International arms procurement orders had always been full of pitfalls. If a few add-on paid services were not reserved, then one was definitely not a qualified arms dealer.
By comparison, the Vienna Government, as the seller, had been quite conscientious. They had not played any tricks with the airships and had even thrown in a large pile of spare parts.
Yet no matter how conscientious they were, they could not avoid developing ancillary add-on services. This time was no exception.
The facts proved that transport airships did not merely need great carrying capacity; they also needed security.
When faced with enemy aircraft, transport airships had far too little survivability and absolutely required fighter escorts.
Unfortunately, the cash-strapped Russian government could not afford such a lofty new creation as an air force. Aside from a single flying squadron kept up for appearances, it simply could not shoulder escort duties.
Had the Japanese forces on the other side not been just as poor, with equally few aircraft, the Russian army would have suffered badly long ago.
They had not suffered too great a loss so far, but two frontline transport airships had already been shot down, forcing the airship transport fleet to suspend operations.
Since ancient times, "it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to frugality." The Russian army was no exception.
Before there had been an airship transport fleet, no one had felt much of anything. Now that they had one but suddenly could not use it, the frontline officers naturally could not sit still.
Ever since the Russo-Japanese War broke out, the Russian army had been pressed down and beaten by the Japanese. Only after smuggling trade flourished and the airship transport fleet joined the fray had they managed to reverse