Empire Conquest-Chapter 901 - 120: Money as Defense (Part 2)

As for the batch of ZT-80 Main Battle Tanks that Saudi Arabia privately sold to Iraq, most were destroyed before the end of the Boi War, and the remaining ones were returned to Saudi Arabia after the war. Due to poor condition, mainly from lack of maintenance, these tanks were later all sent to Bakistan as aid equipment. Some of them are still in service with the Bakistan Army, and their condition remains quite good.

From this, we can see why Saudi Arabia insists on a "balance" policy.

Fundamentally, Saudi Arabia’s "balance" policy is actually about buying security with money, specifically by purchasing arms to appease the three superpowers.

Of course, this situation had already ended after the end of the Iran-Iraq War.

Although the Saudi Royal Family unwaveringly supported the Hussein regime in Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War, the fundamental reason wasn’t friendly relations but to use the Hussein regime to fend off and counter the Boi Country to the north, thereby weakening the northern threat.

Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries always regarded the Boi Country as the number one enemy.

Not to mention, the Boi Country gained independence through a revolutionary war, overthrowing a dynasty with feudal characteristics, whereas Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries are all "dynasties."

From this perspective, it was Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries on the southern shores of Boss Bay that were the instigators of the Iran-Iraq War.

Without the aid from Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries, with what would the Hussein regime buy the weapons and equipment needed to start the war?

According to rumors, just the Saudi Royal Family alone, in the three years before the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, successively delivered hundreds of billions of Gold Yuan to the Hussein regime. All this money was used to purchase weapons and equipment, which were shortly thereafter used on the battlefield, helping the Iraqi army secure major victories after the war commenced.

However, after the Iran-Iraq War, the threat from the Boi Country became less apparent.

In contrast, the threat posed by the Hussein regime became increasingly prominent.

Notably, the claim over Kuwait’s sovereignty posed a severe threat to Saudi Arabia and other countries. Kuwait, too, is an oil-rich nation with the same foundation as Saudi Arabia and others, using money to buy security, though at a much smaller scale than Saudi Arabia.

If Iraq could annex Kuwait, it could also overthrow the Saudi Royal Family.

Against this backdrop, Saudi Arabia’s national security strategy started to lean towards the Liangxia Empire.

This also related significantly to the recovery of Liangxia Empire’s strength, shifting from strategic defense to strategic offense.

After the Boi War, the prestige of the Liangxia Empire plummeted, signaling the end of its post-war strategic expansion and a switch to strategic defense.

After over a decade of adjustments, especially since Zhou Yongtao took office, the Empire has once more embarked on the path of expansion.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia, at this point, had no better choice.

In the Boss Bay area, Iraq received the full support of the Tiaoman Empire, and the Boi Country had long sided with the Newland Republic. Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries had always maintained friendly relations with the Liangxia Empire. Without the protection of the Liangxia Empire, Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries would undoubtedly find it hard to ensure their own security.

Among numerous events during this period, the most representative one was the procurement of advanced fighter jets.

In the same year the Iran-Iraq War ended, Saudi Arabia issued a global tender to procure 150 heavy fighter jets with 100 billion Gold Yuan.

It can be said that this was also the largest arms trade deal globally after the Iran-Iraq War.

As the Iran-Iraq War had ended, the era where arms companies could profit easily was over, which is why fighter jet manufacturers worldwide were paying close attention to this deal.

Including Liangxia Empire’s "War-9B" and "War-11A," a total of 7 types of heavy fighter jets were competing. The other five were the Newland Republic’s F-14A and F-15A, Tiaoman Empire’s "Storm" ADV and "Tornado," and West Luosha’s MG-31.

The last three were essentially making up the numbers.

Not only were their performances not advanced, but there were also political considerations, as the West Continent Group, secretly supporting Iraq, was not the one Saudi Arabia needed to court.

As for the first four types, the F-14A was the first to be eliminated.

The reason is simple: the Boeing Air Force already equipped this fighter jet, and Saudi Arabia clearly didn’t want to use the same type as a potential adversary.

Subsequently, Liangxia Empire’s "War-9B" was also ruled out.

