It was quite obvious that when the plans of the Southwest Bureau and Shen Hoy were laid before the representatives of Pakistan, Hadik and his colleagues were almost drooling.
The more emotional Ba Shaxin even pointed directly at the image of the fighter jet and exclaimed excitedly, "With this, India's Su-30 is nothing!"
Hadik was equally thrilled, unable to hide his interest in the products offered by both companies. Not only were the proposals from the two companies very attractive, but the prices were also very friendly. Pakistan was not a wealthy country, and its economy was still very weak. Advanced fighter jets were not cheap, like those sold by the Eagle Sauce Family.
The F-16, with a complete weapon system, could easily exceed one hundred million US dollars.
The fighter jets sold by Europe were even more expensive. Not to mention the Rafale or Typhoon, even the light fighter Gripen had sold to Brazil a few years ago at a price of 125 million US dollars each.
In cooperation with Country C, the FC-1 JF-17 Thunder was an absolute anomaly in the international fighter market. It wasn't even fitting to call its price cabbage price, considering its fly-away cost was less than ten million, the JF-17 Thunder was even cheaper than many advanced trainers.
This time, Shen Hoy proposed the FC-31 Gyrfalcon with a unit price capped at one hundred million RMB, while the Southwest Bureau's FC-20 (J-10) was even more attractive at fifty million RMB per unit. If the purchase quantity exceeded fifty aircraft, a direct transfer of the production line would be possible, thereby further reducing procurement costs.
The upgrade costs for the FC-1 JF-17 Thunder were equally low-cost compared to the mid-life updates carried out by Western countries, almost embarrassingly conscientious.
The Eagle Sauce Family upgraded 144 F-16s for Siwei Island's Air Force at a total cost of 3.5 billion US dollars, requiring over 24 million US dollars per aircraft, more expensive than buying one Gyrfalcon fifth-generation jet.
Naturally, the technology and production capabilities of Country C were now completely incomparable to Eagle Sauce. Looking at it now, the price tags on Country C's jets seemed like a clearance sale, but in reality, the calculated costs of the FC-31 were just a few hundred thousand RMB, mainly material costs, with labor costs secondarily, and assembly costs nearly negligible.
Though the people of Pakistan had also fantasized about acquiring more sci-fi weapons, the plans they held were already good enough.
After the presentation of the plans, members of the Pakistani delegation started an internal discussion. Everyone could hardly contain their excitement; it was difficult to settle on a charter with everyone chiming in.
Ba Shaxin quite liked the Gyrfalcon, suggesting, "Let's buy the Gyrfalcon. If it's really as the people from Country C say, that the Gyrfalcon can defeat the F-22 Raptor, then dealing with those Indian bastards won't be a problem at all. Its price is truly not expensive. If we can get a loan from Country C or other countries, we could at least equip twenty-four jets.
With these twenty-four Gyrfalcons, our air force would be sufficient to have air superiority over India."
Another Pakistani Air Force major general said, "Yes, the Gyrfalcon is a stealth aircraft, and its multi-role capabilities are superior to the Raptor. Its internal weapon bays can carry about three tons of precision-guided munitions, giving us the ability to strike deep targets in India and an excellent form of deterrence."
Hadik was inclined towards the Southwest Bureau, stating, "Our cooperation with the Southwest Bureau has been very successful, and we can continue to exploit such relations. In terms of combat effectiveness, I think the FC-20 is also sufficient to pressure India. The key is that through this opportunity, we can further enhance our nation's indigenous defense industry."
Ba Shaxin bluntly stated, "Although what I'm about to say may seem harsh, the technology offered to us by Country C will definitely be worse than what they actually have. Even if we establish such a defense industry, what's the point? By maintaining good relations with this brother country, we can continue to receive better weapons.
And if we start our own production, spending a lot of time absorbing obsolete technology, not long after, when they release a new generation of weapons, we will have to start over."
Hadik acknowledged Ba Shaxin's opinion and sighed, "Right now, none of us knows how the international situation will change, or what impact the Star Alliance's presence will have on the world."
Ba Shaxin was certain and said, "It will definitely be more beneficial than detrimental. The balance of world power has been disrupted; the Star Alliance has truly become the supreme world leader. Whoever they dislike, they can eliminate, and everyone needs to please the Star Alliance. As soon as Country C joined the Star Alliance, it immediately reaped a lot of benefits.
I think we should join the Star Alliance as well."
Hadik frowned, stating, "The Star Alliance currently does not accept other countries joining. But once we join the Star Alliance, our sovereignty will be compromised. You know, because the people of Country C and the Iridium Star might actually be the same people; they have no generation gap, and their thoughts are similar.
The Star Alliance constitution requires its member states to be secular and suppresses religion quite explicitly, which is intolerable for any Muslim country."
Ba Shaxin, who wasn't particularly devout, had been influenced by his long studies in the West and said straightforwardly, "We are facing a new era, and I think Allah would not mind if we, the people of Pakistan, live a better life and share the riches and mysteries of the Universe."
Several members of the delegation glared coldly at Ba Shaxin's remarks, and soon the delegation was in an uproar.
These situations were naturally nothing new for the people of Country C; the Southwest Bureau and Shen Hoy simply waited patiently for their decision. Discussing joining the Star Alliance was unrealistic for Pakistan, and it was no longer possible for any country to replicate the path of Country C's membership.
This was because Bai Zhongqi had specifically made an exception for Country C, along with Country C's bold decisions and execution. Even if sometime later, Bai Zhongqi opened negotiations for membership, other countries would not receive the same favorable conditions as Country C.
Pakistan's main focus was still on continuing the all-weather strategic partnership model with Country C, to gain benefits in economic trade and military aspects.
Countries holding similar views to Pakistan were numerous, especially some third-world countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, all actively engaging with Country C, hoping to see what development opportunities could be gained in the new era of the Star Alliance's influence.
And there were also some countries that were very eager to pay protection fees.
Such as the oil bosses of the Middle East.
Traditionally, the oil bosses had been part of the European and American camps, with relations with the Lighthouse Country as their core diplomatic backbone. But ever since the giant nuclear submarine bomber welding sculpture appeared on the White House lawn, the oil bosses knew that relying on the United States was no longer effective.
Especially recently, as they faced setbacks in their military actions against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, they were even more eager to gain support from the new world leader.
So the oil bosses came to Country C to spend money in groups.