Chapter 927 Behind the Scenes

Just as Chang Haonan promised Mr. Zhang, it took him less than three hours to put together the report.

According to what Lao Wu found out last year, out of the 19 Tu-160s, only 10 were still able to fly.

Of course, these 10 aircraft can only fly.

As for weapon systems and the like, there is no guarantee as to what the situation will be.

After all, Ermao no longer had any Kh55 cruise missiles and was unable to conduct combat tests.

If we dismantle the remaining 9 planes and put the good parts together, we can probably still build 2-3 more.

This is something that was made during the Soviet era. The degree of standardization and quality level are acceptable, and they still dare to do this.

If the plane was remade in the years after it was dismantled, it is hard to say whether it can still fly after dismantling and replacing parts.

Let’s exclude the eight planes that the Russians have already occupied.

So in the most optimistic scenario, 5 aircraft can still be left for China.

Of course, based on Lao Wu’s experience, we have to give some discounts to what Ermao said, so it’s good enough to be able to get 4 planes safely.

As for the delayed delivery by Motor Sich and the relevant evidence and written documents owed by Ermao officials for the deposit, they are directly kept in the archives of the Aviation Power Group.

It can be said that after several years of planning by Chang Haonan, all the hardware conditions have been prepared.

What is really lacking is the opportunity to join the game and the determination of superiors.

Now, the opportunity is right in front of us.

Chang Haonan's report is intended to help his superiors make up their minds.

……

After submitting the report, Chang Haonan finally found time to have a good sleep in his room.

When he woke up again, it was already the afternoon of September 9.

After washing up as quickly as possible, he turned on the TV in the room.

There were no dedicated news channels in those days, so if he wanted to watch the news, he had to switch to CCTV-1.

Sure enough, the situation was similar to that in the previous life.

After a delay of about ten hours, domestic public media have begun to report extensively on yesterday's attack.

Then he looked at sets 4 and 7.

The content is basically the same.

Apart from Mr. Bush's speech last night Eastern Time, which was this morning Beijing Time, it was a set of formulaic rhetoric condemning the indiscriminate attacks and paying tribute to the victims.

Even after changing the channel, you can seamlessly connect to the previous program.

Obviously, this was announced in a press release.

At the beginning of the 21st century, news programs were generally slow to respond and their broadcast formats were somewhat monotonous.

Although programs like those in later generations that invite several guests to the studio for live discussions have appeared, they are not very popular.

Of course, being slow has its advantages.

For example, when it comes to events of major impact like yesterday, the broadcast must be disciplined to avoid causing irreparable adverse effects at a critical moment.

Moreover, slow news release also gives the editorial department more time to cross-verify the news itself.

In the following years, the speed of news transmission was getting faster and faster, but various media outlets did everything they could to get the first news, and some even did not verify the authenticity of the news...

It's hard to say that it's completely an improvement.

Unfortunately, due to the special nature of the Jingxi Hotel, it has not yet been connected to the Internet with the outside world, so Chang Haonan cannot see the reactions of the onlookers to this matter.

It is foreseeable that the overall tendency should be not much different.

However, considering that after the direct confrontation in early 96, the conflicts between the two sides have all taken place at a non-public level, especially without the "two major hatreds" at the turn of the century, they may not be as obvious as in the previous life.

Chang Haonan still remembers that when he and a few friends first heard the news in his previous life, they felt completely surprised.

Just like that, he stared at the TV screen, sitting there in a daze for a long time.

Until the doorbell rang and woke him up from his thoughts.

Chang Haonan quickly straightened his half-worn shirt and opened the door.

As expected, Fu Youquan and Ding Gaoheng were standing outside the door.

"Boss Fu, Director Ding."

As Chang Haonan spoke, he took his suit jacket from the hanger by the door, then put on his clothes and followed the two of them out of the room.

“This morning, the chief minister personally presided over an expanded meeting.”

Fu Youquan walked half a step ahead of Chang Haonan and introduced to him what had happened in the past few hours:

"Your previous guess was correct. When the White House informed us, they said they had already identified the mastermind of this attack and confirmed that he was in Aiwuhan."

"They were very frank and said that if Ayukhan refused to hand over the responsible persons, they would consider launching a military operation for the purpose of counter-terrorism, and they hoped that we would understand and support them."

