"Rather, what, Mavi? I knew you'd have a solution!" The Saudi prince asked excitedly over the phone, seeing a ray of hope.
"The solution is that perhaps Russia could sell you short-range ballistic missiles with a range of over 500 kilometers," Mavi said, his words dropping like a bombshell.
The Saudi prince's eyes almost popped out of his head as he sat in shock on his sofa.
"What? Ballistic missiles with a range of over 500 kilometers? My brother, Mavi, aren't those types of missiles not allowed to be sold or proliferated? Can Russia do that?" The Saudi prince was well aware of the **Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)**.
Any country that sold or bought missiles with a range of over 300 kilometers would face the harshest sanctions from the world's major powers, especially NATO. This was no joke! It was not an exaggeration to say that buying these missiles was even more terrifying than the threat of Israel's military buildup. After all, the NATO alliance was the world's most powerful military organization, with only a handful of countries capable of standing up to it.
But then again, if Russia really could find a way around NATO's restrictions and sell Saudi Arabia such long-range ballistic missiles, then the 100 Smerch rocket launchers Israel was buying would no longer pose a military threat. After all, in terms of accuracy, a haphazardly fired rocket launcher was far less intimidating than a ballistic missile.
This was similar to when Saudi Arabia bought Dongfeng missiles from China in the 1980s. Once the missiles arrived in the country, no one in the Middle East dared to launch a full-scale invasion. At most, there would only be small-scale skirmishes.
"We, of course, can't do that either, so we can only sell you ballistic missiles with a range of 300 kilometers. Then, we will include a user manual for the missile, along with special rocket fuel. This way, the missile, which originally has a range of 300 kilometers, can become 500 or even 600 kilometers," Mavi said vaguely over the phone.
He couldn't be too detailed about such a sensitive transaction. Although his satellite phone had a special encryption, intelligence officers from other countries were constantly trying to eavesdrop on or decrypt Mavi's daily communications. They wanted to know who he was talking to, who he was messaging, and how many Russian military secrets he possessed. This would help them keep track of Russia's movements.
Because Mavi's words were so vague, the Saudi prince, holding the phone, was a little confused. "A missile user manual? Special rocket fuel can make it go 500 or 600 kilometers? My brother, Mavi, what are you talking about? I don't think I understand..."
The Saudi prince was truly baffled by Mavi. But it wasn't his fault; in this new timeline, no one had ever heard of such an operation, so he couldn't grasp the concept.
"If you can't understand it, then that's that. It looks like I'll just have to sell the missiles to another country," Mavi said jokingly over the phone.
However, even though he was joking, the Saudi prince took him seriously!
"No, no, no! My brother, Mavi, wait for me! I'll take a plane to Russia to find you right now!" The Saudi prince said anxiously. He didn't want to miss another opportunity and let Israel or Iran get ahead of him.
"There's no need to rush. I'm not in Moscow right now; I'm in China," Mavi said with a laugh. Arms deals were the most fulfilling business he had ever done. After all, the function, power, and influence of the product were significant. It was no exaggeration to say that it could change the fate of a small or medium-sized country.
"Oh? You're in China now? When will you be back in Russia?" The Saudi prince asked with great interest. He was now fixated on Mavi and was not going to let go.
"In about two days. See you in Moscow then," Mavi said calmly over the phone. His composure was a stark contrast to the Saudi prince's frantic state. If anyone else was listening, they would have thought Mavi was the prince.
"Alright, my brother, Mavi, I'm counting on you this time!" The Saudi prince said sincerely.
"Mhm, don't worry. There's always a way to solve a problem," Mavi said to comfort him, ensuring that he would get a good night's sleep over the next two days. It was a very kind gesture.
After getting off the phone with the "arms dealer," the Saudi prince didn't stop. He immediately went to his father, the King of Saudi Arabia, to ask about the Russian government's position on Israel's purchase of the long-range rocket launchers.
"Father, has Russia agreed to reject Israel's purchase order?" he asked the King respectfully.
"Sigh, you know we haven't bought a lot of arms from Russia. So they won't refuse a $1.2 billion order for us," the King said tiredly from his chair. He had spoken to the Russian president earlier and was directly rejected. After all, Saudi Arabia had only bought less than $1 billion worth of arms from Russia the year before, which was just the latest flame tanks and short-range rocket launchers. There had been no other deals since.
If Russia's long-range Smerch rocket launchers were delivered to Israel, Saudi Arabia would have to consider buying the most advanced anti-missile systems from the US to intercept them.
But a reliable anti-missile system was incredibly expensive! For example, the US Patriot anti-missile system cost $10.5 billion. On top of that, the system could not guarantee a 100% success rate in intercepting the rockets launched from Israel. Based on the Patriot's estimated success rate against Scud missiles, it would take an average of three to four interceptor missiles to shoot down these fast-moving targets.
In addition to the cost of the system, the expense of launching the interceptor missiles was also staggering. A rocket launcher was several times cheaper than a missile, averaging between $200,000 and $300,000 per round. In contrast, an anti-missile interceptor cost at least a million dollars each.
Launching three at once would cost $3 million. Compared to a $300,000 rocket launcher, the cost was ten times more. Even a rich country couldn't afford that! They could launch $300 million worth of rockets, and Saudi Arabia would have to spend $3 billion to intercept them, and it still wouldn't be a 100% guarantee. Just thinking about it was enough to make them feel hopeless.