"Tohoku is no longer the backward country that can only copy and imitate. They use their endless cheap labor and those damn low-quality industrial products to pose a huge threat to the entire free world.
The enemy is in the Senate, my friends. When those rotten old guys who lead the world's beacon are still immersed in our invincible aircraft carrier fleet, they don't realize that the country in the East has grown into a more terrifying existence than the red giant bear back then."
"Ahem!" Reacher coughed lightly, interrupting someone's self-indulgent impromptu speech, "From what you said, Lavoie didn't use any fair methods to clear up those red tape?"
"Of course, I helped to stuff the proposal into a thousand-page bill. At the same time, Lavoie was responsible for shaking hands with other members of Congress to canvass votes. During the whole process, no one would even notice this inconspicuous appropriation bill."
I don't know if the white powder he took before worked, Boyd, who had completely opened up his mouth, didn't need too much guidance, and explained the whole thing proudly.
"So you're saying Lavoie is doing all this out of public good, to protect the free world? And not for any personal gain?"
Reacher, thinking of the mission Jack had assigned him, continued to guide him.
Boyd laughed. "Don't be so naive, okay? That's the basic workings of Washington, D.C. Do you think those lobbying groups are just working for nothing?
Besides, the 'Little Wings' actually work. Lavoie and I saw it firsthand. Just press the launcher, and the rest is done.
What do those Eastern countries call it? A win-win situation, isn't it? We're advancing a military technology that benefits us, and that's what matters. Compared to what we're getting, it's just a tiny, insignificant reward."
"Have you heard of those two numbers? 650 and 100,000 each." Reacher's question left Boyd bewildered.
"So you haven't considered the possibility of these advanced portable anti-aircraft missiles getting out there? Pressing the launcher outside any civilian airport could cause a plane crash," O'Donnell demanded.
"How could that be? 'Little Wings' is designed to save our soldiers' lives. It can effectively destroy drones, attack helicopters, and all other low-flying aircraft.
'New Age Technology' is ours, and the technology is in our hands. It couldn't possibly fall into the hands of anyone else. They split the manufacturing process into two parts. Denver only produces those specialized missiles and launchers, while the chips are produced in New York."
Boyd was confused by the question, but he continued to defend himself. "Hey, listen, Lavoie and I did take shortcuts and use some dirty tricks.
But it was all to get the bill passed and protect the free world."
"Then we'll have to wait and see." Seeing that he could no longer squeeze any more information out of him, Reacher glanced at the dark one-way glass, stood up, opened the door, and prepared to leave the interrogation room with O'Donnell. "
Please, I've told you everything you want to know. Will the drug charges be dropped?" Boyd demanded.
Reacher initially didn't want to bother with this guy, but then he thought about it, worried that this idiot wouldn't figure it out later. He dropped a hint, "Who knows? I'm not a cop."
—
"650 portable anti-aircraft missiles, $100,000 each. That's the only possibility I can think of," Reacher said with a frown.
The monitoring room was filled with smoke. Two freshly lit cigars and two half-burned cigars instantly transformed the room, which was only ventilated by a small exhaust fan, into a fairyland.
"I've already notified Clay and Aubrey in Colorado. They'll be going to the Denver manufacturing plant tomorrow morning to inspect it under the guise of the Defense Contract Management Agency. 650 missiles—that number couldn't have been concealed."
Jack's overly calm expression puzzled the others, especially Finlay, who had been listening in on the entire process. He was practically dying of nervousness. "Aren't you worried at all about those missiles falling into the hands of terrorists?" Jack didn't directly address his concerns. Instead, he looked at Reacher and O'Donnell, two former soldiers. "Have you ever come into contact with the latest model of the Stinger air defense missile?
Tell Inspector Finlay what the effective range of this portable air defense missile is and how long its main rocket engine can operate."
Reacher seemed to understand, and O'Donnell couldn't wait to answer, "The effective range is 4,800 meters, the altitude is 3,800 meters, the maximum speed is Mach 2.2, and the rocket engine can operate continuously for 5 seconds."
Seeing Finlay's still bewildered expression, Jack, himself a semi-military novice, began to explain.
Unlike cruise missiles, which possess enormous fuel tanks and utilize long-lasting turbojet or turbofan engines, individual air defense missiles, including their launchers, are no more than two meters long and weigh approximately 30 pounds. They can be shoulder-launched by a single person and utilize a small, solid-fuel rocket engine.
These small missiles' main engines begin firing one or two seconds after leaving the launch tube, remaining active for a few seconds at most before exhausting their fuel. After that, they can only rely on inertia, aided by the rudders, to adjust their trajectory according to aerodynamics.
Once they miss their target, they miss it. Forget about turning around and attacking, even large-angle maneuvers after exhausting their fuel are extremely difficult.
So, missiles capable of turning around and attacking do exist, but they must be at least of the level of aircraft-based air-to-air missiles, and their weight is simply too heavy for a single soldier to carry. This is a matter of physics, not something that can be altered by some magical software program.
"But didn't that guy say he and Lavoie saw it with their own eyes?" Finlay was skeptical of Jack's account.
"It's certainly difficult to pull off a U-turn in actual combat, but that doesn't mean it's impossible in a demonstration." Reacher had figured out what was going on.
"Eliminate the warhead, increase the fuel capacity, calculate the engine run time in advance, complete the turn before the fuel runs out, load the drone with wirelessly detonated explosives, and detonate manually at the last moment."
Finley blinked. "You mean, faking it?"
Jack patted his shoulder and sighed. "Apparently, besides our adaptable Congressman Lavoie, the directors of New Era Technologies are equally adept at this."
Perhaps the technology developed by this company was indeed unique in some aspects, but using it in a portable air defense missile was clearly pure fraud.
Jack estimated that this so-called specialized missile might not have completely eliminated the warhead, but the warhead was definitely as small as possible, and its effective range was likely less than a third of the Stinger air defense missile that the Americans had been using for decades.
But this was enough. By securing defense contracts and securing a significant amount of funding through appropriations bills, New Era Technologies would have enough money to bribe other members of Congress and pave the way for subsequent projects. The ultimate goal of New Era Technologies' decision-makers was to use the nearly $1 billion in funding to further refine the "Little Wing" system and install it on air-to-air or ship-to-ship missiles, thereby securing even greater defense funding.
The grant Lavoie secured for New Era Technologies covered not just the purchase price of a batch of new missiles but also the subsequent research and development costs.
Consider that the price of a new Raytheon Stinger portable air defense missile sold to the Pentagon has now risen to over $400,000, while in the last century, the same missile cost only $25,000.
Jack didn't know the price per missile New Era Technologies sold to the Pentagon, but based on the private arms sales they had uncovered, they estimated it to be no more than $100,000, a bargain by comparison.
As long as the "New Era Technology" batch of trial missiles can really achieve that fancy U-turn attack function, the actual combat results are not important. The only question is whether they turned after being fired. That white trail can't be deceiving, right?
So what is there to complain about? The power is insufficient and the range is too short. The trial product must have defects. We just need to keep working hard to improve it.
As for the military that received a batch of waste products, they can easily settle the account by using money to shut everyone up and throwing them in a warehouse to wait for them to rust and become scrapped.
The US military spends $300 to $400 million on a temporary floating dock, and it is completely destroyed by the waves without being used. Even the president dares not say a word. How much trouble can a batch of trial missiles cause?
(End of this chapter)