Selling oil across Libya

Chapter 65 Comparing the Worst

As early as the 1960s, the U.S. military used drones to carry out reconnaissance missions and obtain a large number of aerial photographs.

Since then, although drones have participated in many battles, they have mostly performed reconnaissance, surveillance, and target guidance missions.

Until 2001, when the U.S. military used drones to carry out decapitation strikes, drone warfare entered a new phase.

To date, apart from Russia, all countries that have used drones on the battlefield are developed countries.

Although Libya under Colonel Xavier ...

On May 2, the transitional government dispatched drones to launch four precision-guided bombs at Benghazi TV, all of which hit their targets.

The drones dispatched by the transitional government were "Wing Loong" drones imported from East Asia.

The precision-guided bombs used by the drones were developed and produced independently by the Numidian Brigade.

While drones bombed Benghazi TV, the vanguard of the Numidian Brigade had arrived on the outskirts of Benghazi and officially launched an attack on the city.

The Numidian Brigade's starting point is only 120 kilometers from Benghazi, a journey of just one hour for the "Lion" armored vehicles equipped by the Numidian Brigade.

The Numidian Brigade deployed not only "Lion" armored vehicles, but also BrahMostank helicopters and Z-9 attack helicopters named "Eagle".

"Are your precision-guided bombs developed and manufactured in-house?"

Payne was astonished by the industrial capabilities of the Numidian Brigade.

"If you can help me get military-grade equipment, we can develop more powerful drones."

Yuri hopes that Mobil can play a greater role.

The precision-guided bombs developed by the Numidian Brigade use components sourced entirely from the civilian market, leaving considerable room for performance improvement.

"I don't want to cause trouble!"

Payne dared not touch the arms dealers' profits.

The division of labor within the United States is extremely clear. Even a small company like Banana, with only a few people, can develop drones with quite good performance. It would be easy for ExxonMobil to enter the drone market.

The key is not whether or not one has the ability.

Even if ExxonMobil develops a drone with performance comparable to the Reaper, it still cannot secure orders from the U.S. military.

"Death" was developed starting in the 1990s, and the technology used was all derived from that era.

If the latest technology is adopted, the performance of "Reaper" can be improved by a large margin.

However, for General Electric, since the "Reaper" can still get orders from the US military, there is no need to make improvements.

"We don't sell them to others; we only use them ourselves."

Yuri emphasized that he had no intention of stirring up trouble in the international arms market.

If the colonel hadn't been so reckless and caused trouble everywhere back then, he wouldn't have been abandoned by everyone.

"That won't do either!"

Payne kept to himself and did not want to cause trouble.

Qin Rui never expected that a mere drone would attract so much attention.

"President Qin, there are too many countries in the world that can develop drones to count on one hand."

Ding Jian does not consider drones to be "mere trifles".

"With so many countries in the world, they can't even muster a single research and development team?"

Qin Rui didn't believe it.

"That's not entirely true. It's not that we can't afford it, but rather that it's unnecessary."

Ding Jian smiled wryly, explaining that East Asia had no other choice but to focus on the entire industry chain.

Ding Jian also didn't want to make enemies everywhere and become a crusher of developed countries.

But many things are like tunnel boring machines. They're only worth ten million, but if you don't know how to make them, you have to endure being ripped off at ten times the price.

The tunnel boring machine is doing well.

At least you can buy it.

There are many things that you want to buy but can't, so you have to develop them yourself.

Just now, the European Solar Energy Organization called on the European Union to launch anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against East Asian solar energy companies in order to restrict the sale of East Asian photovoltaic products in Europe.

Qin Rui then invited East Asian companies to build factories in Libya to produce photovoltaic products for sale in Europe.

"President Qin, it hasn't reached that stage yet."

Ding Jian's understanding of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations is not yet sufficient.

Qin Rui wasn't in a hurry.

The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations targeting photovoltaic products are just the beginning; frictions will become increasingly frequent in the future.

Although oil is very profitable, Qin Rui does not want to put all his eggs in one basket.

We definitely have to develop industry, even if it means losing money.

"You really won't invest in the oil fields in the Sirte Basin?"

Qin Rui wanted to use the Sirte oil field to lure Ding Jian into his scheme.

Numidian B&B has used the oil fields in the Sirte Basin to further bind the interests of ExxonMobil and Eni to Numidian B&B.

If Mobil and Eni do not want their interests to be harmed, they must provide greater support to Numidia Travel.

If Qin Rui could utilize the oil fields in the Sirte Basin and take the opportunity to bring Ding Jian onto the Numidian Brigade, he would have even greater confidence.

"President Qin, you sell oil, I buy oil, cash on delivery. Forget about investment, I don't have that much authority."

Ding Jian didn't take the bait.

This cannot be blamed on Ding Jian.

The colonel's reneging on his promises cast a serious psychological shadow over East Asian businesses.

If it were Qin Rui, he wouldn't dare to invest either.

But this is for the best.

After the Numidian Brigade gained control of the Sirte Basin oil fields, Wang Hai, wielding his checkbook, once again ventured into East Asia, aiming to solve Libya's talent shortage while simultaneously alleviating employment pressures in East Asia.

Despite the alarmist claims made by some in Libya that East Asians are taking over the country.

For East Asians working in Libya, the situation is similar to that before the war, so the impact is not yet severe.

If Numidian forces become further intertwined with East Asia, the consequences are unpredictable.

Unlike Ding Jian's cautiousness.

Musa acted decisively, ignoring international appeals, and engaged in fierce street battles with the rebels after entering Benghazi.

When Jalil, representing the transitional government, took the initiative to propose negotiations with the interim government, it was widely praised by the international community.

After the outbreak of the civil war, the international community called on all factions in Libya to remain calm, resume negotiations, form a unity government based on democratic principles, and end the civil war peacefully.

Jalil himself and others hope to form a coalition government.

Qin Rui disagreed.

In Libya's current situation, the formation of a unity government would have endless consequences.

Leaving aside other matters...

Qin Rui himself is not confident that Libya will vote on whether to allow polygamy or monogamy.

After the interim government is eliminated, the transitional government will also establish a new Libyan government based on the premise of "democracy".

The current situation in Libya is only suitable for conditional democracy.

"If our democracy cannot satisfy the international community, then we will not be able to gain the recognition of the international community."

Jalil hopes to build Libya into a democratic country according to Western standards.

"There are still a lot of monarchies in the world. No matter what, we are still more democratic than those monarchies."

Yuri willingly degraded himself, choosing the worst over the best.