The First Export and New Horizons
Taesik, curious about the investment returns from the T50 export, couldn't sit still in his office and headed to Japan. Upon meeting Luke, they went to a temporary office set up in the country.
"Hahaha. I thought you were crazy, Representative... but I never imagined the things you predicted would actually happen."
"Are the investment results in?"
"Yes. The stock price of Japan Power plummeted from 2,158 yen to 308 yen. We gained 1,805 yen per share, netting 13 dollars in profit per share. We earned 8 billion dollars from short selling alone, and the brewery investment brought in a modest 700 million dollars. And the inverse leveraged funds we settled today brought in approximately 7.3 billion dollars."
"Then, the total amount is...?"
"16 billion dollars. After deducting the fees for borrowing in the short sale, taxes, and my commission, we have a net profit of 13.6 billion dollars."
"Hahaha. Investing 15.5 billion dollars to make 13.6 billion is quite decent."
"It's the first time I've made 13.6 billion dollars in such a short period. If I had trusted your word and managed the funds more aggressively, we could have made even more... that's the only regret."
"No, it would have been difficult to achieve these returns without you, Luke. Oh, and my identity must never be revealed."
"Of course. I've organized it so that the profits were earned under the name of Luke Investment. What do you plan to do with the profits from this round?"
"I need to reinvest in my companies in Korea. And as I promised you, I'll also invest in the company you established."
At Taesik's words, Luke smiled. "How much will you invest?"
"I'll invest 1 billion dollars. That's not enough, is it?"
"Of course not. 1 billion dollars is plenty. In return, you must join me next time there's an investment opportunity similar to this one in Japan."
"When can you transfer the funds to Korea?"
"If we need to bypass the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, it will take about three weeks."
Taesik headed straight to a restaurant with Luke to celebrate their massive success, enjoying sashimi and sake to commemorate their work in Japan. After returning to Korea, Taesik soon began weapon development with the funds Luke sent, but he was soon met with disappointment from Apple in the United States.
"Representative Kim! Apple has decided not to use the mobile processors you've been supplying anymore."
"Are you saying you've decided to source mobile processors from somewhere other than us?"
"No! To cut costs and prevent technology leaks, we've decided to design our own mobile processors and diversify our suppliers."
"So, our collaboration with Apple ends like this."
"Hahaha. What are you talking about? Aren't you a shareholder with a 5% stake in Apple? Just think of it as a self-rescue measure to maximize profits."
Apple was designing its own mobile processors for its new smartphone releases, deciding to use the processors Taesik provided only for their early-version smartphones. Since they had used their own designs instead of Misung Electronics' processors even before his regression, Taesik let go of his disappointment.
"Mike! Don't just focus on work, take care of your health."
Knowing that Mike would eventually die of cancer, Taesik left him with advice to get regular check-ups before they hung up the phone. Taesik informed President Ryu Gwang-su that there would be no more transactions with Apple, and President Ryu frowned at the news of reduced profits.
As the profits from Japan were poured into Starlink Aerospace, President Jo Yoon-je frequently called Taesik to the aerospace division to oversee the conversion of the existing TA50 tactical lead-in fighter into a single-seat version and the testing of the air-to-air missiles developed by Starlink Defense.
"The conversion of the TA50 tactical lead-in fighter to a single-seat version is complete. The addition of an auxiliary fuel tank has increased the combat radius by 100km."
"It's become similar to the F-16 now. What about the missile mounting tests?"
"We plan to conduct firing tests for the newly developed air-to-air missiles alongside existing armaments next week. We'll start as soon as we finish consultations with the Air Force regarding the use of the shooting range."
"Have the target drones arrived?"
"The delivery of the target drones we purchased was delayed, so we've decided to utilize the ones owned by the Air Force."
"You should purchase a large quantity of target drones this time. It's going to be difficult to get Air Force cooperation every time we conduct a test..."
"Hahaha. You've become generous since you started putting a lot of investment capital in."
"Then, should I go to the Air Force base in the West Sea next week?"
"Yes. And in line with the test schedule, people from the Indonesian Ministry of Defense will also be attending as observers."
"Indonesia...?"
At Taesik's question, President Jo Yoon-je smiled. "The possibility of exporting the T50 aircraft has finally opened up. Indonesia says they will decide whether to purchase after observing the aircraft boarding and firing tests."
"What is the scale of the purchase Indonesia is considering?"
"They say they want to purchase 12 T50s and 4 TA50s. It's about a 500 billion won scale."
"Is there anything I can do to support you?"
"No. We're still in the working-level consultation stage, so we don't need your support yet."
"Then I'll see you at the firing test next week."
On the day of the launch the following week, Taesik headed to the West Coast Air Force base where the firing test was being held, where President Jo Yoon-je and President Park In-tak were already arriving and entertaining the defense officials observing the test evaluation.
"Representative, you've arrived."
"It's a live-fire test, but quite a lot of people have come."
"Yes. Since it's the first domestically developed air-to-air missile, many people from the Air Force have come."
"Are those foreigners over there the Indonesians?"
"Yes. Eight people from the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and Air Force have arrived."
A moment later, a Starlink Aerospace employee signaled that they were ready, and the attendees moved to a spot where the target drone launcher was visible.
