"Did you know that Lockheed has a skunk factory?" Albert suddenly asked Barlow such a question, and Barlow, who was sitting in the co-pilot, was caught off guard by Albert's question, but Albert did not give him a chance to answer, and said to himself, "Skunk Works is a senior project development department of Lockheed Corporation, mainly engaged in secret research programs, and its business occupies 1/3 of the annual procurement budget of the US Department of Defense, almost covering the US defense business, and even controlling 20% of the world defense market, and is a well-deserved world-class arms giant." ”

"So what?" Barlow didn't understand why Albert had suddenly told him this.

Albert shook his head and said with a wry smile, "We can't just watch the most profitable market for the Americans to dominate, in fact, a country's economic base and industrial strength determine its position in the world arms market." It is very helpless that the Talest Heavy Weapons R&D Company is an enterprise that has more than enough heart and less power. ”

The opponent was too strong, and the Belgian government's long-term lack of attention to the development of heavy weapons led to the Tulest's heavy weapons research and development arsenal was particularly weak in the manufacture of aircraft, artillery and tanks, and if it were not for Albert's deep pockets to buy a German industrial company, the Tulrest Arsenal might not have been able to produce an armored car by now.

"What the crown prince said is very true." Barlow also said to Albert, "Without heavy industry, a huge military-industrial empire cannot be supported." ”

"Of course you can." Albert refuted Barlow's claim, "In fact, Taleste is the company that I put all my heart and soul into to build. Although it cannot represent the development of the Belgian military industry, it can also be said to be a splendid flower that blooms on the soil of this barren military industrial base. ”

The car was parked at the entrance of Brussels' industrial area, a factory that had been newly built a year earlier. Two hundred meters near the factory were fenced with barbed wire, and signs of explosive dangerous goods were hung on them. Barlow followed Albert to the guard post three meters before he was stopped by a security officer, who stretched out his left hand to stop Albert from moving forward, but his right hand slowly slid onto the pistol holster on his waist.

"Sir, this place is forbidden without permission, can I see your outfield badge?" The security personnel looked at Albert cautiously, fearing that the other party would make some deviant move. Albert pulled out from his pocket the badge that Messerschmidt had custom-made for him. Stared at him and said, "Can I go in now?" ”

"Of course he can, but he's going to have to register." Even if Albert's identity is indicated on the badge. The security guard pointed to Barlow, who didn't have a badge.

There was no way, Barlow had to obediently register his name, and at the same time a little lamented that the management of this place was strict beyond his own, and at the same time he was also looking forward to what wonderful things the crown prince would show him. Albert led him into the factory and began to introduce him. "It's the same as Skunk Works. Messerschmidt also had a high-level department dedicated to aircraft development, which is what you see today as the 'Falcon Factory'. As the only spacecraft R&D facility at the Tallest Heavy Weapons R&D Center, it has the tightest security measures and the most generous R&D funding available. ”

Barlow listened to the Crown Prince's explanation, and at the same time followed the Crown Prince's steps to a huge factory, where the workers hired from Germany were busy in an orderly manner, and a formed aircraft was parked in front of them, and an engineer under the plane was meticulously recording the data. From time to time, touch what looks like a prototype.

"This is what His Highness Albert wants to show me?" Although Barlow was not too unfamiliar with airplanes, he could also feel that they were different from the propeller fighters he had seen. As a layman. He still wanted Albert to explain it to him.

However, Albert did not rush to explain the plane to Barlow, but first greeted the engineer who recorded the data under the plane, that is, Messerschmidt. When Messerschmidt saw the Crown Prince coming, he hurriedly put down his work to welcome the Crown Prince.

"How's it going? Mr. Messerschmidt, when will the aircraft be ready for its final flight tests? Albert was confident in the plane, and after Messerschmidt told Albert that the F4 Phantom had passed the wind tunnel tests, he began preparations for the F4 Phantom's maiden flight.

