him directly, his tone unwavering. "A stainless steel fuselage and simple welding process are a huge advantage for us, meaning that repair and modification are extremely easy to achieve. Even our non-standard processing equipment can be adapted with zero difficulty."
"The radar bay has enough space to directly transplant the domestically produced AESA radar from the F-22 project, solving avionics and detection issues in one step."
"The hydraulic flight control structure is simple enough that whether it's for subsequent manned conversion or unmanned flight control adaptation, the barrier to entry is extremely low, and no additional complex digital signal conversion is required."
Fu Haoran paused, then looked at Li Jianguo: "Is this enough?"
Li Jianguo fell silent for a moment, then nodded emphatically. "That's enough."
He's been in the aviation industry his whole life, so he knows all too well the value of this plan.
It is entirely feasible to complete batch modifications and achieve the first flight within five months by simply replacing the engine, adding radar, and modifying the flight control system, without having to design the fuselage from scratch, overcome the complex composite material process, or adapt to a completely new aerodynamic layout.
He had only focused on the shortcomings in performance on paper, but forgot that what the boss wanted was not the most advanced fighter jet, but a fighter jet that could land quickly and fight.
Fu Haoran turned to JARVIS: "When does the auction start?"
"Filming will begin simultaneously online worldwide tonight at 8 PM."
"Register an auction account, and we'll follow every bidder to the end, paying in full to secure these fighter jets."
As a former Soviet Union republic, Kazakhstan has recently been thrust into the global military spotlight due to this fighter jet auction.
A package of 117 Soviet Union- era warplanes is being auctioned off with a starting price of less than $4 million, averaging less than $40,000 per aircraft – a truly bargain price.
The news caused an uproar among military enthusiasts worldwide.
But only the Kazakhstan Air Force knows that these fighter jets have long become an inescapable burden.
Most of these fighter jets were delivered between 1975 and 1989, and have been in storage for more than 20 years. Their airframes are aging and their avionics are outdated, resulting in astronomical annual maintenance costs.
More importantly, the sale of these fighter jets is Kazakhstan's way of surrendering to North Atlantic Treaty Organization, completely phasing out Soviet-style equipment and fully aligning itself with the Western air force system.
Kazakhstan has held two online auctions in succession, lowering prices again and again, but no one has shown any interest.
If the auction fails again this time, they will have no choice but to dismantle all of these fighter jets into scrap metal and destroy them.
The online auction started on time that evening.
The number of onlookers exceeded 100,000, and the barrage of comments was dense, but not a single person actually placed a bid.
"To be honest, it's really hard to find buyers for this kind of package auction. These planes are basically only fit for museums, but which museum needs more than a hundred of the same model?"
"What do you know, upstairs? Just take the MiG-29 for example, a brand new one normally costs over 30 million US dollars. Even a retired, second-hand one, this package price is practically free!"
"I've done the math. On average, each unit costs less than $40,000. That's not just a bargain, it's practically free!"
Just when netizens thought the auction was going to end in failure again, the auction page suddenly underwent a dramatic change.
The page displayed 117 fighter jets, repeatedly showing "Sold Out" "Sold Out" "Sold Out"!
In the blink of an eye, 117 fighter jets were all snapped up by the same ID, and the full payment was instantly credited to the account!
The live stream chat exploded instantly.
Holy crap! A mysterious big shot has appeared!
Judging from the pinyin of the ID, it seems to belong to a Chinese person!
"Are you crazy? Why buy over a hundred retired fighter jets? They won't be able to fly them!"
"You don't understand the world of the rich. Can't they just buy it and take it apart to play with the parts?"
Although the incident caused a great stir online, it ultimately only circulated within a small circle of military enthusiasts and did not cause a bigger stir.
The most shocked party was the auction committee of the Kazakhstan Air Force.
They were prepared for the third failed auction and to dismantle the fighter jets, but to their utter surprise, they actually encountered a great benefactor who bought all 117 fighter jets in one go.
On the other side, at DYB's North America R&D Center.
JARVIS's voice rang out again. "Sir, the auction house has confirmed that full payment has been made for all 117 fighter jets, and ownership belongs entirely to us. The jets are currently stored at the Karaganda Air Base, and the buyer needs to go there to dismantle and transport them."
"Understood." Fu Haoran stood up. "Send me the precise location of the base; I'll make a trip there myself."
For Fu Haoran, who can freely travel between the two worlds, transportation has never been a problem.
It's simply a matter of first putting the disassembled machine into the Warhammer World, and then transporting it back to the modification workshop in Warhammer World 2K World. The whole process bypasses all international military sales and customs supervision restrictions, making it ten thousand times simpler than conventional transportation.
Three days later.
DYB headquarters, modification workshop.
Fu Haoran retrieved a complete MiG-25 airframe from Warp and placed it securely on the modification platform.
