TFA2 25.1 – Second Purchase
Last night, Andrew Fox received a message from Vex. It said that he was on an international flight to Mississippi and would arrive at noon. The problem was that Mississippi had three international airports, but Vex didn't tell him at which airport he would land.
Moreover, when Andrew checked the arrival schedule for both private and commercial flights to Mississippi, he didn’t find Vex’s name. However, because he had a pressing matter to discuss with Vex, he immediately flew from his office in Edward AFB to Mississippi.
Of the three international airports in Mississippi, Andrew chose to go to Stennis International Airport where he had an office and a small team of staff. As soon as his helicopter landed, Andrew immediately got off. Then, he could only let out a sigh as Vex came out from one of cars in front of hangar’s door and walked to him.
Vex’s appearance and manner didn’t change much from what he remembered. He wore a T-shirt with a picture of an adorable puppy on the chest, along with a tactical pant and a ball cap. However, Andrew knew for sure that Vex always carried a concealed handgun.
‘I hope he doesn’t shoot my leg like his last broker,’ Andrew muttered as he nervously came over to Vex. “Did you really just arrive in the state?”
“Yeah,” Vex calmly replied.
Andrew didn’t believe Vex’s words at all. He was sure Vex had arrived a few days ago and sent his men to monitor him before making contact. However, Andrew decided to play along.
“I’m sure you have heard about what happened to General Randy.”
“I have.” Vex nodded and then asked, “Do you still remember the item you owe me?”
“I do.”
Actually, Andrew couldn’t remember the details. But at least, he knew he still had to send 8 units Super Hornet, 12 batteries Tamir ADS, 144 units M113, 160 units LAV, 1340 units Humvee, along with a long list of ammunition and spare parts.
“Good. I thought you had bailed out on our deal.”
“Vex, my part is to upgrade and refit that equipment. General Randy is the one who had to take it out of storage facility. When he lost his position, we also lost access to acquire your items, and there is nothing I can do to fix it.”
“I know.” Vex handed over a memory card as he continued, “That’s why I want to put additional order on you. Including the one that you have sent, make the total number up to this new list.”
“Have you secured the access to storage facility?”
“I’m working on it.”
“Vex, whoever kicked General Randy out of his office must be an insanely strong figure. Are you sure you have a solution for this issue?”
“I hope money can solve it. That’s my first option,” Vex firmly replied.
“Well, as long as you have access to storage facility, I can do my part.”
Andrew immediately put the memory card into a tablet without connection. After checking the new list with great seriousness, he frowned and fell into deep contemplation.
In the last purchase, Vex ordered 56 Hercules, and a lot of people asked why his customer needed such a huge number of airlifters. They thought Vex’s customer wanted to invade some country. However, because Vex ordered only 32 units Super Hornet, Andrew managed to assure them that the purchase was not to start a war.
But now, less than two years later, Vex had made a second purchase and increased the number of Super Hornets to 144 units, along with 16 spare airframes in 60% ready-to-fly condition, and 60 airframes for spare part. Vex also added 96 units Harrier, 24 units Growler, and other type of aerial assets to the list.
As for the ground assets, the total number reached 29.430 vehicles, consisted of various vehicles and 730 pieces of various artillery systems.
Andrew immediately turned his gaze to Vex and in a serious tone he asked, “Is your customer in an attempt to start a war?”
“No,” Vex calmly replied. “Can you complete the deal or do I have to find another broker?”
After heaving a deep sigh Andrew replied, “I can, but I need a few hours to check the details first.”
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“Good. Let’s continue the talk tomorrow at noon.”
“Where?”
“Go to your closest favorite restaurant. I will be right behind you.”
“Okay.”
As soon as Vex entered his Lancer Evo III, Andrew got in to the hangar, went straight to the meeting room, and called his staff.
---
After 14 hours of hard work with his staff, Andrew managed to confirm the availability of each item on Vex’s list. Then, as the sun rose in the east he went to a nearby family restaurant.
He still had a few hours before the meeting, so Andrew decided to enjoy a good breakfast before getting some sleep. However, as soon as he entered the restaurant, Andrew found Vex was waiting for him in one corner.
Andrew immediately went to Vex’s table and sat before him. “Our meeting is in the afternoon, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Vex said, before putting a piece of bacon into his mouth. “However, if you already had some updates, you can tell me now.”
