Chapter 312 Purchase of Warships
"Hello, are you from the Armed Nation of Thunderbolt? I'm Darcy, the department head of General Dynamics Shipyard." The beautiful woman with big wavy red hair came over and introduced herself.
Zhang Allen pushed the scapegoat Xige out. Xige also introduced himself and chatted with the other party for a few words.
"I'm Sig Compry, the head of the Thunderbolt Armed Nation. Our people should have contacted you in advance. We want to see the littoral combat ships and Spruance-class destroyers you're selling."
"Hello, Mr. Compry. Currently, there are guests who have made appointments to visit our shipyard, as well as people from several arms companies and the Armed Nation. One littoral combat ship has already been sold. You please be patient and wait. If you are interested, I will take you to visit our shipyard." said the person in charge.
"of course can."
Sig turned around to seek the chief leader's opinion. After seeing him nod in agreement, he followed the shipyard manager to the dock and entered the factory.
As a shipyard specialized in building warships and submarines, it of course occupies a large area. Almost the entire coastline of San Juan is covered with shipbuilding tools, and a harbor area for docking ships has been built.
The female person in charge, Darcy, first brought a few people to the construction workshop for a tour. Inside the dock were a civilian general-purpose yacht and a small military ship. There were also more than a dozen workers working on the construction and modification, and the mechanical equipment was hanging two General Electric engines.
As they walked, the other party introduced the history and background of General Dynamics Shipyard to several people, and they also visited the collection hall on the second floor. There were black and white portraits, photos of the first warship, and photos of the first nuclear-powered submarine hanging on the walls.
The people present had some knowledge of General Electric, and the chief leader also had a deeper impression of it after hearing the introduction.
General Dynamics Electric Boat, the company's main facilities are the shipyard in Groton, Connecticut and the component and equipment factory in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. It also includes subsidiaries located in San Francisco, California and shipyards near the coastline of California, and each department is responsible for different businesses and shipbuilding projects.
General Dynamics Shipyard's main business is to manufacture nuclear submarines, and other naval vessels are just sideline businesses.
In January 1954, Electric Boat successfully built the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN-1) for the US Navy.
In 1979, Electric Boat launched the new generation of strategic missile nuclear submarine "Ohio" (SSBN/GN726). The motto of the submarine is "Always First", and Electric Boat has built a total of 18 nuclear submarines of this class.
During World War I, General Electric Boat produced 85 submarines and 722 warships of various types for the . military. After the war, the . Navy did not order another submarine from them until 1934. Electric Boat almost went bankrupt and its economy declined. It had to rely on producing private yachts and small cruise ships to survive.
It means being loyal and devoted. When the bird is dead, the bow is put away; when the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked.
It finally survived until World War II, but many competitors emerged at the same time. Electric Boat worked hard and produced a total of 74 submarines during this period, but the . Navy only selectively ordered submarines with superior performance. The others were either forced to be castrated for export after the war, or were dismantled into parts and left to gather dust in warehouses.
It was not until later that the loyalty and superiority of the electric ship company were finally discovered by the top management, and then it went a step further and was crazily purchased and developed by the navy.
50% of the Navy's current hunting submarines come from General Dynamics Shipbuilding, which is also a nuclear submarine manufacturing company with great influence in the world.
After a tour of the shipyard, the person in charge took a few people to the observation deck, where they had a cup of coffee in the rest area and admired the scenery of the coastline and the fleet in the harbor.
After a while, the beautiful person in charge, Darcy, received a notice from other staff members. She immediately stood up and said with a smile, "Mr. King, Mr. Compry, an arms company has decided to sign a contract. There are currently vacancies on the ship for visits. We can go aboard the warship for a close-up visit."
"Ok, then please lead the way for us." Zhang Ailun nodded, drank the coffee immediately, and followed the other party to the harbor area. Under the guidance of other staff members, they stepped onto the landing ladder and landed on the littoral combat ship.
"The Independence-class littoral combat ship is a modern warship developed and built by General Electric and other companies. It is an aluminum alloy composite high-performance trimaran, meters long, with a displacement of 2784 tons. It is different from traditional frigates. Generally, in adverse sea conditions, the range of traditional frigates in 60 hours is about 1852 kilometers. However, thanks to the semi-small waterline deep V-shaped design, the Independence-class can reach 30 kilometers in 2590 hours! This has greatly improved the problem of insufficient endurance of high-performance ships."
