"Can its top speed reach 20 Mach?" Mavi asked with great interest. At that speed, if you launched it at Japan, I bet most anti-missile systems wouldn't even have time to react! It would be over Japanese airspace before they knew it...
If it carried a nuclear warhead, it could absolutely nuke Japan with a single shot. It would be far more threatening than deploying Tu-95 or Tu-160 strategic bombers!
"Yes, Mr. Mavi, this missile is essentially what we call a hypersonic vehicle. It combines an air-breathing cruise vehicle with a boost-glide vehicle, using a large rocket booster as its carrier. It has notable features like high-speed maneuvering, strong resistance to temperature and corrosion, and a high probability of penetrating defenses..." The Ukrainian scientist explained many technical terms to Mavi.
Hearing all this, our protagonist, a bit of an academic slacker, didn't completely grasp everything but was impressed nonetheless. It felt uncannily similar to Russia's "Avangard" missile from his previous life. This was clearly world-leading medium-range missile technology.
Speaking of intermediate-range missiles, the INF Treaty in this world only required the destruction of ballistic missiles with ranges from 1000 km to 5500 km. In his previous life, because of the Cold War, the treaty was much stricter, prohibiting the development and requiring the destruction of even short-range missiles from 500 km to 1000 km.
After listening to the scientist's technical rundown, Mavi nodded, pretending he'd understood everything. "Okay, so roughly how much funding would the development of these two missiles need?"
Mavi might not have been a whiz at science, but when it came to the down-and-dirty business of money, he was right at home. Guess some people are just like that...
Hearing Mavi ask about the funding, the Ukrainian scientists exchanged serious looks. Then, they carefully addressed Mavi, "About the funding, Mr. Mavi, it goes like this: from concept studies to missile test launches, and then countless experimental firings for finalization... Well... would your government be willing to accept a sum like... 400 million US dollars?"
As they asked the question, the Ukrainian scientists felt incredibly nervous. After all, trying to get project funding from their own government had been a convoluted and bizarre process before, and they'd ended up with barely any money. It was all down to lack of funds. Now, asking for 400 million US dollars for two missile projects... such a massive sum! They were terrified the Russian government would think it was too expensive, put the project on hold, or even bring in their own scientists to develop cheaper missiles. That would leave them completely out of the picture, unable to work on the research they loved.
However, just as they were feeling so anxious, they saw Mavi, standing right there, shake his head. Then, he calmly said to everyone, "400 million US dollars? That's a bit on the low side. Tell you what, I'll allocate 600 million US dollars for your project development."
The moment Mavi's impactful words landed, the Ukrainian scientists and missile engineers standing around were instantly dumbfounded!
"Six? 600 million dollars in funding?! Did I hear that correctly?"
"What's going on? Who just adds an extra 200 million dollars?" Everyone was genuinely astonished. They were used to higher-ups cutting project budgets and reducing spending. But they had never seen anyone like Mavi, who not only thought the project funding was too low but actually gave an extra 200 million dollars on top of it!
This was a whopping 200 million dollars... not 20 million, not 2 million. And he just threw it out there without even blinking... Talk about having deep pockets!
Once the initial shock wore off, the Ukrainian scientists hesitantly asked Mavi, "Mr. Mavi, were you serious about that?"
Mavi chuckled. He wasn't some rich fool just throwing money away. He wouldn't just hand out extra cash for no reason – what if someone ended up embezzling it?
"Everything I just said is true. But I need to add something: this 600 million dollars isn't just for developing the two missiles we talked about. I also need you to develop for our military a self-propelled rocket launcher system with a range of around 800 kilometers, plus precision guidance technology for ranges up to a hundred kilometers..." Mavi calmly told the scientists.
He'd actually had someone calculate this 600 million dollars before he even arrived; it was roughly enough to develop four different types of ballistic missiles. Plus, this wasn't just Mavi's money. He was going to take the bill to the Russian government for reimbursement later. It was a cooperative project.
Once the two export missiles and the rockets were successfully developed, there would definitely be plenty of international orders flowing in.
Hearing that Mavi actually planned to develop missiles for export – the kind that would skirt around missile proliferation treaties, the kind the UN and the US couldn't easily stop – the Ukrainian scientists and engineers standing before him all perked up, their eyes shining, listening intently to his description.
"As for the short-range missile, on the surface, it will have a 300-kilometer range. But I require that after purchasing it, customers can easily add fuel themselves to increase the range to around 750 kilometers. This operation needs to be simple and safe, and it would be best to include a detailed instruction manual. That way, countries without advanced technical expertise can understand how to do it..." Mavi explained his ideas thoroughly.
In today's world, technology itself isn't the bottleneck. What's missing are truly innovative ideas that fit the times perfectly. For example, Mavi's concept for these two modified missiles – once they're developed, they're guaranteed to be absolutely jaw-dropping! At the very least, the Ukrainian scientists right here were completely blown away by Mavi's ideas.
"Mr. Mavi! Your thinking is brilliant! The two modified missiles and the rockets you just mentioned shouldn't be too technically challenging. As long as we base them on the 'Thunder' missile and 'Tornado' rocket launcher systems and make improvements, we should be able to develop the modified missiles you need!" The Ukrainian scientist said confidently.
Through their brief interaction with Mavi, they realized his success wasn't just down to luck or having deep pockets. It was the revolutionary ideas in his head, the ones that completely flipped conventional thinking on its head, that really impressed people. That kind of talent is incredibly rare. After all, even brilliant, knowledgeable scientists are often just pieces in a bigger game. To put it simply, they're high-level pawns. The ones who truly shape the game are the powerful figures admired by the masses.
"Alright then, the first batch of project funding will reach your institute tomorrow. We hope our Russian government will receive good news soon," Mavi said with a faint smile. After everything he'd been through, his character had been tempered, making him remarkably calm in any situation. He probably didn't even realize it himself.
"Thank you, Mr. Mavi! Thank you for your support! And thank your government for giving us this opportunity!" the Ukrainian scientists said, expressing their collective gratitude. With the funding secured, they could continue their research without worrying about being reassigned.
"Pleasure working with you!" Mavi said, shaking hands with everyone there one by one, concluding the secret visit.
(End of Chapter)