Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

The French had also done their homework, knowing what would best impress the Orientals. Now, they were going to showcase the maintainability of the Mirage 2000 fighter jet!

Four ground crew members who had accompanied the aerial refueling tanker busied themselves, pushing a specially designed trolley to the rear of the Mirage 2000.

Pierre produced a stopwatch: "Attention, ready, go!"

As he pressed the stopwatch, the four men worked in close coordination. First, they removed the skin from the underside of the plane's tail, exposing the engine. Then, they adjusted the position of the trolley and swiftly removed the engine, placing it on the trolley. The men then towed the trolley, with the engine, away from the rear of the Mirage 2000.

"Stop!" Pierre waved the stopwatch in his hand. "Did you see that? That was the engine removal process. It only took four of us seventeen minutes. Isn't that impressive?"

Many people present nodded in agreement. Indeed, back in their own country, it would take a whole day just to remove it, while these guys did it in just seventeen minutes.

"Alright, next we'll demonstrate how to replace the engine," Pierre said.

A brand-new engine was unpacked and placed on a second, identical trolley. The men pushed the trolley to the rear of the Mirage 2000.

"Attention, ready, go!"

The four men sprang into action again, aligning the engine with its mount, securing it, tightening bolts, connecting various pipes, venting gases, and finally, reinstalling the outer skin.

"Report, installation complete!"

"Gentlemen, did you see that? Four men completed the engine installation in just twenty minutes! In a field environment, this method allows the aircraft to quickly regain combat readiness. Even with the same number of aircraft, our sortie rate will be ten or twenty times that of Soviet-designed aircraft," Pierre said proudly.

The shorter the aircraft maintenance time, the higher the sortie rate. In this regard, French fighter jets were leading the way!

"Yes, that's really amazing!" Old Lin nodded, acknowledging the impressive feat. "But I wonder how long the overhaul of the removed engine will take? If the overhaul takes too long, it won't work. We'd have to stockpile a large number of engines at each base, otherwise we wouldn't be able to meet operational needs."

"Of course, it won't take too long," Qin Yang said again, this time holding a document in his hand, a copy of the one Pierre had given him. He read from it: "The M53 engine uses a modular design, which is convenient for maintenance, repair, upkeep, and… beauty treatments…"

What the heck was "beauty treatments?"

Pierre looked at Qin Yang, who was trying hard, feeling somewhat helpless. Even if you're trying to help us, you don't have to cram like this, do you?

"Pierre, how many hours has this removed engine flown? How much life does it have left?" Qin Yang continued to ask.

"Our engines have a long lifespan, with a thousand hours before major overhaul. This engine has only flown three hundred hours, it's practically brand new," Pierre said. "You can use this engine for further testing."

Hearing this, Qin Yang cautiously walked up to him and whispered in his ear: "Pierre, is it really as good as new inside?"

"Of course!"

"In that case, why don't we just dismantle this engine on the spot and show these country bumpkins, let them know how advanced French technology is!"

This time, Qin Yang didn't act on his own initiative, but made a suggestion to Pierre.

However, even if he lowered his voice, even if he spoke in English, others could still hear him! What to do?

"Dismantling it on the spot requires a relatively clean environment, after all, the engine is a high-precision piece of equipment," Pierre answered frankly.

Old Lin's eyes rolled. "So, you're saying it can't be repaired under field conditions? Chief Qin, didn't you say the Mirage 2000 is very powerful? Our previous aircraft could be dismantled and repaired by ourselves at the base. Does the French aircraft not have this capability?"

"Of course not, of course it does," Qin Yang said. "French fighter jets are the most advanced in the world, how could they not have field repair capabilities? Pierre, what do you say?"

Pierre frowned. "It can be done in the field, as long as the environment is clean enough."

"Let's go, let's go to our base's engine repair workshop and see if it meets your needs."

The air force base did indeed have an engine repair workshop. Unlike the main overhaul plant, they handled minor faults, those that weren't worth sending back to the engine overhaul plant, and had to be dismantled, were tinkered with in their own engine repair workshop.

When everyone arrived, the workshop was spotless, with not a trace of oil on the floor. Pierre put on white gloves and then went to stroke the workbench for inspecting and repairing engines. There was not a speck of dust, indeed clean enough!

"Okay, the cleanliness is sufficient, it's entirely possible to dismantle and assemble the engine. However, it's too late today, we need to rest. We'll show you tomorrow," Pierre said.

"Okay, then shall we go to dinner first? The conditions at the base are simple, but we have tried our best to prepare the most sumptuous dinner, I hope you like it," Old Lin said.

The French never dreamed that what the Orientals wanted was not their aircraft, but to imitate their engines!