"In addition, since the Independence-class's power system consists of four diesel-electric combined water jet propulsion devices, its propulsion efficiency is further improved, and the maximum speed can reach over 4 knots!" The beautiful female person in charge, Darcy, took a few people on the littoral combat ship and enthusiastically promoted the product to them.
Looking down from the coast, it doesn't make much of a difference. It seems to be just a small, cheap warship, or an obsolete "industrial garbage" that is regarded as a failure of the US Navy. It is easy for people to look at it through tinted glasses and think it is garbage.
But in fact, when you actually land on the warship, you will immediately feel an immersive and shocking feeling.
The ship is over 100 meters long, with a sharp-edged trimaran shape and a huge helipad that can accommodate hundreds of people like a basketball court. It is simply a behemoth!
At first glance, it looks like a tank fortress moving on the sea level, with sharp edges at the front end and a flat rear end like a bucket truck.
What is industrial waste and what is obsolete products?
Who said this battleship is rubbish? This battleship is great!
Look at this MK110 57mm invisible naval gun and the Dona naval gun fire control system produced by the Spanish Isar Shipyard. There is also a non-sighted missile launcher at the bottom, which can launch precision attack missiles with a range of 22 nautical miles.
Two 2mm naval guns and a RIM-30 RAM anti-ship missile defense system. Not very useful though.
The MK48 universal vertical launch system can launch NATO's improved Sea Sparrow air defense missiles and Asroc anti-submarine missiles.
此外，独立级还可以根据任务需求加装反舰导弹。另外搭载2架MH-60R/S海鹰直升机或者1架海鹰直升机、3架MQ-8B火力侦察兵无人机，或者单独搭载1架CH-53海上种马直升机。
Or 2 Black Hawk helicopters, Kingfisher II armed drone, and unmanned surface/underwater vehicle.
Listening to the introduction of the female person in charge, Zhang Ailun was also excited by her, but he calmed down and asked: "If a retired littoral combat ship like this is really as you described, with all the weapons and equipment, without helicopters and drones, how much would it cost to buy it?"
"Our LCS has quite a few standard configurations, including all the basic facilities. We may need to find additional arms companies or military orders to purchase weapons and missiles, and our sales price is set at around $800 million to $1200 million," Darcy said. "The price is too high. Even if a LCS like this is fully equipped, it is only worth $550 million or $600 million at most in the second-hand market. Even if it is a brand new LCS for export, with a Seahawk helicopter and a Scout drone, the price is less than $1000 million."
Qibatu interrupted her suddenly. As soon as he got on board, he activated his super brain and laser eyes to analyze and find faults inch by inch. Others only saw the integrated exterior architecture and advantages of the warship. They only took them to understand the excellent performance of the warship, and rarely mentioned the shortcomings. But in his eyes, it was not the case!
Just like selling a used car, the dealer will definitely not say what parts have been replaced or what problems have occurred. They will only say that it is an original product, has a certain acceleration of 0-100 km/h, has airbags, complete insurance procedures, and is durable. However, such tricks are almost invisible to professional ground sheet metal workers!
He only needs to touch the aluminum alloy sheet and take a closer look at the gaps in the edges and corners to know which parts are original and painted, and which have been replaced later.
"This littoral combat ship must have had problems during training, which caused its carbon fiber composite absorbing material to be altered later, which will undoubtedly affect its overall stealth performance. The stern hatch and a double tail support boom can carry and launch and recover small boats, underwater sensors and various unmanned aerial vehicles, but I see that they seem to have not been under warranty for a long time. These things need us to buy them and maintain them again. This also requires a large amount of capital investment."
Qibatu explained in detail: "There is no problem with the engine. If there is a problem, and the battleship cannot be started or the speed is affected, then it will be directly included in the list of scrapped ships."
Darcy, the person in charge, was also a little surprised to see that he knew so much about this littoral combat ship, and immediately said, "I didn't expect you to know so much about this combat ship. Sir, you are right. The reason for the retirement of this combat ship is not only because the strategy does not meet the requirements of the navy, but also for some reasons of its own. This littoral combat ship is indeed not 70% new, but when buying a retired ship, you can't ask too much of it. We also sell it according to the market price of second-hand retired ships."
