Before Castle turned down the turban-wearing vice president from the high-caste Brahmin background, he had already asked Jarvis to gather information about the "Tejas" fighter jet. He couldn't wrap his head around why the Indian-designed aircraft—resembling a scaled-down French Dassault Mirage jet with a delta wing and a single vertical tail—would need his semi-intelligent flight control system.
This outdated aircraft, which barely had any aerodynamic control surfaces, was already obsolete. Adding his advanced flight control system to it would just be a joke.
Seriously, what kind of backward logic was this?
The design philosophy behind such a fighter was completely absurd. Even if they installed his flight control system, it wouldn't provide any meaningful improvement. At best, it would just serve as a selling point for bragging, without offering any practical benefits.
It was a classic case of overreaching and chasing unrealistic ambitions—exactly what India had been doing for ages.
To be honest, his flight control system was simply too advanced for a plane like this. Installing it on such a poorly designed aircraft wouldn't demonstrate its capabilities.
Their Tejas fighter's aerodynamic layout was inherently incapable of utilizing such cutting-edge technology.
In contrast, consider how the B-2 Spirit, which he recently helped upgrade alongside Northrop Grumman and the military, benefitted significantly from the semi-intelligent flight control system. Despite being in service for over two decades, the B-2 saw a massive improvement in combat performance and ease of operation after the upgrade.
That's because, even after 20+ years of service, the B-2's aerodynamic control surfaces still far outclassed those of India's Tejas, which hadn't even entered full-scale production yet but was already obsolete.
Castle's flight control system thrived on advanced aerodynamic designs. Aircraft with better aerodynamics would naturally maximize its potential. For example, even China's post-J-10 fighter jets could make proper use of it.
The Tejas? Forget about it!
Castle was worried. If he authorized these stubborn Indians to use his system and their Tejas jets were later inducted into their air force, what if one of them crashed? Would Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) then conveniently use his system as a scapegoat?
They'd probably say something like, "Oh, it's not our product quality; it's the American flight control system that's faulty!"
Damn. Castle didn't think this was mere paranoia. He was convinced it was bound to happen.
So why bother associating with an organization like HAL, which produced more "internal saboteur" aircraft than India's rival Pakistan could ever dream of destroying in combat?
But Castle underestimated the sheer stubbornness and dream-chasing tendencies of the Indians. Despite his firm rejection of their proposal—clearly stating that his flight control system was already exclusively sold to Northrop Grumman—he still received a phone call from a senior executive at Lockheed Martin.
"What? You're saying they want me to introduce them to Northrop Grumman so they can negotiate for the system's licensing? Are they insane? Didn't I already tell them their Tejas fighter's aerodynamic design makes this system entirely unnecessary?
And even if they somehow acquired the license, implementing it would require completely replacing their aircraft's mechanical controls with fly-by-wire systems. That's essentially a major redesign. Weren't they in a hurry before? And now they're suddenly not?"
Castle was baffled. He couldn't understand why these Indians treated such serious matters with such an erratic approach.
The Lockheed Martin executive, however, laughed and explained, "They're hoping to secure the world's most advanced flight control system to convince their government and military—both of which are frustrated with their slow progress—that they're upgrading their outdated fighter jet to at least a 3.5-generation standard. This way, the military might not outright reject it.
At the same time, by using this opportunity to establish ties with us at Lockheed Martin, they're also hoping to build a connection with Northrop Grumman."
Castle immediately understood—this was a classic case of leveraging foreign influence for domestic gain.
It all made sense. HAL's strategy was to use money to establish ties with major U.S. aerospace companies, then turn around and deceive their own dissatisfied air force, which had no choice but to put up with HAL's antics.
Castle believed that, if given the chance, Indian Air Force pilots might have already dropped 500-kilogram laser-guided bombs on HAL's Bangalore factory to put an end to these clowns.
Lockheed Martin's executive had laid out HAL's underhanded strategy, but Castle still couldn't figure out why they needed him to introduce them to Northrop Grumman. Couldn't they approach them directly?
Moreover, the fact that the Lockheed executive had called him after his firm rejection of HAL's proposal made it clear that there was some ulterior motive at play.
This executive wasn't ignorant of Castle's growing dissatisfaction with Northrop Grumman. Ever since Northrop had sided with Japan over a Christmas incident involving Castle's daughter, he had been furious with them. It was precisely this fallout that had pushed him to develop closer ties with Lockheed Martin at the President's inaugural ball.
Given this context, the Lockheed executive's persistence couldn't possibly be innocent.
But what was he scheming?
Holding the phone, Castle quickly analyzed the situation and concluded that the executive's ultimate goal might be Castle's ongoing project—the development of a visual stealth technology that could make aircraft effectively invisible.
Lockheed wanted Castle to sever ties with Northrop Grumman and ideally hand over this groundbreaking technology exclusively to them.
Realizing this, Castle was struck by how cunning these Lockheed executives were. None of them were easy to deal with. Their methods were subtle yet effective.
If Castle hadn't figured this out in time and had agreed to their request to introduce HAL to Northrop Grumman, he could bet that HAL would "accidentally" let it slip during their negotiations with Northrop that Castle only facilitated the meeting because Lockheed Martin's boss had asked him to.
What would Northrop Grumman think then? Wouldn't this add insult to injury in their already strained relationship?
If that happened, and Castle eventually succeeded in developing his stealth technology, the rift between him and Northrop Grumman could prevent him from approaching them. Lockheed Martin, having already learned of the technology, would then swoop in to claim it.
Damn it. Dealing with these corporate players required constant vigilance.
Thankfully, Castle realized it was a trap. Over the phone, he firmly rejected Lockheed Martin's request to introduce HAL to Northrop Grumman.
He made it clear that if HAL wanted the license for the semi-intelligent flight control system, they should approach Northrop Grumman themselves. He explained that he was currently focused on developing his visual stealth technology and didn't have the time or interest to "play" with the Indians. In the face of Lockheed Martin's probing, he had no choice but to politely decline.
The Lockheed executive wasn't particularly disappointed. After all, even without his interference, the relationship between Castle and Northrop Grumman was unlikely to recover anytime soon. Both sides knew that the fallout from the Christmas incident had created an irreparable rift.
Castle was already a valuable figure to Lockheed Martin. Did they really need to research him before making their move? Of course.
In fact, it was precisely because they had studied Castle so thoroughly that the executive devised this little scheme.
Why?
Because their research showed that, while Castle had recently displayed remarkable talent in weapon design and other fields, he was fundamentally just an ordinary person—a man who had always ridden the wave of success without facing major setbacks. He lacked the ruthlessness and resilience of a true capitalist.
Otherwise, how could someone like him lose all sense of reason and lash out at Japanese agents in retaliation after they kidnapped his daughter during Christmas?
(End of Chapter)
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