Chapter 836 Tit for Tat (Supplement)

As soon as the Austrian shipbuilding plan was announced, European public opinion was in a frenzy.

Although the Vienna government has repeatedly emphasized that it is not targeting anyone, it is just to fill the gap of the previously retired battleships, still no one wants to believe it.

You must know that Vienna already had a plan to "build 10 battleships in 10 years" before that, and the three former dreadnoughts currently in service are part of the shipbuilding plan.

On average, one battleship is started every year, which is just a normal operation, which is just enough to ensure the current size of the Austrian Navy's capital ship.

Now the shipbuilding plan for 5 battleships has suddenly been added, obviously in response to the previous Royal Navy shipbuilding plan.

At this time, many people reacted. Not long ago, the Austrian government gifted a large number of warships to the Russians, and the navy was in a period of empty storage.

Witness of Russian-Austrian friendship?

There might be something like that, after all, it was given away for free. Second-hand warships are also very valuable. If they can be sold, according to the rules in the international arms market, 50 to 60% of new warships are sold at a normal cost of shipbuilding.

However, are you sure it's not to make room for the new battleship?

Now it is not only Austria that needs to upgrade its warships. Britain and France are also facing a large number of warships to be retired. There are simply not so many powerful buyers in the international arms market.

Even though Austrian army equipment sells very well, naval equipment is really not as popular as the British.

This has nothing to do with the technology, performance, quality and price of the warship itself.

The main reason for not being able to sell is because of politics. Regardless of the good relations between Austria and European countries, the relations with countries outside Europe are really normal.

This is not because the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not work hard, but mainly because there is no room for it.

Outside Europe is not a colony, it is also the younger brother of the foreign powers, or the sphere of influence, and there are only a handful of countries with complete independence and sovereignty.

In fact, it doesn't need to be counted. Except for the two US countries that have a certain strength and maintain their own sovereignty, the remaining countries have more or less signed unequal treaties with foreign powers.

Of course, this does not mean that Austrian warships cannot be sold at all. Occasionally, needles and seams can still be seen.

After all, Austria is also a foreign power, and there is still a chance to take it out. The Vienna government dares to stand up when something happens, and it is not impossible to solve political obstacles. The problem is that the British have a brand effect!

I don't know who has instilled the theory, but everyone takes it for granted that the quality and performance of British warships are the first, and that when countries buy warships, British goods are the first choice.

In this context, the warships of France and Austria are not easy to sell. The two governments also fought back, releasing rumors that British warship exports were cut versions.

It's a pity that everyone is not good at fooling. Whether it is a deleted version or not, you will know after seeing the goods.

For the export of the most advanced warships, the British did make abridged versions, but the old retired warships, John Bull, were not so particular about it.

The modification of the abridged version of the warship also costs money, at least the labor cost cannot be saved. It is a technology that has been eliminated in the first place, so there is no need to waste money to hide it.

Political factors lost 60% of orders, brand effects lost 30% of the remaining orders, and finally only 28% of international orders.

(1-0.6)*(1-0.3)=0.28

This part of the market is not eaten by an Austrian family. Instead, it was divided among European countries, basically France and Austria.

Originally, there are very few powerful buyers these days, and the market left for Austria is so small that the retired warships will naturally find no pickers.

Not only the Austrian Navy, but the British as well. The Royal Navy pulls warships out to target every year, and you know how hard it is to sell this stuff.

In order to control the proliferation of warships, the European powers still have a tacit understanding. Even if they can't sell it and pull it out to shoot, it's not cheap to deal with, let alone give it away.

In a sense, Austria's large-scale gift of Russian warships also broke this tacit understanding.

It's just that this kind of unspoken rule has no explicit constraints, no verbal agreement, and naturally there is no binding force. At most, everyone is unhappy.

These are all small problems. The technology upgrades and the eliminated warships are a headache. In essence, it is because they are reluctant.

The warship has not reached the retirement age, it is a pity to dismantle and sell scrap iron; if it remains in service, there is no problem in using it. The key is that new warships are also coming.

Having a large number of warships, in addition to their prestige, is also accompanied by a large amount of military expenses, which is very uneconomical.

