Chapter 689: Attacking Europe
In later generations, after the United States vigorously exploited shale oil, it began to compete with its former friend Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia's status in the United States also declined greatly. Now, under various circumstances, the United States has to choose to give up Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
The prospects for shale oil seem to be quite bright, with abundant reserves, enough for the United States to be called an energy superpower. Unfortunately, this stuff is solid, and it is definitely much more difficult to mine than liquid oil. The cost of mining is even higher than that of oil mining under the permafrost of the Soviet Union's plateau!
Now, the global oil price is rising, fluctuating around $130 a barrel. Americans are making considerable profits from the oil they are producing now. However, such high oil prices are the result of the war in the Middle East, which has made it impossible to transport a lot of crude oil. When the Middle East is stabilized and Saudi Arabia and other countries export large amounts of oil, the world crude oil price will also drop sharply!
How low will it fall to by then? In the 1980s, oil prices dropped sharply to ten dollars a barrel! The oil from the Middle East only cost a few dollars! Now, the cost of shale oil in the United States is at least forty to fifty dollars!
The Americans are helpless. Giving up the Middle East may be a wise decision for them because their domestic economy is on the verge of bankruptcy, their military struggle is at a disadvantage, and the shadow of the Vietnam War continues to hang over them, forcing them to make such a choice.
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Since they can already produce enough oil domestically, why should they pay more bloodshed and sacrifice in the Middle East? The blood of the Americans cannot be shed in vain!
Unfortunately, they will soon see what the scene will be like when they completely abandon the Middle East! Military war is only secondary, and economic war will dominate the entire 82 years!
"Andrei, what are you thinking about?" Andropov asked.
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"I'm thinking about how we can use oil as a weapon to further strike against U.S. imperialism and disintegrate Europe, which is not a monolithic entity," Andre said. "The Middle East is now under our control, and we will play an increasingly important role on the world stage."
Use oil as a weapon to fight imperialism! Andrei's idea coincides with Andropov's. If it were in the past, perhaps they did not have much ability, but now, after integrating the oil resources of the entire Middle East, the Soviet Union is already sharpening its knife!
Disintegrate Europe! After the Middle East issue has been conquered, the next opponent for the Soviet Union is Europe! Europe is also one of the birthplaces of human history and civilization. Here, after countless war disasters, the current situation has been formed. There are various contradictions between countries, and there are also problems within the countries. The Soviet Union can continue to divide and conquer them from within!
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"Andrei, how do you think we should start in Europe?" Andropov asked.
There are many countries in Europe, many of which have joined NATO. How should the Soviet Union divide them from within? This is a question that Andropov has been considering.
How to start? Andre thought of the great event that happened in 1982. It seemed that there was a nationwide strike in Italy. This was a good opportunity!
"Perhaps, we can start from Italy." Andre said, "This is just a suggestion from me. As you know, I am best at military command, and I don't have much insight into politics."
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What Andrei said was true. His military genius has now been recognized. Even Ustinov privately declared that if Ustinov retired, Andrei would be the most suitable person to take the position of Minister of Defense.
In recent years, it is precisely under Andrei's impetus that the Soviet Union's strategic position has undergone such earth-shaking changes!
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"Yes, Andrei has the best insight in military matters, whether it is command or military technology." Ustinov said, "Andrei, you are back just in time. Now, we should have a final decision on many of our equipment."
All kinds of equipment in the Soviet Union could only be put into production through competition. When Andrei heard what Ustinov said, he was stunned and asked, "What equipment?"
"It is our fifth-generation fighter." Ustinov said: "Now, Mikoyan and Sukhoi have begun to prepare fifth-generation fighters. We are hesitating between the two options and don't know which one to choose."
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The Soviet Union's fifth-generation fighter jets, which are the fourth-generation fighter jets in later generations, have the problem of inconsistent standards. After hearing Ustinov's words, Andrei remembered that at the beginning of the year, he had visited the Mikoyan Design Bureau and the Sukhoi Design Bureau. Among them, the Mikoyan Design Bureau made rapid progress. After all, they had completed the development of the MiG-29. While continuing to improve the performance of the MiG-29, the preliminary research of the next generation of fighter jets had already begun.
Andrei saw the model of the MiG 1.42 project and realized how fast the Mikoyan Design Bureau was progressing. At the same time, Andrei was not satisfied with Belyakov, the chief designer of the Mikoyan Design Bureau, because it was difficult to change the inherent ideas in this person's mind and he believed that stealth was unimportant.
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As for the Sukhoi Design Bureau, the Su-27 has just been finalized and put into service. However, the success of the Su-27 must have made the Sukhoi Design Bureau feel extremely proud. They are also conducting preliminary research on the next generation of fighter jets. At the same time, because Andrei has a good relationship with Simonov, he made a few models before leaving. Those models will probably surprise them now, because one of the models is the F-117!
When the F-117 was put into combat in Saudi Arabia, nothing was a secret anymore. Soviet special forces took photos of the aircraft and also obtained the wreckage of the aircraft, from which they learned the secret of the F-117's stealth coating.
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The United States' stealth aircraft has been put into practical use, while the Soviet Union's stealth aircraft has not yet been seen! Therefore, the Soviet Union attached great importance to this, and the stealth fighter project was also greatly advanced.
However, faced with the aircraft designed by three companies, the military did not know which one to choose. In addition to Sukhoi and Mikoyan, the Yakovlev Design Bureau also designed a plan.
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Now that Andre is back, it’s a good opportunity to ask for Andre’s opinion!
Andrei's eyes lit up when he heard Ustinov's words: "Sure, I also really want to see our fifth-generation aircraft plan."