Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

On the East Coast of the United States, in Stratford, Connecticut, on North Main Street, stood the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.

This was a long-established helicopter company, founded in 1923 by Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, a Russian-American aeronautical engineer, primarily engaged in aircraft manufacturing, especially helicopters.

Sikorsky dedicated his life to helicopter research. In 1942, he developed the world's first stable, single-engine, controllable helicopter and began mass production.

Although this helicopter was not used extensively in World War II, it became a striking sight on the Far Eastern battlefields afterward.

Now, the Sikorsky company was at its zenith, with their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter becoming the world's best. However, no one realized that a decline would follow the peak.

That morning, Sikorsky's headquarters welcomed a group of guests from the East.

"Welcome, Mr. Liu. I heard you came from Grumman. You must be tired from the journey. Did you rest well last night?" Salmer Stephen, the head of Sikorsky, greeted them warmly.

"We are honored to visit the world's largest helicopter company. Your factory seems even bigger than Grumman's."

Of course, this was flattery. Helicopters were smaller than fighter jets, so the factory would naturally be smaller.

However, the compliment was well-received: "Yes, our factory was originally 800,000 square feet, but last year we expanded to 2.2 million square feet. The expanded area is mainly used for Black Hawk production. Please rest assured that as long as you place an order, we guarantee delivery within a year. By the way, which one is General Qin?"

Qin Yang was originally standing behind the others, but upon hearing the greeting, he had to step forward, bypassing the other big shots.

"Mr. Stephen, I am Qin Yang. We have many contract details to discuss this time. I hope for a pleasant negotiation."

"Yes, we have received a message from the White House, instructing us to discuss the details first. The specific negotiations are scheduled for tomorrow. Today, we will take you on a tour. However, now that General Qin is here, we have a request."

"What request? Please tell me," Qin Yang said.

"We heard that you wrote a script for Grumman, and the Navy is very satisfied. It is estimated that they will invest in filming it soon. Could you write a script for our Black Hawk?"

Black Hawk?

Qin Yang was immediately stunned.

"Top Gun" was a successful aviation film, known worldwide, and won numerous Hollywood awards. Therefore, Qin Yang could easily come up with that script.

Black Hawk?

What movies are there about the Black Hawk?

The only one that came to mind was "Black Hawk Down." But that movie didn't praise the Black Hawk; it depicted a group of special forces being desperately hunted by hundreds of thousands of rebels after a Black Hawk was shot down. If he presented that, wouldn't he be scolded by these people!

Although Qin Yang didn't have any ideas, he couldn't show his timidity at this moment.

"Sure, of course, I can. However, all my inspiration was used up on the Tomcat. I need some time before I can start writing. But rest assured, as soon as I have an idea, I will write a script for you."

"Thank you. Come, let me introduce you to Mr. Bill Frank, who is the designer of the Black Hawk helicopter. If you need any script material, you can ask him."

"Okay, Mr. Frank, it's a pleasure to meet you."

With the bond of a script, the relationship between the two parties was greatly improved. After some greetings and introductions, it was time for the routine factory tour.

"Everyone, this is Mr. Igor's office. As you know, Igor Sikorsky is the founder of our company. He worked diligently to develop helicopters. In 1956, our company moved to the current address on North Main Street. In 1957, Mr. Igor retired, but he still commuted between the company and his home every day, continuing to serve as a project consultant until his death in 1972. This office is arranged according to the state of his last day of work, as if he is still with our company."

Different companies have different atmospheres. Grumman was short of money, so they immediately put on a flight performance to promote their aircraft. But the Black Hawk was a global bestseller, and Sikorsky didn't even consider the order for two hundred aircraft as a matter of life and death for the company. They were simply fulfilling the task assigned by the White House, which was to improve relations with the East.

Therefore, they took everyone to visit the founder's office first.

Facing the office, Qin Yang bowed deeply. This action immediately won the Americans' favor.

"General Qin, why are you bowing?"

"It is because of the diligent work of excellent technical personnel like Sikorsky that Sikorsky has become so powerful, just like the technical personnel in our East who engaged in research and development on a poor and blank foundation after the founding of our country. They are all worthy of respect," Qin Yang said.

"That's right, such people deserve our respect," Old Liu nodded, leading everyone to bow as well.

Qin Yang was amazing. With such a simple trick, he closed the distance with the Americans. It would be much easier to talk business next.

Seeing the Easterners bowing, the Americans were even happier.

"We know that your intention is the Black Hawk, but we still want to show you our CH-53 helicopter first. It is currently the largest helicopter in the world!"

The CH-53 was Sikorsky's pride. The maximum takeoff weight of this helicopter was 19 tons. After improvements, the carrying capacity exceeded 16 tons, even surpassing the Osprey of later generations. However, it was somewhat boastful to say that it was the largest in the world. The largest was the old Maozi's Mi-26, whose empty weight exceeded the total weight of the CH-53.

Qin Yang nodded: "Yes, we are using them to carry out humanitarian rescue missions. However, the White House doesn't seem to fully understand our meaning. In addition to the plateau, we also need to carry out maritime humanitarian rescue missions. Therefore, among the two hundred helicopters we ordered, fifty of them need to be able to fly at sea. It shouldn't be difficult for your company."

Later, the Sikorsky company would no longer be glorious and would eventually be acquired by Lockheed Martin. If the founder Sikorsky knew about it in the afterlife, he would probably curse these incompetent descendants in his dreams every day, right?