Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
Arlington County, Virginia, southwest of Washington, DC, housed the Pentagon, the largest single office building in the world. This was the heart of the UA Army, Air Force, and Navy, and it dispatched the 1,245 military bases operating around the world.
At that moment, in a spacious office, the Department of Defense’s Purchasing and Procurement Policy Bureau, Schneider Weser, was staring at two documents in front of a desk with a frown, while he tapped on the table restlessly.
Xin’s large-scale measures to equip intelligent drones, as well as the performance of the Hummingbird drones in military exercises, attracted the attention of the Department of Defense. The UA Secretary of Defense came to talk to him a week ago and hoped he would contact the arms company that had a relationship with the military, with the goal to bid on a weapon similar to the Hummingbird drone along along equipment to effectively counter this type of drone!
This kind of equipment should be portable and adaptable to all terrains, especially in cities, where drones would be the most effective.
There were two companies involved in the bidding process; one was Raytheon and the other was Lockheed Martin.
The two arms companies both came from an influential background. The former was the holding company of the Boston Financial Group, and the latter belonged to the California consortium. One was expensive but reliable, and the other was cheap but there were many uncertainties…
However, in the end, they had no way of knowing whether or not the Hummingbird drones could be disrupted from radio interference
At this point, his assistant came in and placed a newspaper on his desk.
Schneider looked at his assistant with a puzzled look and picked up the “Washington Post.” He frowned slightly at the headline that was highlighted.
[… The Russians chose the Beta-3B military supply drone instead of the Hummingbird drone when negotiating with Future Heavy Industries in the arms agreement to support infantry front line operations. According to an informed source who wished to remain anonymous, the reason why Russia canceled the Hummingbird drone purchase plan was because Hummingbird drones had loopholes in their security.]
[“When we tested the operational performance of the Hummingbird drone, we found that the Hummingbird wasn’t as powerful as we believed. At least in its performance against an anti-drone machine gun, it was extremely clumsy…”]
Strictly speaking, anti-drone machine guns weren’t firearms but were individual portable wave-type weapons. These kinds of weapons were under study by all countries. As early as a few years ago, the West Point Military Academy developed a special anti-drone machine gun. In front of the Minister of National Defense, it successfully forced a drone to land.
And the cost was only 150 US Dollar!
In principle, Lockheed Martin’s design scheme was similar to this anti-drone machine gun! The same technique of radio interference was adopted, except that the latter had a wider interference area and the interference effect was stronger!
Schneider immediately jumped up the second he read the report
“Contact Lockheed Martin! The Department of Defense needs a more detailed design plan, as well as a quote! Give them three days. I need to discuss with the other department officials!”
“Yes!” His assistant nodded and immediately got on task.
Looking at the newspaper, Schneider rubbed his fingers repeatedly.
[Hummingbird drone, right? Then the name of our military development project will be named “Bee Catch”. No! Let’s call it “Fly Trap”! Your Hummingbird will fly like a headless fly under our equipment…]
…
“… Lockheed Martin successfully bid for the project codenamed ‘Project Fly Trap’.”
When Ayesha told Jiang Chen about this news, Jiang Chen was so happy that he stood up and gave her a hard peck on the face.
They thought Russia canceled their purchase of the Hummingbird drones? Celestial Trade never planned to sell them from the very beginning!
As for the so-called “someone who wished to remain anonymous,” it was entirely a ploy played by the Russian side. The price of this ploy was to first supply Russia with five drone terminals and the companion Beta-3B drones.
At a price of only 1.75 million US Dollar, Jiang Chen was able to afford this.
Letting go of the flushed Ayesha, Jiang Chen walked back and forth several times in his office and waved his fists with excitement.
“If Lockheed Martin makes a successful bid, the Country F Army will very likely be its first buyer. By then, if Country F tears up the ceasefire agreement, the effectiveness of the so-called ‘anti-drone equipment’ will be worse than water guns!”
Lockheed Martin was unlikely to get a sample of a Hummingbird drone. It could only use the Beta series drones that had already been marketed as targets for testing weapons. Undoubtedly, this weapon could certainly interfere with civil drones
However, unfortunately, the Hummingbird drone used a completely different technology than the Beta series drone!
In the afternoon, Jiang Chen went to Ange Island.
The task he assigned to Zhong Wei, the head of Ange Island Industrial Park, was already in the process of implementation. The separation of Future Military from Future Heavy Industrial would help Future Heavy Industrial better participate in the international market. At the same time, it would also encourage specialization of military production.
The next four square kilometers of land had been zoned to the park. A Hummingbird drone assembly plant and a small turbine engine production plant had been built. According to Zhong Wei’s submitted production plan, a series of armored vehicles and tank assembly plants would be added later.
The newly-established subsidiary Future Military would be led by CEO Ling Tao, a native of Coro Island.
Jiang Chen only had one task assigned to him, which was to strive to achieve local production for even buttons on soldiers’ military uniforms. Any projects involving Celestial Trade Army that were once outsourced to overseas companies had to all be reclaimed!
After inspecting the factory in Ange, Jiang Chen was preparing to return to Future Building but then, President Zhang Yaping called him.
After picking up, Jiang Chen put the Bluetooth headset on.
“Hey? What’s up?”
“Are you free now? Can you come… Whatever, I’ll come and see you?”
“It’s okay, I’m heading out. I’ll make a trip to the presidential palace. Is anything the matter?” Jiang Chen noticed Mr. President’s voice was a little weary.
“It’s not a nuisance, just a little problem…well, it might be difficult to explain on the phone. I’ll wait for your arrival,” Zhang Yaping said.
“OK, give me half an hour.”
Zhang Yaping phoned Jiang Chen’s personal mobile phone. The two weren’t using an encrypted line and it was inconvenient to discuss important matters. After understanding this point, Jiang Chen hung up and asked Ayesha to drive to the harbor.
Before heading to Future Building, he wanted to hear the troubles encountered by the president of Xin.
