96: Absolutely not! That's too dangerous.

He took a step forward, lowered his voice, and spoke with an undeniable sincerity.

"Mr. Ramadan, we have come with the utmost sincerity."

"We know this is presumptuous, but please understand the fervent desire a developing nation has for advanced technology."

He pointed to himself, then to the experts behind him, who were also dressed in Huaguo military uniforms and whose eyes were filled with anticipation.

"We have been blockaded by Eagle Country for too long. Our own aviation industry is still taking its first steps. Every step we take is extremely difficult."

"We don't want to forever be eating dust behind others."

"Just one look, even a distant glimpse, would be enough! For us, that would be an immense step forward!"

Zhao Chengshun's words were spoken with deep sincerity.

Ramadan was not a soldier, but he could feel the deep-seated unwillingness to yield and the persistence embedded in the bones of this great Eastern nation's military men.

He fell silent.

He truly could not make the decision regarding this matter.

"General, please wait a moment."

Ramadan wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly walked toward the heavily guarded building nearby.

That was Saddam's office.

A few minutes later, Ramadan returned, his expression somewhat complicated.

He made a "please" gesture toward Zhao Chengshun.

"General, Mr. President has agreed to your request."

Zhao Chengshun's tense nerves immediately relaxed, and a genuine smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you so much! Please convey my sincerest gratitude to Mr. President!"

"However..." Ramadan changed the subject, "Mr. President has one small request."

"Please speak."

"You can only look; you cannot touch, and absolutely no photography."

"Of course!" Zhao Chengshun hastily agreed, afraid the other party might change his mind.

Being able to see it with their own eyes was already a tremendous surprise!

Led by Ramadan, the Huaguo Delegation passed through layer after layer of checkpoints and arrived in front of a massive, temperature-controlled hangar.

As the heavy steel door slowly opened, all members of the Huaguo Delegation subconsciously held their breath.

A sleek, powerful gray fighter jet sat silently in the center of the hangar.

The familiar twin vertical stabilizers, the massive bubble canopy, and the iconic square air intakes on both sides of the fuselage... the f-15 "eagle" fighter jet!

Even though they had seen it countless times in pictures and video footage.

But when this legendary King of Third-Generation Fighters truly appeared before them, the visual impact...

...still caused everyone present to feel deeply stirred.

"Oh my God..."

An accompanying aerospace engine expert, an old professor past middle age, adjusted his reading glasses, his lips trembling slightly.

He quickly walked up, stopping five meters from the aircraft body, his eyes gazing as if appreciating a peerless work of art.

His gaze was fixed tightly on the engine's exhaust nozzle.

After watching for a long time, he finally turned his head and spoke to Zhao Chengshun, his voice carrying an excitement he couldn't suppress.

"General Zhao... it's the F-110! It's General Electric's F-110 turbofan engine!"

"And judging by the structure of the convergent-divergent nozzle flaps, this is definitely the original version, not the 'Monkey Model'!"

As soon as he said this, the entire Huaguo Delegation stirred.

The F-110! This is the main engine used by the Eagle Country Air Force itself!

High thrust, long lifespan, reliable performance—it is the King of Aviation Power that countless nations dream of!

They had originally thought that even if the batch of f-15 'eagle' fighter jets acquired by Iraq wasn't the 'Monkey Model,' the engines would likely be the slightly inferior Pratt & Whitney F-100 Series.

They never expected it to be the top-spec F-110!

Zhao Chengshun's heart also gave a sudden leap.

Suppressing his internal excitement, he turned back to Ramadan, putting on an even brighter smile.

"Mr. Ramadan, this batch of 'Eagles' belonging to your esteemed country is truly magnificent!"

"Now, I have an even more presumptuous request..."

Ramadan's eyelid twitched. He thought, *How can these people be so greedy?*

"General, Mr. President explicitly stated..."

"We want our pilot to take it up for a spin!" Zhao Chengshun interrupted him directly, dropping a bombshell.

"What?!" Ramadan was truly shocked this time. "No! Absolutely not! This is too dangerous!"

"Mr. Ramadan, listen to my explanation." Zhao Chengshun pulled him aside and spoke in a low voice.

"We can't judge its true capability just by looking at the exterior. Whether it's a mule or a horse, you have to take it out for a run."

"We brought Huaguo's most elite Ace Pilot. He knows the f-15 'eagle' fighter jet flight manual backward and forward; he could fly it with his eyes closed!"

"We just want to verify what level of performance this aircraft truly possesses."

"This is crucial for our subsequent cooperation!"

Seeing Ramadan's continued hesitation, Zhao Chengshun revealed his trump card.

"We can sign an agreement."

"During the test flight, if the aircraft sustains any damage—even if it's just a lost screw—we, Huaguo, will compensate for the full cost!"

"Full payment! Cash!"

Hearing the two words "cash," Ramadan's eyes lit up.

He consulted Saddam again.

This time, Saddam's reply was even more straightforward.

"Let them fly. But they must first sign the compensation agreement, and their General must personally sign and seal it!"

Half an hour later.

A lean and capable Huaguo pilot, with the help of Iraq ground crew, sat inside the f-15 'eagle' fighter jet cockpit.

Following the roar of the engines, this Steel Eagle slowly taxied out onto the runway, then lifted its head and soared into the blue sky!

On the ground, Zhao Chengshun and all the delegation members looked up, their hearts pounding in their throats.

Conventional maneuvers, high-G turns, high-speed rolls, Cobra Maneuvers... The Huaguo pilot flew the f-15 'eagle' fighter jet over Baghdad, fully demonstrating its unparalleled performance.

Every second, massive amounts of data were transmitted back into the minds of the people on the ground through the pilot's sensory feedback.

Ten minutes later, the aircraft landed smoothly.

The pilot descended the boarding ladder, took off his helmet, his face revealing unconcealable excitement and awe.

"General!" He stood at attention and reported loudly.

"The performance is virtually identical to the original Eagle Country f-15 'eagle' fighter jet we previously learned about through various channels!"

"Powerful engine, rapid response, perfect flight control system! This is absolutely a first-class fighter jet!"

"Good!"

Zhao Chengshun let out a heavy sigh; the stone hanging in his heart finally dropped.

He turned to look at Ramadan, his gaze hotter than ever before.

"Mr. Ramadan, we, Huaguo, want to buy it!"

This time, Zhao Chengshun didn't beat around the bush; he got straight to the point.

He pulled Ramadan aside and began discussing the National Defense Predicament Huaguo was facing.

"To be honest with you, our southern border has always been unstable."

"There is a Minor Tyrant who, relying on the backing of the Polar Bear, constantly tries to cause trouble on our border."

"Their air force is equipped with a large number of Su-27s, which are more than a generation ahead of our J-7s and J-8s in performance."

"Our pilots can only rely on their dauntless spirit and will to compensate for the equipment gap."

"Every time they take off, they are fighting with their lives on the line!"

Zhao Chengshun's voice was low, and his eyes were slightly red.

"We... need an advanced fighter jet that can compete with, or even surpass, the Su-27."

"We need it to defend our airspace and protect our people!"

"We have set our sights on this f-15 'eagle' fighter jet!"

Ramadan was moved, infected by Zhao Chengshun's emotion.