Chapter 143 NATO Joins the Iridium Project
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Eva's team decided to use NATO as a breakthrough in the European market, and the board of directors quickly approved this plan. With the strong connections of the shareholders behind Iridium, the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, agreed to contact Iridium. Explore cooperation in the field of military satellite communications.
So far, the satellite network in North America has been basically completed and is currently in the internal testing stage, while the satellite network in Europe has not yet been launched. Eva has consulted the Pentagon for opinions on the Iridium system. According to the feedback from the other party, the Iridium system Basically, it can meet the needs of the Pentagon. This feedback gave Eva a reassurance in her heart.
So Eva took her team to the NATO headquarters in Brussels to explain the importance of the Iridium project to the top leadership of the Allied Forces. When Eva led her team to land at Brussels Airport, she boarded the vehicle provided by NATO through the business channel and moved into the residence arranged by the other party.
Before the results of this contact, NATO and Iridium should not want to disclose anything to the outside world, so the meeting between the two sides was held in secret. Eva felt that this arrangement was exactly what she wanted, because if the news leaked out, the local telecom operators in Europe would definitely not allow Eva's plan to succeed easily.
After a day's rest, the two sides sat together soon. Eva first introduced a series of information about the Iridium program to NATO in detail. It then provided the Pentagon's evaluation report on the currently operational Iridium system. In this report, the Pentagon gave the Iridium system a very high evaluation.
NATO Command looked at the assessment report, and they looked at each other. I secretly had my own little calculation in my heart. This report has already well explained the attitude of the Pentagon, that is, the Iridium project has become a military communication satellite system promoted by the Pentagon. As allies of the United States, Western European countries must be consistent with the United States in everything. This time, it seems that the satellite communication system must also adopt American standards.
Representatives of Belgium, Luxembourg and other countries in NATO looked at each other, and then nodded at each other, everything was silent. For these countries, they do not have the ability to develop their own satellite communication systems, and because of geopolitical and national power constraints, these countries also do not have the guts to say no to the United States. The red giant in the east is always their lingering nightmare. Under such circumstances, what ability do they have to overthrow what the Americans have already decided, so it is better to agree, and it is said that the Iridium system is dual-use for both military and civilian purposes. This system can also be used for domestic civil aviation and ships. To provide communication services, it seems that these countries only need to spend a small amount of defense budget. You can get so many benefits, this deal is definitely a bargain.
But for old capitalist countries such as the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy. These countries are unwilling to let them give up developing their own satellite communication systems, because they always hope to monopolize the European communication market. Therefore, a few years ago, they planned to jointly study European wireless communication solutions with France and Spain, but unfortunately all this was interrupted by a brutal murder.
"I think we in Europe should probably adopt our own military satellite communication system. We, the Federal Republic of Germany, have made breakthroughs in this area. As long as we take time..."
"Do we have to wait for your country to make a breakthrough in technology before we can adopt a new satellite communication system? We want to wait, will the Soviets give us time?" The NATO commander retorted. As the supreme commander of the Allied forces, NATO The commander has always been held by an American. Since he is an American, safeguarding the interests of his own country is of course the first priority. And this time the Pentagon has already had opinions on Iridium's entry into Europe, that is, following the opportunity of Iridium's entry into Europe, it will take the opportunity to control the military communication systems of European allies, so as to grasp the movements of allies from intelligence.
The representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany stopped talking. Within NATO, the Federal Republic of Germany has always been in an awkward position because they were the defeated countries of the Second World War. Although decades have passed since this war, countries still have grudges against Germany. Therefore, at NATO meetings, the representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany have never been tough.
The United Kingdom has always followed in the footsteps of the Americans. They have become accustomed to sacrificing their own interests to cooperate with American allies. Moreover, given the financial situation in the United Kingdom, it is simply wishful thinking to build their own satellite communication system.
So among the representatives present here, no one can resist the will of the United States. The meeting was almost destined to be a formality. Although behind this there is still a communication market worth trillions waiting to be opened, but if you want to enter this market, you have to spend huge sums of money to research a new system compatible with the Iridium system. It is difficult for the power of the state to do this.
"Okay, since the person in charge of Iridium is here now, let's settle this matter! Please raise your hand if you agree to use Iridium technology as NATO's military satellite solution!" The NATO commander-in-chief first They raised their hands high, followed by the representatives of Belgium and Luxembourg. Following the glance of the Allied Commander representing the interests of the United States, more and more representatives of European countries in NATO chose to raise their hands in agreement. . Until the end, the representatives of the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Federal Republic of Germany also raised their hands unwillingly, and the proposal was passed smoothly.
Among the major powers in Western Europe, France has withdrawn from NATO, retaining only its status as a political observer. So in this voting activity, those who have posted have no voting rights. But after Europe has opened the door to the Iridium system, can France continue to insist on developing its own communication system? The answer is already obvious.
"Okay gentlemen, thank you for your trust in Iridium. I am very glad that you can choose Iridium as the military satellite communication service provider. I will prepare the contract and related legal documents as soon as possible after returning to the United States. But we The launch capacity of NASA, the current satellite launch partner, seems to be unable to meet our plan. We can place part of the launch in Europe. This can be regarded as part of the interests we have transferred in the European market. In addition, we will also open up ground operations The business authority will be given to interested companies in the host country. Especially in densely populated cities, the ground and operators will provide access services to the fixed telephone network..." Eva smiled and talked.