"Your task isn't too difficult, it's a blueprint for a new sniper rifle called Tabuk." Albert gave the task originally given to Kalashnikov to Edmund Heckler, and there are many sniper rifles that have been modified and copied from the AK gun family in history, SVD counts as one, Yugoslavia M76 sniper rifle counts as one, and Iraq's Tabuk sniper rifle counts as one. It's just that the M76's improved Bittabuk sniper rifle is thorough, and it no longer uses 7.62 mm bullets, but 7.92 mm Mauser bullets.

He didn't want Edmund Heckler to tinker with HK's first civilized product, the G3 rifle. After all, when the G3 rifle was about to be put into production, Rheinmetall, which owns the patent right to the roller locking bolt, suddenly came out halfway and threatened HK that it would not be put into production.

Then, a 10-year lawsuit was fought between Rheinland, HK and the Mauser Arsenal, during which TÜV also produced small quantities of the G3, but was eventually granted the right to mass produce by HK. Albert didn't have the energy to go to court against Rheinmetall, and his FAL rifle was gradually opening the door to the world and becoming known. He didn't want to make a G3 rifle that no one cared about halfway, and he needed to rack his brains to advertise.

Albert and Edmund Heckler were eating in a restaurant, perhaps the poor lad had been hungry for days, and he didn't care about what to eat when the food was served, and he devoured the dishes on the table quickly, and Albert brought him a glass of water and advised, "Don't worry, eat slowly." ”

After Edmund Heckler had finished all his meals, he scratched his hair embarrassedly with a full burp and said with a smile, "Let His Highness the Crown Prince smile, I haven't eaten for a few days, so I ...... It's just a bit much. ”

"It's okay." Albert handed a document to Edmund Heckler, "This is my blueprint for a new firearm, can you see if there is anything that needs to be improved?" Edmund Heckler naturally caught the things Albert handed over with both hands, and then carefully opened the information, looking at it page by page, his eyes were very serious.

"With all due respect, Your Highness Albert." After reading the data of the Tabuk sniper rifle, Edmund Heckler closed the information and asked puzzledly, "I have also secretly studied the principle of the AKM rifle before, is the Tabuk sniper rifle you made only an enlarged version of the AKM?" Except for the extension of the barrel and the barrel, there is nothing special. ”

"You're right, this is indeed an extended version of the AKM rifle." Albert nodded.

"That's not right, NORINCO already has an SVD sniper rifle, why bother to design this sniper rifle that may not be as accurate as SVD? Logically speaking, this rifle is more accurate than the AKM, but there is still a certain gap compared to the SVD. In general, it is...... Belch...... It's more than the top. ”

Edmund Heckler pointed out the shortcomings of this gun at once, but Albert was not angry, because Edmund Heckler's reaction was all in his calculations, so he had to explain to Edmund Heckler the development idea of this gun first, "Indeed, the Tabuk sniper rifle is at best a precision rifle, not a sniper rifle in the real sense. But you have to understand what the market positioning of this rifle is, the sniper rifles produced so far are synonymous with high stocks, and those ** guerrillas don't have that much money to feed this sniper rifle, so they need a cheap and accurate sniper rifle. ”

"So your Tabuk sniper rifle can be a good way to grab the low-end market, right?" Worthy of being a management genius with a keen sense of smell in the market, Edmund Heckler immediately grasped the focus of Albert's words, "There is no company in the world that sniper rifles can also be mixed in the cheap and low-end market, and once we become the first to eat crabs, then we can also gnaw the largest market share, right?" ”

"That's right." Albert nodded, "If an AKM costs $50, then a tabuk costs $60 and you still have to make money, and using a small profit and quick turnover format can often build a good reputation for your company." "What Albert said is not unreasonable, now the HK company has not been established, even at the beginning of its establishment, there is no way to compete with the old arms companies, the only way is to take the road of innovation, let the world quickly know your existence, to put it bluntly, is to rely on the design in your hand to brush the sense of existence.

Originally, the sniper rifle that occupied the low-end market was only the product of those military enterprises that did not have much technical content, but here in Albert it is a different way to make money. Moreover, the Germans often made products that were more sophisticated and perfect than the Soviets, and the AK rifle produced in East Germany was the highest quality and accuracy in the entire socialist union. That's why Albert was relieved to hand over to Edmund Heckler to produce this firearm.