Mainly because the maintenance and upkeep of this fighter jet were very troublesome, requiring procurement of naval air force support equipment, and its performance was unimpressive. From the Saudi Royal Air Force’s perspective, there was no need for a heavy fighter jet designed for intercept missions.

Ultimately, only two air force models of fighter jets remained.

It could be said that Saudi Arabia almost chose the F-15A.

It’s not that the Empire’s "War-11AG" was not advanced enough or priced too high, rather, there was a problem when applying for an export permit.

At the time, this fighter jet was only sold to three countries, namely the top ally Gaoju Kingdom, as well as the East Ocean-facing Saiyi Imperial Kingdom and Ao Country.

For the former, there’s nothing much to say; as for the latter two buyers, they had such a demand.

To put it bluntly, Saiyi Imperial Kingdom and Ao Country, facing the northeast and southeast East Ocean respectively, shouldered a relatively heavy operational burden, requiring heavy fighter jets like the "War-11" with a large combat radius, which couldn’t be replaced by light fighter jets.

In fact, both the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom and Ao Country purchased only about 100 units each.

Due to elongated national territory and lack of defense depth, even Bakistan did not purchase the "War-11," opting instead for the relatively cheaper "War-10."

When it came to whether to export heavy fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, the Imperial High Command was always indecisive.

The result was that it wasn’t until the Saudi authorities clearly stated that if the Liangxia Empire refused to export the "War-11A," they would have no choice but to procure F-15As from the Newland Republic, that the Imperial High Command finally conceded and approved the "War-11AG" export contract, completing this significant politically symbolic arms transaction.

However, the "War-11AG" exported to Saudi Arabia wouldn’t be delivered until after New Calendar 155.

The greatest impact of this arms trade was actually securing Saudi Arabia’s ally status, and it determined the Empire’s overall strategy in the Boss Bay region.

Within a year and more after, Saudi Arabia consecutively signed several arms trade contracts with the Empire.

For instance, using 80 billion Gold Yuan, it procured 1000 "ZT-99AG" Main Battle Tanks from the Empire, and it was a spot trade, meaning these tanks were in the Empire Army’s inventory, with only the main gun changed and a more powerful air conditioning unit installed before export.

Crucially, these tanks were all delivered to the Saudi Royal Army before the outbreak of the Boss Bay War.

Due to outstanding performance, especially in combat effectiveness, the Saudi authorities issued a second procurement list before the global war outbreak, intending to expand the "ZT-99AG" equipment count to 2500 to replace other tanks and also expressed the hope to establish a major repair plant domestically.

According to the final negotiation outcome, Saudi Arabia would jointly purchase the "ZT-99B" production license with Bakistan and build a tank factory in Bakistan. However, Saudi Arabia mainly provided funding, getting only priority procurement rights and the right to promote the tank to other countries.

In summary, the Saudi authorities had always been solidifying relations with the Liangxia Empire through arms trade.

Of course, this policy is also reflected in military construction.

Within the Saudi Royal Army, almost all the generals and senior officers are royal family members or have some form of kinship with the royal family.

Even in grassroots units, many officers hail from the royal family, with only the infantry primarily composed of civilians.

Significantly, the Saudi Royal Army, particularly the Royal Army, has several elite units mainly composed of mercenaries.

A large portion of these units’ officers and soldiers come from Bakistan!

Currently, about 200,000 of the 500,000 troops in the Saudi Royal Army are Bakistan mercenaries.

This is also a way for the Saudi authorities to maintain relations with Bakistan.

To put it simply, by gaining Bakistan’s trust and support through close military cooperation, Saudi Arabia established a bilateral relationship that goes beyond alliances with Bakistan.

As for the reason, it’s actually simple.

Bakistan is the most populous Mua country, while Saudi Arabia is truly lacking in population, or manpower resources.

As long as a close relationship with Bakistan is maintained, Saudi Arabia’s status among Mua countries is sufficiently secured, providing enough security for national safety, or more precisely, the stability of the royal family’s rule.

However, the problems arising from this cannot be overlooked.