Of course, Zhu Cixiang would not easily forget France's previous secret aid to the Holy Roman Empire.
Holy Roman Empire Air Force pilots flew twin-engine "Eagle" and single-engine "Falcon" fighters, shooting down many Ming and Ottoman Air Force fighters.
In view of this, in line with the principle of reciprocity, Zhu Cixi decided to hatch the two fighter jets "Woodpecker" and "Toucan" in advance...
The former has an engine of 2,097 horsepower, which is 1.65 times as powerful as the "Hornbill".
The latter is equipped with an engine of up to 2,552 horsepower, which is more than twice that of the "Hornbill".
The "Woodpecker" has a top speed of more than 550 kilometers per hour, and its range with an additional auxiliary fuel tank is about 2,300 kilometers.
The top speed of the "Toucan" is almost the same as that of the "Woodpecker", and all the power is used to install armor. The maximum range is close to 2,800 kilometers.
The prototype of "Flamingo" is me-309!
The prototype of the "Woodpecker" is the F-190 "Butcher Bird"!
The prototype of the "Tucan" is the P-51d "Mustang"!
There is no doubt that the prototypes of "Woodpecker" and "Toucan" are very terrifying, and the derivative versions of the two prototypes will also become weapons in air combat.
Zhu Cixiang's requirements for fighter jet development are in the order of firepower > protection > maneuverability > range.
Because fighters are different from tanks, they cannot wear armor that the opponent cannot penetrate at all.
The first choice is to increase your own firepower and shoot down enemy planes as much as possible.
The second thing is to ensure the safety of the pilots, and they must not become "Crispy Chicken Zero"!
Mobility depends entirely on the aerodynamics and engine power. In this regard, Daming's project team is quite knowledgeable.
After ensuring the above three points, the larger the range of the fighter plane, the better. It doesn't matter if it cannot be achieved.
The Ming Dynasty Air Force and Navy naturally like high-performance fighters, but due to the high cost of such things, they can only follow the route of high-low matching.
It is expected that the purchase volume of "Woodpeckers" will not exceed one thousand, and "Toucan" can only purchase one brigade as a tactical experimental group.
So why did you create these two birds?
Why is Louis XIV so disgusting?
Some people need to spend real money to buy weapons, while others don't.
Rich players like Ibrahim and Poirot can get high-end weapons by digging some saltpeter and oil!
This consumption method is similar to swiping a card, and it feels completely different from spending cash!
What should a wealthy person do if he wants to buy a luxury car?
Just cut down a few precious trees from the hill behind your house!
If a rich man has thousands of precious trees on his mountain, do he still need to hesitate about the price of a luxury car?
Ming Dynasty now controls about 70% of the global weapons market share, and it will increase to more than 80% in the future.
By continuously improving the performance and quality of weapons, customers who are not short of money must believe that weapons made by other countries are garbage!
Especially high-tech weapons, including fighter planes, tanks, and battleships, are much more profitable than ordinary commodities.
Ordinary commodity exports require cash to purchase, but high-tech weapons that can greatly enhance one's military power can be bartered.
This is extremely attractive to wealthy people and is almost irresistible.
Take the Navy's surface ships as an example. The larger the tonnage, the higher the cost.
Correspondingly, the service life of the battleship is also very long, and more importantly, the modification space is large enough.
Nowadays, 10,000-ton cruisers can be equipped with sea and air search radars, although modifications also cost money.
If you replace it with a destroyer of less than 5,000 tons, such as "Yoshino", it will basically be useless...
Warships that do not have much room for modification will definitely fall further and further behind, and will be withdrawn from active service faster and reduced to patrol ships.
And battleships of 10,000 tons or more, according to the standards of later generations of Iowa class, can definitely serve for at least sixty or seventy years.
If there is a radar, install the radar. If there are missiles, install the missiles. There is also room for a helicopter hangar.
When the Ming Empire became the world's hegemon and there was no such thing as a certain Lianmei among the challengers.
Military technology cannot develop faster than the Cold War, so it is foreseeable that capital ships will serve for hundreds of years.
The larger the initial investment, the longer you can enjoy the sense of security later on.
Regarding this aspect, Zhu Cihong had worked for both Poirot and Ibrahim before.
The Inca Empire is the best example. When it was first established, even the Spanish could not defeat it.
With the continuous support of the Ming Empire and the rapid development of the mining and metallurgical industries, it was able to purchase large quantities of advanced weapons to enhance its national defense strength.