Edmund Heckler was clear about this simple truth, and from the bottom of his heart he was grateful to the crown prince for doing so much to help him develop. So Edmund Heckler plucked up the courage and told the crown prince a few things he thought needed to be improved.

"Your Royal Highness, this sniper rifle can use special sniper bullets, just like the 7N1 special sniper bullet, of course we can provide customers with two options, one is ordinary bullets, the other is precision bullets, and they want to use the kind of money that depends on the money in their pockets. The two bullets are distinguished by different colors, so you don't have to worry about getting the wrong bullet when you go into battle. ”

"In the case of sniper scopes, the Soviet PU scope is used, and the price of this scope is much cheaper than that of the American deer hunting scope. And we can also sell it in imitation, after all, there is no intellectual property protection in socialist countries. ”

"Finally, there is the problem of the tripod, a sniper rifle wants to hit the target accurately, and it has a lot to do with the way the shooter holds the gun. With a tripod, stationary shooting is more reliable than hand-held shooting, am I right? Now that His Highness Albert had already set the frame for the gun, Edmund Heckler was embarrassed to make a drastic overhaul, so he had to put forward his own opinions on some accessories.

"Well, that's a good point." Albert didn't think to install a tripod for the Tabuk sniper rifle at first, after all, in his mind, the gun was just a casual play.

Edmund Heckler told Albert that "as long as the crown prince can trust me, I will design this sniper rifle to far exceed the crown prince's expectations." ”

"I've always believed in the talent I crate, so I'm sure you won't let me down." Albert replied with a smile as the two of them got up and left the restaurant after they had drunk, and after Albert had paid the money, he said to Edmund Heckler, "Oh yes, your company is not in Antwerp, but in Brussels." Now I'm going to go to the top of the Talester Arsenal, so you can just come to Brussels and report there. Alberga concluded, "You can go back in my car, and don't forget to bring your friends in Germany." ”

Albert hurriedly ran back for another reason, that is, he had determined the model of Belgium's next-generation main battle tank, and at first Albert was still entangled between the T64 tank and the Type 59 tank, but Albert finally chose the design idea of Israel's Merkava main battle tank according to the characteristics of Belgium's small territory and small population.

In addition to Messerschmidt, who specialized in aircraft design, did not attend the conference, Ferdinand Porsche, Jack Sabonu and Alfred Krupp of Porsche were all present, and to a certain extent represented the direction of the development of weapons in an era.

The Germans have a strong sense of time, saying that the meeting at one o'clock in the afternoon will never exceed 1.01 minutes, and Ferdinand Porsche, who was on vacation today, hurried from his home to attend the crown prince's meeting.

This is a major conference that could affect the development of the Belgian military industry.

Sure enough, as soon as Albert came up, he put forward the idea of the development of the Belgian main battle tank. Everyone knows that Belgium has no history of heavy weapons research before, so Albert's Belgian main battle tank plan is likely to become the originator of the country's tank development.

"I have invited you today to discuss with you the development of the Belgian tank of the future." Albert, who never dragged mud and water, preached straight to the point as soon as he came in, "I hope that the layout of this tank is the power compartment of the front compartment, the middle compartment and the rear compartment are the personnel compartment, and the front armor can improve the protection ability and ensure the safety of the tank crew." ”

Ferdinand Porsche and Krupp looked at each other, Albert's idea was a bit shocking, and Ferdinand Porsche whispered, "But Your Highness, tanks generally have a power compartment in the back." ”

"I know." "But Belgium is small and has a small population, which means that every soldier is a valuable fighting force, and our tank design is designed to keep the occupants as safe as possible, right?" ”

Ferdinand Porsche apparently did not expect Albert's first consideration was not power and mobility, but the safety of the soldiers in the tank. An important factor influencing the design of the Israeli Merkava main battle tank was its limited troop resources, which required increased crew survivability. Therefore, when designing the new tank, the crew had to be lowered and sit in the rear of the hull as much as possible. Similarly, Belgium's army supply is not much better, so saving a skilled tank commander is better than recruiting ten inexperienced recruits.