Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Progress and Partnerships
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[CEO Moon Ji-hoon, who was under investigation for defense industry corruption, is now being investigated for sexual assault. The prosecution has summoned over ten women as witnesses, including his former secretary, a Ms. Kim…]
The additional data sent to the prosecution through CEO Jung was beginning to bear fruit.
What started as a defense corruption case had gradually shifted focus to the man’s personal transgressions, and in the end, he was socially buried under a morally indelible stain.
*Tsk. Perhaps his wealth was more of a curse to him.*
If he had never known the power of money, he wouldn’t have fallen so far.
Then again, who knows.
Maybe that was just his true nature all along.
[The Minister of National Defense has announced that he will take responsibility for investigating the recent military supply corruption scandal.]
In response to the scandal, the Minister of National Defense proposed his own innovation plan.
There were social concerns at first, but when it was revealed that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, an icon of integrity, would be at the forefront of the reform, the media expressed its anticipation. Ultimately, the Chairman dispelled the concerns with a reform plan of unprecedented scale.
[Through a large-scale investigation, the military has confirmed the substandard performance of firearms supplied by S&U. As a result, the company’s firearm supply rights have been revoked for the next ten years…]
The reform plan had a greater ripple effect than expected.
If a defense company couldn’t supply the military, it was as good as shutting down.
I figured Daeyu Precision, which had been absorbed by S&U, would soon be back on the market.
“We’ve arrived, Chairman.”
Lost in thought, I hadn’t noticed the car had reached its destination.
The missile development department, recently reorganized into a center.
I had been curious about how well that guy Seong-ho was adapting, and as it happened, a request for a visit came in, so I decided to make the trip.
“Welcome, Chairman.”
“…”
Seong-ho’s reaction was baffling.
The guy who was always so quirky in private was now using a respectful title and even personally opening the car door for me.
It seemed to be a declaration of his intent to clearly separate public and private matters, likely because Vice President Kim was with us, but I found his behavior more burdensome.
“Why are you being like this? It’s not like you.”
“This is the real me. Ah, no. This is the real me, sir. Anyway, let’s go inside. There’s a mountain of things to brief you on.”
At his urging, we hurried to our next location.
The first place we visited was the short-range air-to-air missile development department, where development had just been completed.
As soon as we entered, he approached the mockup of the missile on display and began his explanation with a proud expression, as if he had been involved in the development from the very beginning.
“We’ve decided on the temporary name Viper for the short-range air-to-air missile we’ve developed. Of course, if it’s formally adopted, the Ministry of Defense will probably pull some tacky move and change the official name to something in Chinese characters.”
At those words, Vice President Kim’s brow twitched slightly.
Still, he didn’t seem to want to reprimand him and remained silent, so Seong-ho continued his explanation.
“The Viper was developed based on the Archer provided by Russia. Therefore, it has superior aerial maneuverability compared to Western missiles, and with improvements to the propellant, it boasts a phenomenal range of 60 kilometers for a short-range missile. It’s also equipped with a Focal Plane Array sensor, giving it the advantage of not being easily fooled by enemy flares…”
Seong-ho’s explanation went on for quite some time.
But these were all things I already knew.
When I raised my hand and asked for the real reason he had called me here, he belatedly made an “Ah!” expression.
“It’s actually because of this…”
As he spoke, Seong-ho moved and pointed to an object covered by a black cloth.
He swiftly pulled the cloth away, revealing an object with a stealthy shape and variable-sweep wings.
It was the Korean version of the Taurus air-to-ground cruise missile I had ordered him to develop long ago.
“That’s already…?”
“I’m sorry, but this is also just a mockup.”
Seeing my excitement, he quickly made an excuse.
True, even with the blueprints, completing development in just a few months would be next to impossible.
“Is that, by any chance, a missile?”
Vice President Kim, who was watching alongside me, asked with wide eyes.
For him, who had only ever seen round missiles, its shape must have been unfamiliar.
I glanced at Seong-ho, prompting an explanation, and he immediately continued.
“This is an air-to-ground cruise missile with partial stealth capabilities.”
“An air-to-ground cruise missile? You mean it’s for the KF-16?”
Vice President Kim asked again, showing his curiosity.
Seong-ho’s gaze flickered toward me.
I answered in his stead.
“It can be applied not only to the KF-16 but also to the advanced trainer jet currently in development, should it be modified for combat. For your reference, its range is 400 kilometers, and it’s capable of penetrating 6 meters of reinforced concrete.”
“With that, our ground attack capabilities would improve dramatically.”
In fact, that was the main reason for developing this weapon.
To give our fighters ground attack capabilities comparable to the F-15.
The problem was that the original version weighed 1,400 kilograms, which was too heavy for the F-16.
So, I ordered the development of a lighter version, and the result was this Korean-style Taurus.
A slimmer, Korean-style Taurus.
“Anyway, did you really call a busy person over just to show them a completed model?”
Feeling a bit annoyed, I chided Seong-ho.
But then, he suddenly put on a triumphant expression.
“Of course not. The guidance system development is already finished… sir. So I’m telling you to hurry up with the parts manufacturing.”
“You’ve already completed the Tri-tec?”
I couldn’t help but be surprised.
The Taurus employed a composite guidance system.
It used an Inertial Navigation System (INS), Image-Based Navigation (IBN), and even Terrain Referenced Navigation (TRN).
Even though I had provided the technology, redesigning all of that to fit this size in just a few months was beyond impressive.
“Hmph.”