Now not only can we protect ourselves, but we can also send troops to Europe. Compared with before, there have been earth-shaking miraculous changes.
For the Ming Empire, local tyrants continued to pay for the weapons they produced, which could significantly reduce actual expenditures on national defense.
Although what the buyer provides is not real gold and silver, it is 100% the equivalent of precious metals. Through a series of market circulation, it can be turned into piles of silver coins.
The original export price of the sixth-level cruiser was 350 million, and the export price of the later upgraded seventh-level battleship was still the same price.
With the launch of the eighth-level battleship, its export price has reached close to 350 million.
For customers, for the same money, they can buy a warship with greater combat effectiveness.
For Ming Dynasty, high profits can be maintained through upgrading.
This is a mutually beneficial move, and only in this way can we do business for a long time.
Zhu Cixiang decided to have the Shenyang Aircraft Manufacturing Factory in Moscow and the Chang'an Aircraft Factory moved to Astana to produce the "Hornbill" and "Grey-Headed Beacon". The two factories still have the ability to produce the "Flamingo" and "Black-footed Beacon" "Ability.
Moved to the Beidu Aircraft Factory near Kursk, which is also the most technologically powerful aircraft manufacturer in the Ming Dynasty, it is responsible for the production of the "Woodpecker" and "Toucan" that may be the ultimate version of propellers, plus the "Warship Bird" needed by the navy. .
There are a total of five large aircraft manufacturers in Ming Dynasty, all of which are capable of producing fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
The purpose of this arrangement is to avoid a certain factory specializing in the production of a certain product and quality problems leading to the grounding of all aircraft of a certain type.
The disadvantage is that the initial investment is bound to be high because a dedicated production line needs to be set up for each product.
Generally speaking, fighter aircraft have one single engine and one twin engine, transport aircraft have one, bombers have one, and helicopters have two.
There are six production lines in total, and at least six. If orders surge, a certain product may have as many as two or three production lines.
There are three aircraft manufacturing companies in the north of Ming Dynasty, located in Shenyang, Chang'an and Beidu.
There are two aircraft manufacturing companies in the south, located in Nandu and Panyu, Guangdong.
The Nandu factory will be relocated to North America. Zhu Xiangzhen is so enthusiastic about this that he has even chosen a new factory site, which is located northwest of Dallas, the capital of Texas.
The land here is flat, the transportation is convenient, the water is sufficient, there are no earthquakes, and there are no snowstorms. It is sunny and windy most of the year, which is very convenient for factory production.
Not only factories, but also warehouses, office buildings, dormitory buildings, laboratory buildings, airports, Chaosheng Hospital, etc. will all be built in a short period of time, that is, within two years.
It's not light-speed construction, but this plan was implemented two years ago, and it is expected that all infrastructure will be completed next year.
The initially built dormitory building and factory building have been completed. As long as Nandu Aircraft Factory employees come over, they can move in with their bags. The equipment has been installed and the "Flamingo" can be produced.
There are also aircraft manufacturing plants in North America. Since it is a construction aid project, the products are relatively simple and can only produce three models: "Albatross", "Flamingo" and "Condor".
"Hercules" was still transported in parts by merchant ships and then assembled in local factories.
Zhu Xiangzhen is of course very excited to be able to obtain all the talents of the entire Nandu Aircraft Factory.
The eldest son Zhu Xiangtang also acquired the Panyu Aircraft Factory. The new factory is located in Wude, south of the Gold Coast, and the climate is better than that in Texas.
The tropical rainforest test site is located in northern Australia, and the desert test site is to the west of the Great Basin. They are all there. There are not even many people there, so the pilots can have fun...
After North America and Australia absorb the personnel of these two factories, it means that the two countries will obtain all previous aircraft models except new aircraft at the same time.
The Academy of Sciences previously launched the "Flying Fortress", a replacement for the "Hercules" bomber, but this aircraft became a rare failure.
Although the "Hercules" is a large aircraft with both military and civilian uses, and although it is still relatively immature in many aspects, it is the first large aircraft of the Ming Empire after all, and it has epoch-making significance.
And through actual combat testing, it has been proved that it indeed possesses many characteristics of the first-generation strategic bomber. After continuous upgrading and improvement, the "Hercules" ii and "Hercules" iii have become increasingly perfect.