"The first flight will not be until tomorrow, and we are doing the final inspection of this aircraft." Perhaps noticing that there was a stranger next to the crown prince, Messerschmidt cautiously asked, "Who is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" ”

Although Messerschmidt was in an inquiring tone, he was reminding Albert that there were outsiders here, and some key data was inconvenient to reveal. In order not to cause misunderstanding, Albert hurriedly introduced, "Oh, this is Mr. Barlow. He is currently the head of Strategic Resources Cooperative and a friend of mine. ”

When Albert said this, Barlow, who had been observing his words, gave Messerschmidt a friendly smile and praised, "I have often heard His Highness Albert mention you as the best aircraft designer in Germany, and there is no one. ”

Barlow's sycophants are still very useful, since the crown prince has said so, Messerschmidt is embarrassed to continue to hide, he introduced the data of this plane to Barlow, "As you can see, you can find that this plane is very different from the planes you have seen before, for example, this fighter uses a twin-engine engine, while the previous F80 fighter and F84 fighter in the United States are only single-engine engines, which means that the layout of the F4 ghost is much better than the first two in terms of speed." ”

"The second is its wing, which can be said to be the ingenuity of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, compared with the straight wing, the aerodynamic characteristics of the swept wing can increase the critical Mach number of the wing and reduce the drag when flying at supersonic speeds. Therefore, the F4 Phantom fighter designed by His Royal Highness Albert can be said to have thrown off the two main streets of the straight-wing fighters of the Yankees in terms of maneuverability and maneuverability. ”

Albert was praised a little embarrassed by experts like Messerschmidt, you must know that the F80 and F84 fighters are first-generation fighters, and the F4 Phantom is already a second-generation fighter.

Even a master-level figure like Messerschmitt praised Albert's design, and Barlow naturally had to echo two sentences, since Messerschmitt said it, he also shook out all the advantages of the F4 ghost, "You see, in addition to installing a 20mm cannon, this kind of aircraft can also hang bombs on both sides of the wings for bombing, which changed the situation that fighters can only rely on machine guns to kill during World War II." ”

Given that now von? Braun also drilled into the small dark room to develop guided missiles, and Albert did not disclose this information, so he simply declared to Messerschmitt that these bomb-carrying racks were used to drop bombs, and that after the development of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles in the future, it was completely possible to carry out air combat killing through hydraulic systems and radar sights.

"After the test flight is over, the Falcon factory will be in full swing and start the assembly line to produce this model." Before the aircraft was officially mass-produced, Messerschmidt received a large order from the Belgian Air Force to purchase 20 F4 Phantom fighters to replace the old models of the Second World War. Messerschmidt was sure that this fighter would take him to the next level in the field of aircraft design.

"Of course it's more than that." Albert decided to reveal a little secret to Messerschmidt, "I can assure you that in addition to the orders of the Belgian Air Ministry, you will receive military orders from two other countries. ”

Messerschmidt was already excited about the Air Ministry's order, but he didn't expect that there was still something waiting for him, Messerschmidt hurriedly asked, "So, His Royal Highness Albert has brought two more customers to the Falcon Factory?" I wonder who they are? ”

Albert doesn't say anything about Israel, India and Pakistan, he just whets Messerschmidt's appetite and says, "Of course it's a secret that can't be told." ”

"Since the crown prince has his own secrets, it is not convenient for me to force them. However, for this fighter to become a real best-selling weapon, the Belgian Air Force's narrow order alone is not enough. It's better to be able to ......" At this point, Messerschmidt, who was also a former Nazi war criminal, knew what to say and what not to say.

However, Albert didn't have many taboos, and he directly said what Messerschmidt didn't finish, "Actually, you want to say that war is the best way to advertise this fighter, right?" Otherwise, go to the defense exhibition, but it's an aircraft that is not famous, who will buy it. So come to think of it, the easiest chance for an airplane to become famous is war. ”

In order to save business, Messerschmitt strongly recommended his own fighter to the Nazi government, and after the Nazi expansion ambitions reached a consensus with Messerschmitt's design, Messerschmitt produced a large number of fighters for the German Nazi government, and because of this, Messerschmitt's design was the eternal nightmare of the Allied Air Force in World War II.

"I'll find a buyer on this point of the deal, so you don't need to worry about that." In addition to the war between India and Pakistan and the Middle East, there are also a number of European countries that can't resist the temptation, so Albert has already been sifting through countries to see who can become the first customers of F4 Ghost. (To be continued......)