The army and navy are not on the same page for the time being, because the German army is not currently considering fighting on the islands, but the cost of the air force has been increasing year by year, and it has also become a part of this overrun military spending drama. Among them, the development of HNA and land aviation accounts for a considerable proportion of the expenditure.

Reality is not a game, the foundation of national defense is not something that can be created with a click of a mouse, the compromise between departments depends on Eric coordination, and what originally took 1 mark to handle has to be split into three parts, and this kind of change needs to involve all aspects.

For the first time in Germany's history, Germany had its own access to the Mediterranean, and had no previous experience to draw on, relying on the Lampedusa naval base near Malta. Hipper's development here is also in full swing, and Germany will not easily give up as a link between the eastern and western ends of the Mediterranean.

Because of the development of the HNA, although it is a naval base, it is still an air base, except for a few simple airport runways, the shadow of warships cannot be seen. Most of the 21-square-kilometer island is mountainous, and when the airport was built, some of the hills were flattened to make it happen, but the air force here is only symbolic and cannot be scaled up at all.

It was because of the small island that the British were so "generous" that when the German army entered Italy in a big way, the British were forced to agree to cede such a small place to relieve the siege.

Lampedusa was to be converted into a naval base, barely accommodating a medium-sized fleet, but unable to threaten and match the British Maltese Navy. In other words, the construction of an air force here, with its bases and runways, would have required a lot of manpower and material resources, and it would have been difficult to solve the terrain problem alone, and without decades of time and huge financial support, this small island would not have been able to become a forward base for Germany.

The conquest of the British Royal Navy was the dream of every German ruler, from Wilhelm II to Eric.

In fact, in order to deal with the British navy, Germany did not take any pains, and there was a secret weapon on which a considerable part of Germany's huge annual military expenditure would be spent.

Research Institute No. 13, a German SSS-level secret scientific research center, unlike the semi-public of No. 14, Research Institute No. 13 has always been kept in the boudoir and has never appeared in the written documents of the Eric Group, and the insiders of the entire Eric Group except for the participants and the new president Ferdinand, and then Eric himself.

Because the Ministry of Defense has some cooperation, there are very few people who first know about Research Institute No. 13, and at the same time, the Ministry of Defense has to spend a lot of financial and human resources on this secret project, such as making false accounts, which has become a kind of daily work.

The finances of the Federal Republic of Germany were open and transparent, but military spending was the opposite, which is why Eric wanted to increase military spending by three times, and without a large amount of financial resources, the project of Research Institute No. 13 had to be suspended or forced to stop.

Research Institute No. 13 is extremely secretive and unknown to the outside world, but Research Institute No. 12 is very different, it is one of the technology production centers of Germany, occupies a very important place in arms exports, technology transfer, etc., and has become the darling of major industrial groups.

Research Institute No. 12 is not entirely funded by the government, but the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior inject a large amount of money into it every year, and the salaries, bonuses and benefits, and R&D funds of researchers and other employees are supported by patent fees.

On May 15, a rare sunny day after a long rain, at noon, Research Institute No. 12 welcomed a distinguished guest, who was Hoffmann, a high-ranking military official who had just arrived from Vienna, and chief of the General Staff of the United Front Work Department.

He was accompanied by Defense Minister Brauchitsch and Army Commander-in-Chief Rundstedt, who were accompanied by a large advisory group who had been invited to see a new light truck designed by Opel.

SDKFZ305 is the number of this light truck, and it is also a light truck designed by the Ministry of Defense at the request of the United Front Work Department.

In the report submitted at the beginning, this kind of truck needs to have good pressure resistance, at the same time of high-speed travel, it needs to have a strong adaptability to the general complex terrain, but also to be easy to maintain, simple to take materials, and strong cargo capacity.

After receiving the design drawings, the Ministry of Defense invited almost all German car manufacturers to select Opel's SDKFZ305 scheme in the form of bidding, although many manufacturers' plans are very good, but Hoffmann is the only one who personally prefers the unique SDKFZ305. He wanted a hard-working truck, not a shiny and torturous toy.

Opel belongs to the middle class in the German automotive industry, just like his design, this car is not all the technology of Opel, from power to appearance, it can be said that it is a masterpiece of work, the engine is a light quantitative inline 6-cylinder engine from Mercedes-Benz, and the body is provided by Rheinland.

After the prototype rolled off the assembly line, the test drive was approved, and Hoffmann followed the designers around the car and felt very satisfied. Back at Opel Business Office, Hoffman was about to confirm the order when the herald next to him whispered to him that the president had called him.

"I'm Hoffman, hello Mr. President!" Hoffman thought that something had changed at the front, and his hand trembled a little when he picked up the phone. He was not worried about winning or losing the war, but about what was wrong with his strategy.

"Hello, my Chief of the General Staff, I'm sorry to visit you, but I have something to discuss with you." Eric's voice on the other end of the line was flat.

"Okay, Mr. President, please." Fortunately, it wasn't a front-line business, and Hoffman's hanging heart was finally put down. Whatever it is, he always refers to Eric's opinion, and in his opinion, Eric never gives instructions blindly, and every order is well thought out.

"The truck you're visiting, numbered SDKFZ305, I want to export to Huaxia." Eric gave the order directly, and his tone didn't sound negotiable.

"Is this true, Mr. President?" Hoffman was a little depressed, more incomprehensible, how to make a good end of a new military truck just designed and finalized to be sold, after all, this is an advanced military truck.

"I will re-bid for the military trucks of the Ministry of Defense in China, don't worry, I have seen the performance of the SDKFZ305, and I know the general situation, but it still cannot meet the needs of the German army." Eric had a hard tone and didn't seem to want to argue too much on the issue.

After the power stabilized, Eric's mentality was constantly changing.