Feeling my gaze, he wore a thoroughly smug expression.
Yes, for now, he had every right to be arrogant.
I grabbed him in a sudden hug, and he flinched in surprise, pushing me away.
“Not this, you should give me a more tangible reward. At least a bonus…”
*Ring!*
Just then, the phone in my pocket rang, cutting him off.
I was about to dismiss the call when I noticed the unusual pattern of the number.
Just in case, I waved a hand at him and pressed the answer button, and a familiar voice came through.
-Mr. Jin! The joint F-16 upgrade project has received final approval. I’m sorry to ask, but could you come to the United States?
[…]
I immediately turned around.
“You’ve worked hard.”
As I left him with those short words and turned to leave, I heard him curse from behind me.
“Dammit… I said give me my bonus before you go!”
******
“Please let me know if you need any drinks or alcoholic beverages.”
A few days later, I boarded a flight to the United States with CEO Yoon of Jaewoo Aerospace.
It was the start of a flight that would last over thirteen hours.
CEO Yoon, who was used to frequent overseas business trips, seemed to have it down to a science, falling asleep as soon as he sat down. The security team was monitoring the entire first-class cabin with hawk-like eyes.
“Shall I bring you a magazine to read?”
The newly appointed head of security, in particular, never took his eyes off me for a second.
He checked on me when I went to the restroom and even scrutinized every move the flight attendants made.
I thought it was a bit excessive and tried to stop him several times, but then I remembered it was their job, and I’d given up on more than one occasion.
“Excuse me for a moment? A passenger in economy is feeling unwell, so we were thinking of moving them to business class.”
About nine hours into the flight, as I got up to walk the aisle and stretch my stiff body, I heard a flight attendant asking for the understanding of the business class passengers.
It was something that happened occasionally on long-haul flights, so I was about to pass by without much interest when my eyes met with the man who was reportedly feeling unwell.
*Is he from the Middle East?*
He seemed to be at a glance.
The characteristic tanned skin and beard.
And the accent I could hear in his English as he repeatedly apologized.
He was sweating profusely, so he must have some chronic illness. I hoped we wouldn’t have to make an emergency landing.
“Is that man going to be alright?”
Worried, I asked a passing flight attendant.
She glanced at the man again, then gave a faint smile and nodded.
“Yes, thankfully there was a doctor among the passengers who examined him. He said it’s a mild case of food poisoning.”
It seemed it wasn’t anything serious.
Relieved, I was about to head back to the restroom when my eyes met again with the same man, who was still sweating buckets.
*His face looks familiar… but I can’t quite place it.*
******
[Welcome.]
When we arrived at Dulles Airport, Kevin was there to greet us.
From there, we took a car to Lockheed Martin’s headquarters in Maryland.
A number of people were standing at the entrance, seemingly having prepared for our visit.
[Welcome. I’m Jack Carson.]
The CEO of Lockheed Martin was a middle-aged man with a rather pleasant impression.
He had been brought in as an external CEO just six months ago, which likely meant he had no connection to the past conflict between Jaewoo and Lockheed.
Perhaps that’s why his welcoming expression didn’t feel very forced.
[Jin Hyun-seung.]
After a brief greeting, we went straight into the conference room.
My eyes were immediately drawn to an elderly man looking out the window.
I hesitated, puzzled, and Jack pointed to the man and said.
[That is Chairman Scott from GE.]
Only then did I understand why the old man was here.
Engine upgrades were an essential part of any fighter jet modernization project.
The F-16s produced around this time were fitted with engines from either GE or Pratt & Whitney. It seemed GE had been selected for this upgrade project.
[A pleasure to meet you.]
Scott had the look of a typical American from the South.
Not that people from the South had a distinct look, but there was a certain rigidness about him that gave off that impression.
In fact, that rigidness was also palpable in his speech, which had a tone of discontent.
[I hear you made a mega-deal with Pratt & Whitney?]
I had wondered what his problem was, and it seemed that was it.
Our technology exchange with Pratt & Whitney.
But what could I do? Those were the terms of the deal.
He didn't seem to want to dwell on it, as he eventually relaxed his expression and offered me a seat.
[Well, what’s past is past. Let’s work well together from now on.]
After that, we proceeded with detailed discussions.
Perhaps because the scale of the project was so large, resolving even a single agenda item took several hours. Just as I was starting to feel drained, Jack finally raised both hands and declared a break.
[Let’s take a short break.]
As soon as he finished speaking, various snacks and drinks were brought into the conference room.
I was starving.
Just as I reached for a piece of bread, Jack spoke again.
[Ah! Let’s just wrap this one thing up. The proposal to divide the upgrade project by sector.]
That was one of the proposals I had made.
Instead of dragging all the old aircraft scheduled for upgrades to the United States, I suggested that the work could also be done at Jaewoo’s maintenance depots.
For example, we could divide the work by region: Jaewoo would handle Asia and the Middle East, while Lockheed’s facilities would handle the rest.
The specific division of sectors could be determined later after analyzing various factors like distance.
My reason for proposing this was to cover KAI’s immediate deficit.
If we only supplied the radar, the profits would go entirely to the research institute and Jaewoo Thales, which went against my original intentions.
If KAI could participate in even a portion of the upgrade work for over a thousand aircraft, it would be more than enough to cover their deficit.
*Swoosh.*
I looked at Jack with a sense of tension.
A broad smile spread across his lips, and he held out a document.
[It was approved in our internal meeting.]
OK! That settles it.