Babylonian Empire

Page 624

"What happened to the British side?" Qusay asked.

"The British side detained one of our staff working in the UK for no reason, claiming that he was involved in an espionage case."

There was a little accident in the operation of the Messiah Bureau in the UK this time.

It had already been arranged, and Hidari and Hesney would fly to France that night, and then transfer to Iraq. However, unfortunately, when they arrived at the airport, there was a fog.

Since this century, the United Kingdom has been dealing with the heavy fog caused by industrialization. Now, it has gradually improved, and it will only appear once in a long time. Now, the fog is not very big, but for the sake of safety, the passenger plane is still Unable to take off.

Hidali and Hesney started to feel a little anxious. What they need now is to hurry up. The longer the delay, the greater the chance of things being exposed. Therefore, after waiting at the airport for two hours, the flight has not yet taken off. The two decided to leave the airport temporarily and needed to use other methods.

On the way out of the airport, the two met officers from the British MI[-] who came to arrest them. The actions of the British could not be described as speedy.

MI[-] urgently intervened to link the lost information with the professor's car, and found that the professor's car entered the Royal Armored Research Institute last night, and then left in the middle of the night, staying for nearly an hour in between. At this time, The professor was not in the car, that is to say, this incident had something to do with the professor's driver. They then checked the recent behavior of the body of the professor's driver who had turned into ashes, and learned that this person was a drug addict, so they immediately began to search Because of the drug trade here, those drug dealers were also unfortunately recruited, and in the process of continuing their search, they found the foreigner Hidali in the small town of Chobham. Although he came here to do business, but , seems to have a secret relationship with the professor's driver. There are also MI[-] agents in the small town of Chobham, especially a waitress in a bar in the town, who is their eyeliner. Li used to have a relationship.After searching again, Hidali bought a flight in the early morning. Now, Hidali's suspicion is even greater.

In dealing with this incident, the Messiah Bureau cut the grass and killed the driver, but this exposed its own clues, allowing MI[-] to follow the vines and chase after Hidali.

Fortunately, because of the fog, the flight was delayed. Although it is against the regulations to arrest a foreigner without definite evidence, it will lead to diplomatic conflicts. However, because of the loss of important information, the British who have lost their temper have already I can't take care of that much anymore. Besides, it is still a Middle Eastern country. The United Kingdom has not paid attention to it yet, so it will be arrested first.

As a result, we met on a narrow road.

In order to protect the obtained information, Xidali resolutely decided to put down Hesney carrying the information at an intersection, and then drove away the pursuers by himself. In the fog that had gradually dispersed, a high-speed scene was staged. Drag racing scene.

As a result, Hesney successfully escaped the arrest with the information and temporarily hid in a secret place of the Messiah Bureau, but Hidari was arrested by British agents.

Fortunately, Hidali no longer has any information with him, so although the British have locked Hidali, there is no sufficient evidence that Hidali is a spy.

Moreover, because the information on the top-secret Chobham II armor was lost this time, the UK itself felt very ashamed. It must not be exposed internationally. Moreover, if it is leaked, it will have a certain impact on their continued export of tanks. , Therefore, Britain only claimed that the arrest of this person was because it suspected that he was related to a spy case, but it did not specify the specific spy case.

Hearing Tariq's words, Qusay said: "Send an official diplomatic note to the UK, asking them to release our citizens immediately and unconditionally. They arrest us Iraqis without our consent at will, which is against our human rights in Iraq. Infringement, we express serious protest, and the series of consequences arising from this will be borne by the UK."

Qusay spoke very strongly. Tariq came in a hurry just to ask the president's attitude and how he should respond. However, he did not expect that the president would say that.

Tariq had already figured out that Britain would never agree to release Hidali immediately.Otherwise, what is the face of the British Empire!

The British must let people go!Qusay thinks so. They detain Iraqi citizens "without reason".What about the exact evidence?Without evidence, you can't arrest people, and you think you are an empire that never falls from day to day?Your oil industry is about to be ravaged by me. On the cusp of this storm, such a thing happened. It really gave me another reason!

"Your Excellency Qusay, if we do this, the British will definitely not agree." Tariq said.

"If they don't agree now, they will definitely regret their stubbornness in the future." Qu Sai said, "Do as I say immediately."

"Yes." Tariq said.Although he still doesn't know what plan President Qusay has, but he knows that if President Qusay says so, then the British will definitely suffer.

Tarek went out, Qusay sat on the sofa and meditated, and the information on Chobham's armor was obtained. However, transforming these information into the armor on a real tank, and even on this basis, there is a greater improvement. There is still a long way to go, especially in Iraq, which lacks talents for armor research.