"We will now begin the test evaluation for the TA50 air-to-air missile, the Pyeonjeon."
Following the moderator's instructions, the attendees sat in the prepared seats, and the moderator began explaining the specifications of the first domestic air-to-air missile.
"The Pyeonjeon, developed by Starlink Defense, is a missile that uses solid fuel as a propellant, with a speed of Mach 2.7 and a range of 30km. It weighs 90kg and adopts an infrared guidance method. Also..."
After the introduction of the missile's specifications, when the TA50 aircraft sent a radio signal that it was ready, the moderator announced that the live-fire test would be conducted using the prepared target drone.
"Target drone launch in 5 seconds, 4 seconds... Launch!"
Simultaneously with the moderator's launch signal, the target drone launched into the sky and began flying at the input altitude and path, and the radio transmission from the TA50 pilot appearing from the right was heard.
"Simulated enemy aircraft detected! Proceeding to Lock On."
A moment later, the radio transmission that Lock On was complete was heard, followed immediately by the report that the missile had been fired.
"Pyeonjeon missile, one round fired!"
The Pyeonjeon missile fired from the right approached the direction the target drone was heading, successfully blowing up the target drone and marking the success of the first missile firing test.
As the attendees sent applause and cheers, the moderator gave an announcement.
"As informed, we will conduct a total of 5 rounds for today's live-fire test. Additional target drones will be launched shortly."
The second target drone launched a moment later flew at a lower altitude than before. The attendees, curious, began asking the moderator in loud voices.
"Why did you lower the altitude this time?"
"The Pyeonjeon missile adopts a thrust-vectoring method and possesses high maneuverability. We lowered the altitude to frequently change the direction of the target drone at low altitudes to prove the effectiveness of the thrust vectoring."
Indeed, unlike before, the target drone frequently changed its flight path, and the attendees watched the red target drone, waiting for the pilot to Lock On.
A moment later, the pilot sent a radio transmission saying he had locked onto the target drone, and the missile fired from the TA50 appeared at the test site with a roar.
The first target drone had flown in a straight line and was blown up by the missile, but the second target drone kept changing its path, and the Pyeonjeon missile followed the changed path, adjusting its direction to draw an optimal trajectory before blowing up the target drone.
The attendees watched the live-fire test, admiring the missile's performance, which was better than they had thought while listening to the explanation of the thrust-vectoring method, and they successfully completed all 5 planned live-fire armament tests.
The Indonesian Ministry of Defense officials who attended the test evaluation seemed impressed by the missile's performance, which was better than expected, and asked if they could purchase the GPS-guided bombs and Pyeonjeon air-to-air missiles developed by Starlink Defense together when purchasing the aircraft. President Park In-tak expressed confidence, saying he could provide the desired quantity at the desired time.
The Ministry of Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration made President Park In-tak happy by saying they would inform him of the missile purchase quantity after internal discussions, and President Jo Yoon-je was satisfied that the armaments that could be mounted on the TA50 tactical lead-in fighter had increased, treating the Indonesian Ministry of Defense people with the utmost hospitality.
A few weeks later, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense sent a letter of intent to purchase 50 GPS-guided bombs and 30 air-to-air missiles while purchasing 12 T50s and 4 TA50s, and President Jo Yoon-je and President Park In-tak signed a purchase contract with Indonesia, marking the first export of T50-series aircraft.
The media reported on the specifications of the T50 advanced trainer aircraft and information about the missiles being exported for the first time, promoting it as the largest performance export following the K9 self-propelled howitzer.
Luke, having finished his work in Japan, immediately sent the massive profits to Taesik, and Taesik paid the development costs to Starlink Aerospace and Defense, ordering them to increase development speed without worrying about costs.
While Taesik was increasing the speed of weapon development with the profits he gained in Japan, the Republic of Korea entered an era of great chaos. The president from the Dae-A Group experienced the mad cow disease situation in the early days of his inauguration, and while focusing on state affairs, he signed an FTA (Korea-US Free Trade Agreement) with the United States, causing public concern.
Taesik smiled happily at a call from Edison Motors in the United States.
"Representative Kim! Finally, Edison Motors' first car is scheduled to be released. We will announce it in February next year and launch the new car around December."
"Finally, an electric car is coming out."
"To differentiate it from other internal combustion engine vehicles, we've included the autonomous driving function developed by Starlink Deepmind, so everyone is full of anticipation. You know we shouldn't sell it to anyone but us, right?"
"I received a 5% stake, so of course it's exclusive. You used Starlink Map's electronic map for navigation, right?"
"I used Starlink Map's electronic map because I'm close with you, Representative Kim."
"Hahaha. It's not because there's no electronic map as accurate as Starlink Map, is it?"
"Hehehe. It's capable of lane-by-lane guidance, so of course we have to use Starlink Map's product. You'll come to the launch announcement later, right?"
"I'll decide when I see my schedule."
"Please attend if you can! And there's an additional requirement from Space Y."
"What is it?"
"We've newly developed a launch vehicle, so the weight we can carry into space has increased. We can carry up to 60 small satellites at once, so do you have any intention of putting 60 of them into orbit at once?"
"Of course I do. We'll move accordingly."
At the news that Space Y could lift up to 60 additional satellites at once, Taesik decided to proceed with the business he had wanted to do since his regression.