Whether the guess is accurate or not is not important now, anyway, the warships have been sent out.

Even if they can go back and have another chance to choose, the Russians will still happily take over.

You don't have to pay any price, you have the opportunity to become the fourth naval power in the world, and everyone knows how to choose.

It is rare to be able to see the powers directly tearing at each other. The melon eaters have prepared nuts and coffee and are waiting for the big show.

The British haven't reacted yet, and the French can't stand it. For the shipbuilding plans of Britain and Austria, Napoleon IV felt that the Admiralty was too petty for the first time.

Compared with the original time and space, the situation in France is much better now.

There are neither war reparations nor Russians to pull. The recent anti-Semitic movement has solved the debt problem over the years, and now the French government is also rich.

"British and Austrian shipbuilding plans for this year

It has come out. Judging from the current situation, our original shipbuilding plan has become out of date.

The Admiralty revised the shipbuilding plan, not to mention more than the British, at least not less than the Austrians. "

There is no problem, there is still some distance from France, the world's first naval power, but the hat of the world's second naval power cannot be easily thrown away.

Although there is no essential difference between the world's second naval power and the world's third naval power, they can both safeguard France's overseas interests.

But politically, second and third are very different. Once the hat of the second naval power is lost, it will give the outside world the impression that France is in decline.

Not to mention that there are so many enemies in the world who are waiting to be brought down, even the arrogant people in the country can't accept it!

Chancellor of the Exchequer Roy Vernon reminded: "Your Majesty, the cost of building warships is not large, but the huge military expenditure in the later period is the trouble.

Before the announcement of the shipbuilding plan, Austria sent a large number of warships to the Russians in order to reduce military expenditure.

If we want to follow up on a large scale, it is best to retire some of the warships to reduce military spending. "

The French government has money right now, but it can't spend it indiscriminately. Competing with Britain and Austria for financial resources, the French government is still unable to do so.

In order to avoid the worst, Roy Vernon believes that it is king to control military spending as much as possible in the arms race.

Admiral Hamdi: "Your Excellency, the warships currently serving in the Imperial Navy are not very old, and very few warships are nearing retirement.

Most of the warships are 50% to 60% new, and their performance is very high-quality. It is a pity to retire these warships.

The most important thing is that after these warships are retired, they cannot be dealt with at all. There are no buyers in the world, and we have no shortage of training ships.

There are only two ways in front of us, either pulling it out to shoot the target, or dragging it to the factory to disassemble and sell scrap iron.

Such a prodigal behavior is a complete waste of taxpayers' money.

The performance of the old battleships is backward, and that is only for the new battleships. Apart from us, only Britain and Austria are currently equipped.

Send these warships out and perform escort missions anywhere in the world, and they can do the job.

Even if we really want to retire, we can wait for the new battleships to enter service, and we can maximize the value of these warships in the next few years. "

It is reluctant to be a normal operation, a warship costing several million or tens of millions of francs, if it is disposed of, it will be disposed of, and whoever is the Minister of the Navy will feel distressed.

After listening to this explanation, Napoleon IV nodded: "The new battleships have not yet been commissioned, and the decommissioning of warships is not in a hurry for the time being.

We are not in the same situation as Austria, the overseas colonies are much more dependent on the navy.

During this period, everyone can still find buyers as much as possible, even if the price is a little cheaper. "

Since Austria can give it away for free, and France can also sell it with tears, Napoleon IV still has a bit of luck.

If you sell these warships that are about to be retired, you will make a profit. As for the need for overseas escorts, they are all bullshit excuses.

In these years, which of the three countries of Britain, France and Austria is not in excess of warships? Affected by the previous arms races, the three countries now have a large number of warships.

As long as the three countries are not fighting each other, even if half of the warships are scrapped, the French navy can also undertake the current responsibilities.

This is also one of the reasons why the Austrian government sent the Russian navy more. If the three countries do not fight, the remaining warships are enough. If the three countries fight, the result will be the same.

Pho pk doesn't need the navy, the army decides the outcome of the war; if it starts with the British, the navy has no chance of winning at all.

Either go out to break the friendship and do damage, or hide in the port to avoid the limelight, a decisive battle at sea is equivalent to death.