Suddenly, he felt a coolness on his forehead, and a pair of soft little hands helped him massage his temples, and his thoughts suddenly became very clear.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Sarah's delicate face.

"You are the president of Iraq, and the Iraqi people need you. Important national affairs are still waiting for you to deal with. It's time for you to return to Iraq." Sarah said with some reluctance.

Chapter 738 Hedden Class Frigate

Northern Italy, Fincantri Shipyard.

As a shipbuilding enterprise with a long history in Italy, the shipyard located in the town of Monfalcone, Gorizia, Italy, has a history of 200 years. It has witnessed the rolling waves of history and the strength of a national navy. .

The morning sun shines on the beautiful Apennine Peninsula. Although it is not a festival day, the atmosphere in the shipyard is quite lively this day, because the Italian zhèngfǔ finally agreed to order four Hedden-class frigates for Iraq here The delivery ceremony of the first two completed ships Hedden and Gigal was held.

These four frigates can be regarded as having gone through hardships.

The Hedden-class frigate belongs to the Italian-improved Seawolf class. This warship has a lot to do with former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

After President Saddam gained power in Iraq, he also had a very broad vision. He knew that Iraqi oil was the main lifeline, and if he wanted to avoid being trapped in the Persian Gulf, Iraq needed a strong navy. What's more, Saddam Mu also has a lofty dream of dominating the entire Middle East.Therefore, in 81, it signed a contract with Italy, invested 9800 million US dollars, and purchased four Italian Seawolf-class improved warships, which were designated as Hedden-class by the Iraqi side.If Iraq wants to be strong, it must not only have a few patrol boats and missile boats, but must have frigates, even destroyers, and cruisers.

If Saddam had enough financial resources, I am afraid that even the aircraft carrier would not be spared, but history played a joke on him. After the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq became poor.In later generations, these four frigates were detained by Italy because of the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War. Among them, Saddam Hussein had already paid all the money for the first two warships. Italy, through the resolution of the United Nations, refused to deliver.In the end, the Italian Navy graciously kept it for its own use, and it was called the Artiglier class alone.

The navy needs long-term accumulation, and the manufacture of a warship also takes several years.The light frigate ordered by Iraq took nearly three years at the Fincantri Shipyard in Italy, where the shipbuilding industry is already very developed.

The first ship Hedden started construction in March 82, was launched in July 3, and was completed in September 83. The second ship, the Gigal, started construction in September 7 and was launched in November 84. In December, that is, a few days ago, it was completed.

These warships were the only possessions left to Qusay by President Saddam that could make Qusay pleasing to the eye. Therefore, Qusay has always been very concerned about the situation of these warships. Fortunately, Italy is not lazy.

In the process of warship manufacturing, Iraq's own navy is also gradually reserving talents. The Basra Naval Academy is an important place for Iraq to train naval talents. In August 84, the first batch of graduates from the Basra Naval Academy in Iraq The trainees came to Italy, ready to receive the first warship.

However, they did not expect that at this time, the Italian side deliberately made things difficult for Iraq.

Because at this time, conflicts with Israel began in the Middle East, and the confrontation between the two sides gradually escalated.

Italy is not completely partial to Israel, especially Israel, which took the lead in developing nuclear weapons and conducting underground nuclear tests. From this point of view, Italy is also dissatisfied with Israel's behavior.

However, Israel's development of nuclear weapons did not affect Italy's vital interests, but Iraq was different. The subsequent Arab oil production cuts and embargoes caused world oil prices to rise. Although it was not aimed at Italy, Italy also suffered from it.Because of the lack of domestic energy in Italy, 90.00% of solid energy depends on imports, 80.00% of natural gas depends on imports, and 90.00% of petroleum products depend on imports. Italy did not offend Iraq, but its own economy was cut because of the oil production led by Iraq. And serious economic problems, naturally very dissatisfied.

Moreover, there is another aspect. Iraq’s arms import is a very profitable business. However, the new Iraqi leader, the young man named Qusay, seems not very satisfied with the Italian arms. Weapons from the Soviet Union, France, and the United Kingdom. Recently, they even went to Sweden. It is said that they have invested in Swedish military enterprises for joint research and development.Such a generous new Iraqi president doesn't seem to buy Italy very much!

Apart from the batch of warships ordered by Saddam, Iraq has no other intention to purchase arms. Isn't this contemptuous?The third warship of the same level on the berth that had already started construction in December 83, the Al-Quedishawar, only paid part of all the expenses, and the Italian high-level officials were very upset.

Just in time, the United States joined forces with NATO to impose an arms embargo on Iraq. Italy finally decided that it is time to educate the Iraqis!Seeing the Iraqis who came to receive them, the person in charge of the Italian shipyard told the crew very arrogantly, you cannot drive these two warships away!

