First, although these 60 "Salman" were originally prepared for Saudi Arabia, they were later changed to owners, that is, they were planned to be sold to Pakistan.

As a result, Pakistan had to reduce the purchase price in the first place, as requested by Pakistan.

To this end, the 1,500 horsepower engine, which is not yet mature and still in the testing stage, was replaced with a mature 1,200 horsepower engine developed for the hot and humid environment of Pakistan, to be precise, the power combination, that is, the engine and gearbox are integrated.

The 1200 hp powerpack is known for being reliable, but it's a little less powerful.

If it is only to push the "Salman" in an ordinary state, it is not much of a problem.

After all, the standard combat weight of the "Salman" is only 52 tons, which is 10 tons lighter than the vast majority of Western tanks, so the loss of 300 horsepower does not have a noticeable effect on mobility.

It's just that for the fully cloaked "Salman", the problem is obvious.

You must know that in the fully clothed state, the total combat weight of the "Salman" reached 61 tons, which exceeded the vast majority of tanks, including the "Leopard 2".

At this point, 1200 horsepower doesn't seem so sufficient.

In addition, for local tyrants who have never been short of money, they must be the best, not the most suitable.

What's more, several Arab League countries are actually facing mainly guerrillas such as the Houthis, and the main battlefield of tanks is the city.

Fighting in the city, the tank must be fully clothed.

The Germans developed an "urban warfare kit" specifically for the "Leopard 2", which, if attached, would have a total combat weight of up to 67 tons.

In addition, the environment in the city is more complex, which requires higher maneuverability of the tank.

In this way, a powerful power system is indispensable.

Fortunately, Huaxia's 1500 horsepower power pack has been successfully developed, and it is used in its own tank, and it is only a matter of time before it is sold to the outside world.

To put it simply, all that needs to be done is to integrate it into the VT-4 tank and then offer it to the customer as an option.

What's more, the power pack developed by Huaxia is theoretically capable of increasing the power to 1,800 horsepower, thus giving the tank greater mobility.

This powertrain is still under development, but the external dimensions are exactly the same as the 1500 hp powerpack, and the interface is exactly the same, so it can be replaced at a later stage of modification, and after the modification, only some modifications need to be made to the control software of the driving system to be completely matched.

In fact, the 1800 horsepower power package has been tested in China and the platform is the latest improvement of the ZTZ99.

As long as the 1800 horsepower power pack is installed, even the "Salman" in a fully draped state is definitely the most mobile main battle tank today.

is the strongest, not one of the strongest.

As for the so-called strongest, Russia's T-14 "fleet" tank, there are only a few prototypes, and the ghost knows when it will be mass-produced.

It can be said that the battle in Kute has convinced Saudi Arabia and made Saudi Arabia tempted.

Otherwise, Mohammed would not have offered to directly purchase 300 fully equipped "Salman", and planned to buy the production line back.

As long as China lifts the military embargo, Saudi Arabia will purchase "Salman" in large quantities.

When the time comes, will the American M1A2 still be needed?

You know, VT-4 "Salman" and M1A2 are two completely different tanks of different genres, and there is no need for the Saudis to keep the M1A2 at all.

As long as Huaxia can provide enough VT-4 "Salman" in the short term, Saudi Arabia will give the M1A2 it is now equipped with to the Iraqi government army.

Of course, it is not only Saudi Arabia that has taken a fancy to the VT-4.

Previously, the UAE sent someone to Riyadh to find the marketing director of D&F, that is, Gao Jun, and asked about VT-4.

This incident also frightened Gao Jun.

Why?

D&F is mainly engaged in guns and other light weapons, when did it start selling tanks, and it is still the kind of high-end goods with a unit price of tens of millions of dollars.

In addition, there is no heavy ground equipment in D&F's development plan.

It's not that I don't want to do it, it's that I don't have that ability.

How much profit is from selling tanks, in fact, Gao Jun knows very well in his heart.

Take "Salman" as an example, its unit price is as high as 12 million US dollars, and according to Gao Jun's calculations, the production cost is probably less than 4 million US dollars.

In other words, you can make more than $8 million by selling one.

How much can you make selling a gun?

Even if it's a DF88SMG, and it's the highest-spec version, you can make $10,000 by selling one, and you have to sell 800 to make $8 million.

Even if Saudi Arabia were to purchase DF88SMG large quantities and replace all the existing firearms, it would only need about 150,000 guns.

That is DF88SMG total profit in Saudi Arabia is up to $1.5 billion.

Considering the after-sales expenses, there is certainly no $1.5 billion, and it would be good to be able to make $1 billion in the end, and the cycle is at least 20 years, that is, 50 million a year.

What about selling tanks?

Theoretically, the Saudis need about 800 VT-4s, while the actual purchase volume will not be less than 1200 units.

This is a Saudi tradition of maintaining at least 50 percent of the stock to ensure that the troops can be replenished with heavy equipment as soon as they are needed.

Even if it is based on 800 vehicles, the total profit is as high as 6.4 billion US dollars, and if it is 1,200 vehicles, it is 9.6 billion US dollars.

Unlike firearms, the post-service of heavy equipment also includes upgrading, so during the 20-year after-sales period, not only will you not lose money, but you can also make money.

It is conservatively estimated that Saudi Arabia alone can create tens of billions of dollars in profits by purchasing VT-4.

$1 billion vs. $10 billion, that's an order of magnitude apart.

What's more, among the Arab League countries, there are more rich local tyrants.

According to Gao Jun's survey, the UAE needs at least 400 vehicles, Oman needs 300 vehicles, Kuwait needs 300 vehicles, Jordan needs 600 vehicles, plus 800 vehicles in Saudi Arabia, a total of 2,400 vehicles, and the total potential market profit is close to 20 billion, or even more.

And that's not even counting Egypt and Pakistan.

If Egypt and Pakistan are included, according to the most optimistic estimates, the foreign trade market of VT-4 is as high as 6,000 units, and the profit will definitely not be less than 40 billion US dollars.

You know, it's just a tank.

However, Gao Jun did not make an offer to UAE officials, after all, he is only the head of marketing, and the VT-4 is not in the company's product catalog.

Since then, Oman and Kuwait have also sent people to inquire about the price.

Perhaps he didn't believe Gao Jun, but the Kuwaiti prince who came to inquire clearly mentioned that as long as he could get a few VT-4s to Kuwait for display, he was willing to give Gao Jun a limited edition "Lamborghini" in his private capacity and fly it over by private plane.

This is to inquire and bribe Gao Jun.

Gao Jun really likes the supercar, but he just likes it.

To put it bluntly, where did he go to get a couple of VT-4s to go to Kuwait for a demonstration?

If he had that ability, he would have opened his own arms company and become his own boss, right?