On the other hand, the "Sky Fortress", as the next-generation model of the "Hercules", has not shown a leap forward. The performance of the "Hercules" III is already close to that of the "Sky Fortress".
The cost of "Sky Fortress" is twice that of "Hercules III". In Zhu Cixiang's view, there is no need to purchase the former.
The latter is already cheap enough, and the transport capacity of two "Hercules" III is definitely higher than that of one "Flying Fortress".
It was not until the launch of the "Avenger" strategic bomber to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Emperor Haojing's supervision of the country that this embarrassing situation changed.
Originally, Zhu Cixiang wanted to name it "Super Fortress", but in view of the terrible name of "Sky Fortress", he was afraid that the new aircraft would be implicated, so he had no choice but to change it to a new name.
The "Avenger" strategic bomber Type A can carry six tons of ammunition and fly 6,000 kilometers, and the Type B can carry eight tons of ammunition and fly 8,000 kilometers.
Type A is a four-engine model, while Type B is a six-engine model. It is larger in appearance and more expensive than the former, but its maximum speed and ceiling are almost the same as the former.
Since it is the latest model shipped from the factory, the cost is also quite expensive.
The purchase price of Type A of "Avenger" reached 2.4 million silver coins, and the purchase price of Type B climbed to 3.2 million silver coins. The export price is expected to at least double.
This means that the cost of purchasing fifty "Avenger" B-type bombers is almost equivalent to buying a seventh-level battleship.
This is already the price for bulk purchases, otherwise the unit price would be even higher.
But it is also a very cost-effective weapon. If fifty "Avenger" B-type bombers are used to attack a seventh-level battleship without auxiliary battleship escort, the probability of winning can reach more than 80%.
The helicopter does not need to be replaced for the time being, and only the two existing models can be upgraded in terms of power and firepower.
Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters are warmly welcomed by overseas customers because they can take off and land vertically without the need for a runway.
Especially countries with mountainous territories, such as the Ottomans, Incas, Persia, Kimchi, Japanese, etc., are very fond of purchasing helicopters.
This kind of aircraft, especially the "Vulture" general-purpose helicopter, is very helpful for troops to suppress or carry out rescue operations, and it is not expensive.
The number of overseas orders that have not yet been fulfilled has accumulated to 5,000. After the Ming Dynasty regained the Kingdom of Naples, especially in the combat operations in the Cairo Mountain area, the number of orders continued to grow.
France and the Netherlands have both mastered helicopter manufacturing technology, and the Ottomans and Inca have also introduced technology. However, countries that are unable to manufacture helicopters have always believed that the quality and performance of products manufactured by the Ming Empire are the most guaranteed.
The thing that makes Zhu Cixiang feel most proud is that the Airbus 100 passenger aircraft has rolled off the production line at the Coors Kebeidu Aircraft Factory.
It has four engines, propellers, and can carry a hundred passengers. The entire parameter is considered to be a second-rate straight-line passenger aircraft in later generations.
However, at the moment, it is enough to shock the world!
Being able to carry 100 passengers and fly 6,000 kilometers is simply auspicious in this world!
The Airbus 100 is a more convenient version of the Avenger A. The plan to convert the B-type into a passenger aircraft was rejected by Emperor Hao Jing because the cost was too high but the range did not increase significantly.
The six thousand-kilometer flight was enough for passengers to fly from icy Moscow to Madrid to bask in the sun, which was Emperor Hao Jing's original intention.
Just for business trips, there is no need to develop the Airbus 100. Travel, family visits, and vacations are the main customers.
After acquiring the French mainland and the Iberian Peninsula, Zhu Cixiang also plans to relocate some of the production lines of the Beidu Aircraft Factory there.
Since France also has considerable aircraft production capabilities and ready-made factories, why not reuse the waste?
If the three factories in Kursk, Lyon, and Madrid are started together, Zhu Cixi hopes that the number of Airbus 100s rolling off the assembly line each year will reach 1,500, or even 2,000.
There will be Airbus 200s and 300s in the future. No matter how large the passenger capacity is, it is not necessary. This will bring risks to the aircraft design. Just control it within 300 people.
Not only passenger aircraft, but also cargo aircraft will become important orders. The Ming Empire alone needs at least a thousand Type 100 cargo aircraft every year.
Like the Nanyang Islands, most islands do not have railways and can only rely on sea and air transportation. Convenient and efficient air transportation is particularly important.