“Only some rough outlines.” Andrew wrote some orders and gave them to the waitress before continuing, “But I need your agreement before going further.”
“Good.” Vex nodded and continued, “I have a tight schedule. Let’s make sure you can process some of my orders. As for the rest, we will talk about it later.”
Wasting no time Andrew explained, “Mostly, we don’t have problems, except for Harrier, LAV, and M113.”
“Let’s start with the Harrier.”
“USMC finally put Harrier on retirement, and you can buy every single piece of the airframe, including the ones they use as spare parts, but I need your confirmation about the upgrade you have requested.”
“Don’t tell me you can’t carry out the upgrade.”
“We can do it.” After a pause, Andrew explained.
Replacing the original display with a multipurpose touchscreen LCD, replacing the APG-73 with the APG-79 AESA radar, and planting other instruments from Super Hornet into Harrier’s cockpit while maintaining direct sharing of aerial reconnaissance footage with ground force both via Link-16’s connectivity and SATCOM, would require a major retrofit on the cockpit.
But it would also give the Harrier other capabilities, such as the latest radar warning system and information processing, the latest data link and targeting capability, the latest infrared countermeasure, a new mission computer with computing power ten times bigger, and the same joint helmet-mounted sight as the Super Hornet.
Meanwhile, Rolls Royce can enhance the engine to increase its output, while Boeing would produce a slightly bigger but lighter wing and add additional fuel capacity on the airframe.
“The problem is, it will burn a lot of money.”
“Do it. Money is not a problem as long as I can get tactical fighter jet with vertical takeoff capability that can last for 10-15 years.”
“As you wish.” Andrew grinned before continuing, “As for LAV, do you really need 1200 units in operational and 300 units in storage?”
“Yes, my customer needs that many.”
So far, TF Amethyst had received 680 units M1152 Ripper. GCG was pairing it with LAV Shorad or MTV Tamir. However, it was not effective enough because Humvee’s combat radius was only 200 km while LAV Shorad and MTV Tamir had combat radius up to 400 km.
Therefore, GCG wanted to replace all M1152 Ripper with 320 units LAV Ripper. Meanwhile, the Amphibious Strike Group would need 520 LAV in all variants.
Vex then firmly added, “Ask the General Dynamic Land System in Ontario to build the new unit, if you have to.”
“Why don’t you replace it with Stryker? It had a bigger combat load and better protection. The US Army also had many spare units and abundant spare parts.”
“My customer put armored airdrops as a core element in their doctrine. They can employ it only with a small and light vehicle like LAV.”
Andrew nodded a few times and then said, “To meet the quota, I also have to buy second-hand LAV from other countries.”
“Do as you see fit.”
“Okay.” Andrew waited until the waitress who brought his breakfast left before continuing, “Now, about M113. We can’t acquire it.”
In an instant, a big question mark appeared on Vex’s forehead. He even stopped chewing his bacon. “Why?”
“Last year, the administration put every M113 in the inventory into an aid program for allies who needed it as a spare part. Right now, it’s impossible to take M113 out of the storage facility unless you have a formal request from an allied country.”
After downing a mouthful of his orange juice Vex asked, “Tell me the fastest alternative I can get.”
“Bradley.” Andrew calmly explained, “As its replacement starts to enter service, DoD turns every Bradley in good condition into a high-roof model, and installs a kit for medevac, mortar, logistic, or other variants of support roles.
Currently, it’s pretty easy to covertly take a few hundred Bradley and retrofit them to your specifications.”
After pondering for a while Vex decided, “Make it 310 operational units and 70 spare units in storage. I will send you the type and specification later. Also, add 42 units M1A3 Abrams to the list.”
“Are you sure about Abrams? I thought your customer had no interest in heavy-hitter unit.”
“If they can’t get M113 with 105 mm gun, they will need Abrams even though it's only a single battalion.”
“Okay.”
“I will send the down payment at noon. The rest will enter your account after I secure the clearance to storage facility.” In a serious tone Vex added, “This time, take every single item on my list out of the storage facility before starting your part. I will pay the rent for the warehouse.
And if after that, I have another delay, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.”
After gulping hard Andrew nervously replied, “O-okay.”
“Good.”
Vex then happily continued his breakfast. After that, he drove north through the highway along the east coast. It was a long drive straight to the largest port facilities for specialized cargo in US of A.
*****
