"What? The Russians want to buy that many aircraft from us?"
Ferdinand was left dizzy by this pie falling from the sky. Selling aircraft to Russia was nothing new, but those had usually been small deals of a few or a few dozen planes.
This time, the Russians had opened with an order for three thousand aircraft. Were they planning to turn Bulgaria into their military-industrial production base?
Foreign Minister Metev explained, "Your Majesty, this may be related to the Eastern Front. Russian production capacity is limited and cannot meet the needs of their front lines, so they have no choice but to purchase a batch of warplanes from us."
The upheaval within Russia was clearly still being kept secret, but it would soon surface. Once the Russian capitalists discovered that the orders belonging to them were gone, they would certainly make a move.
Ferdinand thought it over and found it reasonable. Apart from Bulgaria, even if the Russians had money, they had nowhere else to spend it. Alliance submarines had been especially rampant lately. Britain, France, and Bulgaria were all building ships at full throttle, yet still could not keep pace with the losses.
Then there was the matter of distance. If they placed their order in Bulgaria, deliveries could begin in just two or three months. Even a hundred or eighty planes could be shipped back and immediately equipped to the troops.
If they ordered from the United States, they would not see so much as a feather within half a year to a year. Clearly, the Russian Air Force could not afford to wait.
Ferdinand said calmly, "First, find out the Russians' aircraft losses on the Eastern Front. Then negotiate the price with them."
Finding out the Russian army's aircraft losses was not difficult. The Entente nations