Priest Kallen stood beside the machine, his optical eyepiece scanning from end to end, his field of vision filled with a frantic stream of binary data, while he kept chanting praises of Omnissiah.
"Praise be to the Omnissiah! Could this be the original prototype of the ancient Thunderbolt Fighter? It truly inherits the design of the Holy Omnissiah!"
It's no wonder Priest Kallen was so impressed; the MiG-25's bulky and heavy design, resembling a "powerful brick," was just too much in line with the industrial character of the Warhammer Imperium of Man.
The Imperial flying vehicles in the Warhammer World are almost all boxy, all-metal structures, relying on massive thrust to achieve high performance, much like the design philosophy of the MiG-25.
The only difference is that the MiG-25's design is completely in line with aerodynamic principles, making it far superior to the aerodynamic design of Imperial vehicles by more than one order of magnitude.
More importantly, the MiG-25's outer shell is not particularly complex in terms of manufacturing process, leaving considerable room for simplification and upgrades. It could even be mass-produced using STC printers to replicate the fuselage parts.
Fu Haoran ultimately did not choose the MiG-31, and the reason was quite simple:
The MiG-31 is larger and has a more complex fuselage structure. Its two-person crew has complicated control logic, making it impossible to perform the extreme maneuvers that the MiG-25 can.
Not to mention that the MiG-31's low-altitude handling is disastrous. Only novices would choose the MiG-31 based solely on its specifications. True veterans always prefer the more agile MiG-25, which has greater modification potential and can be used in many ways even with a single seat.
In the era when this interceptor was developed, radar and missile technology were limited, and interception operations were mainly based on tail-chase attacks. The vertical field of view of radar was limited, so interceptors had to have extreme high-altitude and high-speed capabilities.
Only by standing at the highest point can one secure a missile launch position.
Only by flying fast enough can you catch up with the enemy's strategic bombers and reconnaissance planes.
At present, Fu Haoran has neither a systematic satellite support system, nor an early warning aircraft formation, nor a powerful ground radar network. The maximum speed and service ceiling of a single fighter jet have become the core of the struggle for air superiority.
"My lord, this aircraft perfectly meets our operational requirements." Priest Kallen looked at the final scan data, his tone full of excitement. "My plan is to replace the fuselage skin and non-load-bearing structures with Imperial Plastisteel to reduce weight, and then install the RX-92-00 Mars -type composite engine."
His mechanical tentacles drew holographic projections in the air, clearly listing the modified performance parameters:
"The RX-92-00 engine is the standard main engine of the Thunderhawk Gunship of the Imperium of Man. It is essentially a rocket-afterburning turbofan composite engine, with a maximum afterburning thrust of over 220 kN per unit, which is nearly twice that of the original turbojet engine."
"Its core advantage lies in its ability to perfectly adapt to supersonic flight within the atmosphere and navigation in the vacuum environment of near-Earth orbit, with an energy conversion rate exceeding 65%. Even without additional modifications, it can propel this fighter jet directly out of the atmosphere and complete suborbital shuttle operations."
"After replacing the engine and reducing weight with Plastisteel skin, the empty weight of this fighter jet will be reduced from 20 tons to 14 tons, the thrust-to-weight ratio will increase by 30%, the maximum level flight speed is expected to exceed Mach 4, the service ceiling will exceed 40,000 meters, and the combat radius will be increased to more than 2,500 kilometers, fully covering the operational needs of the entire Hive City city."
Fu Haoran looked at the parameters and nodded in satisfaction.
What he wanted was never just an atmospheric fighter jet, but an all-around platform capable of traversing both the atmosphere and the atmosphere under orbital blockade, capable of fighting, running, raiding enemy bases, and conducting reconnaissance. The RX-92-00 engine, paired with the MiG-25's airframe, perfectly achieved this goal.
Just then, Li Jianguo walked over from the direction of the nose of the plane, his tablet displaying a 3D scan of the radar compartment, his face showing a mixture of excitement and embarrassment.
"Mr. Fu, the good news is that the old RP-25 radar has been completely removed. The internal space of the radar bay is larger than we expected. The domestically produced AESA radar array for the F-22 can be directly inserted without any modifications to the fuselage structure. I expect the complete transplantation and adaptation of the avionics system can be completed in three months."
"But the bad news is that we'll have a hard time getting around to modifying the flight control system in the short term."
Fu Haoran nodded, not surprised by this.
"I've thought about this issue before. You can use the silicon carbide power devices from our new energy electric vehicles to replace the original hydraulic flight control power components, and use a mature BMS battery management system to optimize the flight control's response logic and heat dissipation solution."
"You can directly use any equipment and technology that has been proven and matured on trams."
He paused, then casually added, "I have only one requirement: the test flight must be completed within five months, and then it must be put into actual combat... cough cough, I mean, it must be fully demonstrated to potential clients."