Chang Haonan was able to get a seat at the discussion meeting yesterday because Fu Youquan specially nominated him.

But no matter how much the meeting was expanded in the morning, it could not reach the former.

So, I can only listen to second-hand news.

Fortunately, Fu Youquan came from a military brigade and had served as a staff officer for a long time. He had received special training in relaying key points, so there was no need to worry about information distortion.

"Has that side made a public statement?"

Chang Haonan recalled that the relevant content did not seem to be mentioned in the TV news just now.

"not yet."

Fu Youquan shook his head:

"This was informed to us by the other party's leader over the phone."

"However, in order to calm public anger, I estimate that a press conference will be held soon, and the content will be nothing more than what is presented here."

"Then our response..."

Chang Haonan asked tentatively.

"That call was made early this morning, so we didn't make a clear statement right away. But during the meeting just now, several leaders have agreed to your suggestion in principle."

Fu Youquan showed a look of relief on his face:

"Of course, if you want to implement your idea, you still need to determine some details, such as whether allowing US military aircraft, even transport aircraft, to land at our airport will cause risks in public opinion. Also, from a technical point of view, how to provide technical support for models such as C17 that we have never come into contact with is also a problem that needs to be solved."

Although they talk about the difficulties, insiders understand that when a plan starts to consider these details, it means it is about to be implemented.

So, this is definitely good news.

After a brief pause, Fu Youquan continued:

"In addition, it is similar to your estimate. The CSTO has also unanimously passed a decision to allow non-combat units of the US military to use the airspace and airports in Central Asia. It is expected that the leader will have a second phone call with the Kremlin this afternoon, and will discuss with them the issue of Ermao's denuclearization in detail..."

"..."

It was obvious that the meeting in the morning was quite substantial.

Even though Fu Youquan only spoke about the key points, he didn't finish until he walked out of the gate of Jingxi Hotel and arrived at the parking lot.

Standing next to the car, Fu Youquan looked at his watch:

"I have to hold a staff meeting with the Jincheng Military Region this afternoon, so I won't be sending you any further."

So the three of them said goodbye.

A few minutes later, the minibus started steadily.

But this time, only Chang Haonan and Ding Gaoheng were sitting on it.

"Director Ding, after the meeting yesterday, Mr. Zhang suddenly asked me to stay, so there are some things I didn't have time to talk to you about..."

Under normal circumstances, the suggestions put forward by Chang Haonan should first go through Ding Gaoheng and then be reported upwards step by step.

Just like the time last year.

In fact, this time, Chang Haonan originally planned to follow this process -

According to his previous estimate, it would take at least three to five days from the time the incident occurred to the time he found an opportunity to join the decision-making process.

It was enough for him to submit a formal written document to Ding Gaoheng.

As a result, Fu Youquan and General Zhang launched a seamless surprise attack. After the incident, they directly dragged him from the meeting room of the Science and Technology Commission to the meeting room of the Jingxi Hotel.

I didn't even have the chance to explain the situation to Ding Gaoheng.

I had no choice but to act hastily.

However, now that the dust has settled, Chang Haonan, as the other party's subordinate, should explain himself morally and logically.

But before he could finish his words, Ding Gaoheng raised his hand in the air, signaling him not to continue:

"Old Fu has already told me what happened after the meeting yesterday."

"You know, in a short while, I might be transferred to another position."

"So, even if you were not invited to the Jingxi Hotel this time, but handed the report to me as usual, I would probably connect you with Old Fu directly, and then you could hand it in yourself..."

Ding Gaoheng stopped talking here.

But Chang Haonan still understood the meaning of the other party's words——

As the role they play becomes more and more important and the rate of information dissemination explodes, it has become difficult to continue to conceal their identities as they did in the past.

In addition, Ding Gaoheng himself will leave the Science and Technology Commission system in a year and a half at most.

No matter which of the three current deputy directors the new leader is, he is not a military officer.

Even the State Science and Technology Commission itself is gradually downplaying its militarized nature.

As a result, the channels for communication with the military system through superiors will soon be closed.

So, for Chang Haonan.

It's time to step out from behind the scenes and gradually step forward.