Compared to his high-profile arrival in Russia earlier, the Saudi Prince was clearly much more low-key now. He didn't even dare to show off his BMW 750Li luxury armored car too much in front of Mavi, just getting straight into it.
This wasn't because the Saudi Crown Prince was backing down or felt Mavi was richer than him. It was because... at that moment, he saw one of Mavi's subordinates unloading a bulletproof armored vehicle from the An-255 transport plane's cargo bay that he had never seen before. Looking at its extraordinarily luxurious appearance, it was clearly custom-made.
The Saudi Prince had a very experienced eye. The customized armored car being unloaded from the An-255 right now was precisely the "Rolls-Royce Phantom V1" B6 level bulletproof vehicle that Mavi had modified based on a Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. Its accurate full name should be the "Rolls-Royce Phantom Head of State LWB." It wasn't even supposed to be developed by Rolls-Royce until 2006. Its 6.749-liter V12 engine allowed the car to reach a maximum speed of 6000 [RPM].
The entire car's exterior was made of armor, ceramic, bulletproof glass, special alloys, and multi-layer glass. Mavi had even found the ZIL company and asked them to incorporate the "stealth material" originally designed for the Russian President's car, which could effectively prevent radar tracking. In terms of bulletproofing, the car could not only withstand AK47 fire but also wouldn't sustain any damage from small rocket-propelled grenades. Most importantly, the entire body used anti-adsorption material, which could effectively prevent small landmines, small hand grenades...
...
Sitting inside his BMW 750Li, the Saudi Prince watched Mavi's "Rolls-Royce Phantom Head of State LWB" luxury car with longing eyes. He deeply felt the "ruthless crushing" from the Russian rich guy. His BMW 750Li cost over 6 million US dollars. Little did he know that the manufacturing cost alone for this Rolls-Royce Phantom Head of State LWB, which Mavi had modified regardless of expense, was also over 6 million US dollars! As for the selling price, it would definitely be over ten million US dollars!
But then again, he would absolutely never sell this car, because Mavi didn't lack that kind of money at all now. What he wanted was a "one-of-a-kind" display...
...
An hour later, the Saudi Prince's motorcade, led by Army Tiger armored vehicles, arrived at Russian Army's 196th Secret Base. It was called a secret base because most of the weapons and equipment inside were not publicly disclosed. For instance, the Army's newly developed "TOS-1 Flamethrower Tank" was classified. Many countries wanted to know the tank's specifications, but the Russian military kept it tightly under wraps, refusing to reveal anything.
Led by an Army Major General, Mavi and his group arrived at the military base's tank depot. Dozens of "TOS-1 Flamethrower Tanks," still classified, were parked here. Each tank weighed 42 tons and was equipped with a 24-tube 300mm rocket launcher system arranged in three layers. Its scale was fierce and imposing, immediately conveying its powerful and extremely dangerous firepower.
"This tank is...?" The Saudi Prince's eyes were immediately fixed on the flamethrower tanks the moment he saw them.
Mavi noticed his reaction. Then, displaying his true colors as a "cunning merchant," he introduced it to the Saudi Crown Prince, "Your Highness, these tanks you see are our Russian military's latest developed TOS-1 Flamethrower Tanks. As an important battlefield suppression weapon, they can effectively perform various offensive and defensive operations supporting infantry and tanks, flexibly shifting fire. They primarily generate powerful killing and destructive power against personnel in target areas, open ground, and fortifications, as well as vehicles, towns, and buildings."
"The TOS-1 Flamethrower Tank can maintain a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour and is also suitable for driving in rugged and complex terrain. Without external fuel tanks, its operational range is 550 kilometers. Since it uses a T-72 chassis, its protection is also excellent. To improve shooting accuracy, the TOS-1 Flamethrower Tank is equipped with a sighting device. It can destroy a small village or a larger area of clustered targets within 7.5 seconds."
After listening to Mavi's introduction, the Saudi Prince nodded with great interest and then asked him, "Mr. Mavi, how much is this TOS-1 Flamethrower Tank per unit? Is it convenient to say?"
"The tank price is 15 million US dollars per unit, and each comes equipped with a Tornado multiple rocket launcher system." Mavi said, seemingly helpless. "Your Highness, the killing power of this flamethrower tank is simply too great. Our Russian government generally doesn't export it." His asking price, compared to the prices of French and German self-propelled rocket launchers, was indeed several times higher. It's important to know that the price of a French self-propelled rocket launcher system in 2001 was only around 1.5 million US dollars per set. German self-propelled rocket launchers were also around 1.6 million US dollars per set.
"15 million US dollars a unit, that price... I can accept that! Okay, I'll take 20 of your flamethrower tanks." The prince from the wealthy country was truly straightforward; he immediately asked for 20 flamethrower tanks at 15 million US dollars each and didn't even haggle.
Typically, when encountering such a situation, an arms dealer would have readily agreed and sealed the deal. This was evident from the expression of the Russian Army Major General standing nearby. If it were him, he would have agreed without hesitation.
But... Mavi wasn't a typical arms dealer. He couldn't even be bothered with an order value of 300 million US dollars.
"Your Highness, we can't do a deal for 20 units. Because this flamethrower tank is currently still in a highly classified state. So, if the order quantity is less than 60 units, our Russian military will not take that risk," Mavi said, in a manner where bluffing wouldn't cost him a thing. For a wealthy country like Saudi Arabia, which could spend 3.5 billion US dollars buying medium-range missiles in 1986, let alone this mere 15 million US dollar per unit flamethrower tank. So, Mavi definitely wouldn't let him just spend 300 million US dollars and leave.
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"60 units? Then the price would be 900 million US dollars?" the Saudi Prince said thoughtfully. Although he had money in his pocket, he couldn't just spend it wildly. He had full authority for 300 million US dollars, but it became slightly difficult after exceeding a certain amount. After all, he wasn't yet the King of Saudi Arabia, and his power was limited. "Mr. Mavi, could I think about this first? After all, your order amount is higher than our expectations," the Saudi Prince said tactfully to Mavi.
"Thinking about it is no problem," Mavi said with a faint smile. "Conveniently, there's a missile exercise waiting for us to watch shortly. I believe Your Highness will have a decision after watching it." He understood the psychology of Saudi tycoons; it wasn't that they were unwilling to spend money, but that they needed to feel the money was well spent.
...
(End of this chapter)