Li Jianguo instantly felt a heavy pressure, but he still nodded emphatically. "Understood, President Fu, I will definitely complete it on time."
The discussion eventually came down to the most crucial issue: production capacity.
Priest Kallen reported, "Sir, the industrial-grade STC printers in the Hive City are currently operating at full capacity, able to print one complete RX-92-00 engine every ten days. Within a five-month period, we expect to be able to stably produce 15 engines."
Fu Haoran shook his head in dissatisfaction. "Not enough. Fifteen engines are only enough for seven fighter jets, not even enough for a complete combat squadron."
He pondered for a few seconds before finally making a decision, "Here's what we'll do: take a complete engine prototype and a full set of production blueprints, and hand them over to our domestic partner company so they can help us replicate and mass-produce it."
Li Jianguo was stunned for a moment, staring at Fu Haoran in shock. "President Fu, this is our core technology! Aren't you afraid of leaking trade secrets, or even military secrets, just by handing it over like this?"
Fu Haoran smiled dismissively, "What's there to be afraid of? Even if I release the entire set of blueprints, how many countries in the world can achieve mass production? Or do you think there would be a huge demand for this level of engine in the civilian market?"
"If we want to build a complete supply chain, we must make concessions; our core potential customers are in Europe and America."
"Moreover, competition drives progress. Without competitors watching us, where would our motivation to continuously optimize and upgrade come from?"
Li Jianguo instantly felt ashamed; his boss's vision was far superior to his own.
But what he didn't know was that Fu Haoran had another half-sentence left unsaid—anyway, in the Warhammer World, there are no patent protection laws, so being able to replicate something is a skill in itself.
Meanwhile, in a confidential conference room in the capital city of Tokyo.
Old Zhou from the National Security Bureau has been working overtime for three consecutive days.
The cause was the sudden influx of Amerikan who entered the country last week.
These people were all military and police personnel, numbering in the dozens.
Old Zhou's first reaction was that it was espionage. He checked everyone's files overnight and found that the group of people did only three things after entering the country: see a doctor, eat, and go shopping.
The MRI, insulin injections, and orthopedic surgery are all clearly recorded in the medical records.
After their doctor's appointments, they went out in groups to eat roast duck, hot pot, and crayfish; some even went to the Great Wall to take selfies.
Old Zhou kept an eye on it for a whole week, but he couldn't find anything unusual.
Just as things were calming down, a new situation arose.
Li Jianguo's encrypted channel suddenly transmitted a drawing to China, labeled "Complete Design Drawing of RX-92-00 Mars -Type Composite Engine".
Several academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences were invited overnight to study the blueprints.
The next morning, the leading academician took off his reading glasses and said firmly, "This is not an ordinary airplane engine; this is a rocket engine."
"According to the design parameters, this thing can go directly into outer space."
"A rocket engine?" Old Zhou was stunned. " Li Jianguo's requirements are for modifying fighter jets."
"That makes even less sense." The old academician pointed to the composite combustion chamber structure on the blueprints. "This energy conversion rate, this thrust-to-weight ratio, even our next-generation rocket engines can't achieve. They want to put this thing on an airplane?"
There was a long silence in the meeting room.
Someone suggested, "Could it be the military's next-generation engine? Like the one used in Star Wars?"
No one can answer that.
But everyone realized that this blueprint was far more significant than the medical appointments of the dozens of Amerikan military and police officers last week.
Over the next few days, bigwigs from all sides took turns speaking out.
Representatives from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the military, the space agency, and major aircraft manufacturers filled the conference room.
The core of the debate is only one thing: how to deal with this?
"The core technology of the RX-92-00 far surpasses our current level; we must complete the replication first before studying its principles."
" Li Jianguo needs it urgently; it needs to be installed and test-flown within five months. We can't hold him back."
"But replicating an engine of this caliber would require mobilizing the entire national aviation industry chain. Who would take the lead? Who would provide the funding? And who would own the intellectual property rights?"
"The space agency will also be involved. This engine's rocket mode can directly enter orbit, which has direct reference value for the next generation of launch vehicles."
In the end, the leader sitting in the main seat made the final decision.
"This matter must be done!"
" The Aviation Industry Corporation of China of China, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences must immediately establish a joint task force, drawing on their top experts to work around the clock to complete the mass production of the replicated engine according to the requirements. Absolutely no mistakes can be tolerated!"
"The reverse engineering of the technical principles is being carried out simultaneously, but it must be kept strictly confidential; not a single word can be leaked to the outside world!"
"Remember, what we want is to establish a long-term, stable cooperative relationship with this Mr. Fu, understand?"
Inside the meeting room, everyone stood up simultaneously and responded in unison.
The latest update is now live and awaits your interpretation.