Chapter 796 Write It Down in a Small Notebook First

Although the plan has been prepared, it is not time to implement it yet.

At least it is not time for big moves.

Firstly, it is December 1999, and the millennium is approaching. The David Kingdom’s garrison in South Lebanon has basically begun to withdraw, leaving only a destitute pseudo-regime to survive. Several other countries around it have not completely abandoned their illusions about the West and are in a dilemma, with no good focus.

Secondly, although China is now a hundred million points stronger than in the previous life, it is still a little out of reach for places like the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

In short, whether in terms of demand or means, some preparations are needed.

In the final analysis, the reason why the ring project has come to this point today is mainly because when the agreement was signed, China still maintained its illusions about the West.

Moreover, at that time, the arms business between China and David had been going on for many years. The imported Python air-to-air missiles and the Habby anti-radiation drones that were under negotiation and successfully introduced later also played a certain positive role in the development of similar weapons in China.

Therefore, it was believed that since the contract had been signed, the "contract spirit" plus the relationship of "old business partners" should be able to guarantee the normal implementation of the terms.

The result is predictable.

The contract spirit in the West is used to constrain others, not themselves.

By the time Chang Haonan finally made some noise in the Science and Technology Commission and was able to speak, the advance payment and a plane had already been sent over.

So all that could be done was to find a way to clean up the mess.

Of course, the red and black accounts in the little notebook must still be recorded.

Looking at Chang Haonan's uncertain face, Ding Gaoheng could naturally guess what he was thinking.

After all, the latter was a person who had personally experienced the darkest moment from the 1980s to the early 1990s, and his perspective on things was definitely different from that of Chang Haonan, who was reborn in the 2020s.

For him, the ending of the Ring Project could indeed be considered not bad.

At least compared with the Peace Model Project of the year, it was much more decent.

And it didn't suffer much.

After a moment of silence, Ding Gaoheng still spoke:

"Xiao Chang, don't be too angry about this matter. It may not be a bad thing for us to be able to quickly end the Ring Project."

There is nothing wrong with what he said.

As long as the Ring Project exists for one day, it is inevitable that some people will still hold a fluke mentality towards the David Kingdom.

As for compradors, there is no bottom line.

It is better to completely cut off this last thought.

After a short pause, he continued:

"I will report to the higher authorities the nearly $300 million that was recovered and the follow-up funds originally planned to be allocated to the Ring Project, and try to invest them in the subsequent research and development projects of domestic early warning aircraft."

Hearing this news, Chang Haonan's face suddenly turned from gloomy to sunny.

You know, the budget for the entire Ring Project is almost $1.2 billion!

This is the US dollar in 1999!

Although China helped the European Union keep the euro exchange rate from falling below 1 during the Allied Operation, making the euro stronger in this timeline than in the previous life, at least for now, the US dollar is still the undisputed world's number one currency.

$1.2 billion is equivalent to more than 10 billion RMB.

Even if only half of it is taken out, 5 billion RMB, it is equivalent to one-third of the manned space project, or most of the budget of the WS-10.

You know, the former also includes infrastructure such as railways, launch sites and tracking and control stations, while the latter includes the research and development of the entire 3.75 generation core machine.

"In this case, it would be best if Shanghai Aircraft Corporation could speed up the progress and build the C909 passenger aircraft as soon as possible."

Chang Haonan thought for a moment and then said:

"For the technical verification aircraft and the prototype, we can first make two Tu-214s and modify them, but if we want to mass-produce them, it is best to ensure the autonomy of the platform."

In the past, only four KJ-2000s were produced and they were forced to switch to the Y-9 platform to produce KJ-500. This was largely because the number of Il-76s on hand was insufficient and they were all old aircraft. Due to different usage conditions, the aircraft conditions were too different, and almost every aircraft had to be customized for the modification plan.

Chang Haonan felt a headache just thinking about it, and he didn't want to experience it firsthand.

"That's no problem."

Now that Ding Gaoheng has more money in his pocket, he agreed very straightforwardly:

"Next year is the last year of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, and we must formulate a development plan for the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan. At that time, let Shanghai Aircraft Corporation raise the priority of C909 and find a way to dig out some funding. After all, C909 is not a new aircraft. Referring to the progress of C808 and Project 11, it should not be delayed for too long."

Chang Haonan nodded, indicating that he agreed with Ding Gaoheng's judgment.

Compared with the previous life, which directly jumped from the 80-ton Y-8 to the 220-ton Y-20, adding a 110-ton product transition in the middle is obviously more in line with the general law of the development of the aviation manufacturing industry.

After finishing the business, the two chatted about family matters for a while.

When it was almost time to get off work, Ding Gaoheng suddenly invited Chang Haonan to his house for dinner again.

For Chang Haonan, this was indeed a "commonplace".

But this time, he looked embarrassed:

"Director Ding, Lao Wu returned from Ermao today and has made an appointment with me in the evening. It's really..."

If it was a private meeting, he would definitely turn it down.

But meeting with Wu Yifan was within his business scope, and it would definitely not delay his work.

What's more, because of what happened just now, Chang Haonan also wanted to meet the other party as soon as possible.

Ding Gaoheng waved his hand indifferently upon hearing this:

"That's fine, work is more important. Anyway, I have almost the same meals every day at home, so you can come over another day."

...

Because Chang Haonan specially prepared two private rooms in the canteen of Torch Group, this time, he and Wu Yifan no longer need to meet in the territory of outsiders.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, Wu Yifan arrived at Torch Group on time.

When they first met, Chang Haonan almost didn't recognize each other.

"Old Wu, your face..."

Compared to the last meeting at the beginning of the year, Wu Yifan's skin color has become several shades darker:

"I remember you went to Eastern Europe, not East Africa, how did you get so tanned?"

"It's all because of the work you did for me."

Old Wu said as he hung his scarf and coat on the hanger at the door:

"During the hottest period of this summer, I was in the Balkans for four consecutive months, standing under the scorching sun every day. I am like this now, and it was only after I returned to Ermao that I became a little whiter. If you had seen me three months earlier, I would have looked like an African brother..."

Although he complained, Old Wu's expression was still full of smiles.

After all, it was hard work, but the money earned was real.

For someone like him who had no background, there were not many ways to make the first pot of gold.

Besides, the huge change in appearance was not necessarily a bad thing for the nature of Old Wu's work.

The two had just sat down and exchanged a few words when two waiters came in with a cart and brought the dishes prepared in advance to the table one by one.

After all, it was their own internal restaurant, and most of the things discussed here were not good for others to know.

If people came in one after another during the meal, even if there was a doorbell at the door, it would still interrupt the conversation and make people feel uncomfortable.