The reason is simple, because these ships were ordered by President Saddam before the Iran-Iraq War, and after the Iran-Iraq War broke out, the United Nations passed a resolution prohibiting the supply of weapons to the warring parties.Therefore, Italy has firmly implemented the resolutions of the United Nations and cannot provide these weapons to Iraq.

This made the Iraqi side very indignant, because the Iran-Iraq War has long been over, and even the new government of Iran has become a friendly neighbor of Iraq. These are no longer a problem at all, but the United Nations has not canceled this resolution. , have not taken this resolution seriously.Even when the Iran-Iraq War was in full swing, countries still provided weapons to both sides. Italy deliberately made things difficult for others.

The Italians also played a trick, not saying that they responded to NATO's call, and responded to the call of the United States, because in that case, they would not be able to get a drop of crude oil from the Middle East.That's what the UK said and did. But the UK has its own oil fields, its backs are strong, and they make a fortune. Most of its own country's crude oil depends on the Middle East and the Soviet Union.

The person in charge who came to receive it, Lieutenant Commander Abdul Wahid Toma of the Iraqi Navy, originally thought that he could become the captain of the largest surface ship in Iraq, but now, looking at the completed first ship Just like this, it was docked at the pier of the shipyard, and the second ship was about to be completed, but it could not be boarded, and it was very anxious.

Abdul's report was sent back to the country, and when it reached the naval headquarters, it was temporarily withheld.How to deal with Italy's deliberate difficulties requires President Qusay to make a decision in person. Only expressing protests will not work, and more effective means must be used. However, President Qusay has no time to distract himself from these matters.Because, at this time, President Qusay is in Amman and directing the battle against Israel. This kind of thing cannot disturb President Qusay.

Fortunately, after waiting for less than a month, the Middle East region returned to calm again, Israel lowered its noble head, and the dispute between Arab countries and Israel was lifted.

After Qusay returned to the country, when he was processing the report, he saw the report sent by Abdul, and immediately realized the seriousness of the problem, and immediately ordered Amir, who had just returned to Iraq, to ​​take over the matter and focus on handling it.

With the gradual development of Iraq's economy and the independent development of Iraq's national defense industry, Iraq has made great achievements in air force and army projects, which can not only meet its own needs, but also export a small part.

But the navy still needs a lot of effort. Iraq has just started. With the help of the big eastern countries, a shipyard has been established. Starting from building civilian ships and small missile boats, it will gradually establish its own shipbuilding industry, and at the same time introduce foreign countries. The supporting sub-projects of the warships are to train Iraq's own talents.The establishment of the Basra Naval Academy is to store a large number of qualified personnel needed by the future navy. When a large number of warships are obtained from the Soviet Union, it can quickly form combat effectiveness.

In Iraq now, the main forces are missile boats and submarines, and there are almost no ships with a displacement of more than [-] tons. Therefore, Qusay has always been looking forward to the property left to him by these fathers.

Looking at the current naval ships, even in the special period of the 80s, these two warships can be considered relatively advanced.

The Hedden-class frigate comes from the Italian Navy's Wolf-class frigate, which is a first-class light frigate that Italy began to develop in the mid-70s.This class of ships is moderate in size, capable of high-speed maneuvering, equipped with all-weather surface security capabilities, and can deal with various threats in the air, underwater and surface. It can be said to be an all-rounder at sea.

赫登级护卫舰舰长l13.2米，宽l1.3米，吃水3.7米；标准排水量2200吨，满载排水量2500吨：2台LM2500燃气轮机，功率55000马力；2台GMTA230-20M柴油机，功率7900马力，燃气轮机布置在主机舱内,柴油机布置在后辅机舱内。另外在前辅机舱和后辅机舱中还各布置有2台柴油发电机组。主机提供的动力通过减速齿轮推进两个四叶可调螺距螺旋桨。

赫登级护卫舰的武器装备，也是非常强大的。它采用了1座‘奥托-不莱达‘127毫米舰炮；2座‘达多‘40毫米近防炮.；1座八联装‘信天翁‘Mk2型舰空导弹发shè装置，发shè‘阿斯派德‘（蝮蛇）舰空导弹，4座双联装‘奥托马特‘反舰导弹，2座三联装324毫米鱼雷发shè管，发shè‘白头‘A224S型鱼雷和Mk46型鱼雷。

Advanced weapons, excellent hull, and mature design make the Hedden-class frigate excellent in performance, complete with air defense, anti-submarine, and anti-ship.If you have to pick a shortcoming, it is that putting so many weapons on a warship with a displacement of only more than 2000 tons seems a bit crowded, and the living space of the crew is not very large.