"Retired ships do need maintenance, but it doesn't cost too much to buy them back and find professionals to adjust them. Has this gentleman ever worked as a logistics and technical maintenance personnel in the navy?"
"I'm just an ordinary ground crew member who has some knowledge of military industry." Qibatu said modestly.
"Since you know enough about this littoral combat ship and want to buy it, you should not care about its shortcomings. We can give you a reasonable price. Other arms companies have offered a low price of $550 million, which comes with two sea speedboats and small ships, and two spare shells and missiles. We have also sold two Independence-class combat ships of the standard package level."
"If the Seahawk helicopter and reconnaissance drone are included, an additional $200 million will be needed, which means a value-added package of $750 million," said Darcy, the person in charge.
"We don't need Seahawk helicopters and other reconnaissance drones for the time being. We can provide it with one or two Black Hawk helicopters. Subsequent weapon purchases will be supplemented step by step according to demand. Now we only need to buy a standard ship like this."
Radar, anti-submarine missile fire control system, and anti-ship gun fire control system are all basic configurations of this retired littoral combat ship.
But whether it can be used is still unclear.
After all, they are not on any mission, just on daily patrols near the island, so it is not surprising that the ammunition depot is empty all year round.
The orbit of a missile costs tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars, and it needs maintenance when it is not in use. Fighting a war is really too expensive.
After careful consideration, Zhang Ailun decided to purchase such a littoral combat ship.
The person in charge also had someone bring a package contract that had been drafted long ago for the chief leader and the person in charge, Sig, to review. The basic package cost 550 million US dollars, and came with two four-seater speedboats and a multi-person small ship. The small ships could be equipped with firepower, such as machine guns, or individual RPG rocket launchers, to provide real-time fire support and maritime rescue.
After checking that everything was correct, Zhang Ailun asked Sig to sign his name decisively. For transportation, he could choose to have the General Electric Company deliver it to the designated location, or he could choose to arrange his own people to move the battleship away, but the delivery fee would require an additional payment. After considering it, the chief leader also chose to let his own people drive the littoral combat ship away, focusing on cost-effectiveness.
The funds were transferred to the designated account of General Electric Company through the Hamburg Foundation.
"Mr. Comprey, Mr. King, we have received your remittance. I wonder if you are interested in other private cruise ships and yachts?" A deal was successfully concluded, and the person in charge, Darcy, said enthusiastically.
"In addition to purchasing battleships, we came here mainly to learn about the Spruance-class destroyer," said Zhang Ailun.
"Then we can go to the destroyer for a tour now." Darcy smiled and immediately took them away from the battleship and headed to the bay where the destroyer was parked. It was still a huge steel monster.
The retired destroyer is meters long, meters wide, has a full load displacement of 7700 tons and a maximum range of 6600 nautical miles. It is much larger than the littoral combat ship, and the two are not at the same level at all.
Previously, twenty people were needed to easily maneuver and navigate a battleship, but this monster of a destroyer cannot even be operated normally in shifts without fifty people. Just one look at the mechanical parts on it makes people feel that scientific theories and technology are attacking their brains.
Darcy led a few people to land on the destroyer, visited the cockpit and the engine room, and gave an introduction. Looking at the electronic equipment and lines, except for the radar and the sea chart, the chief was really confused and overwhelmed by the other things.
Several ground crew members in Qibatu who were already familiar with motor circuits watched with great interest and even discussed with Haval where to start with the rectification.
They already knew a lot about this destroyer, and there was nothing else to say. They just checked its performance and functionality, and then they could start talking about the price.
Darcy also gave the price of their General Electric Company, which is $5500 million for a second-hand decommissioned destroyer. This price is obviously much more favorable than that of a battleship. After all, the second-hand price of a Spruance-class destroyer varies, ranging from $4000 million to $2 million.
The price is US$5500 million, mainly because General Electric is only selling the destroyer itself, and there are no suitable weapons and equipment to choose from. It only comes with ordinary ammunition and replaceable parts.
Otherwise, if you just buy some genuine Tomahawk cruise missiles or Asroc anti-submarine missiles, you will not be able to afford them at the price of 50 million US dollars, and your budget will instantly exceed 100 million US dollars.
And if you want to buy this thing, you have to see if others will sell it to you. It's a pure killer!
(End of this chapter)
