Hearing Northrup's concerns, Castle realized that after he'd left the development of the police drone prototype entirely to Jarvis, Jarvis must have made some jaw-dropping modifications to the turboprop or turbojet engine. This had triggered Northrup's intense interest, but Castle had no idea what Jarvis had done. As he fielded Northrup's eager questions, Castle turned on his acting skills. "Oh, you're talking about those engine optimizations? Yeah, that was me. I mean, you know, this drone was originally a gift for my girlfriend, so I wanted it to be perfect."
"…What exactly was optimized? It's hard to explain over the phone. No, no, it's my design, only on the prototype. You're interested? Sure, but shouldn't you talk to Pratt & Whitney first? Northrup doesn't even have an engine factory. What are you planning to do with this engine optimization?"
After hanging up, Castle sought out Jarvis to find out exactly what changes had been made to the engine. Only then did he understand why the Pratt & Whitney personnel stationed at Northrup-Grumman had gone berserk. It turned out that Jarvis had optimized the prototype's engine to a fuel consumption level similar to that of a small car. Unbelievable! Turbojet engines are notoriously fuel-hungry, but Jarvis had somehow applied technologies from the Marvel universe, reducing the Pratt & Whitney turbojet engine's fuel consumption by over 70% while increasing thrust by more than 10%. He'd essentially given this small turbojet engine a complete overhaul.
More shocking was the thought of applying this technology to Pratt & Whitney's flagship engines, such as the F119-PW100 or the F135-PW100. How much could it improve the current combat capabilities of the U.S. military's F-22 or F-35 jets? No wonder Northrup was scrambling to contact him as if they'd been injected with adrenaline.
Castle kicked himself for forgetting to warn Jarvis not to surpass current technological limits. By leaving the task entirely to Jarvis, he'd allowed the AI to turn the drone into something groundbreaking. Now that he understood the situation, Castle regretted his laziness—if he hadn't slacked off, this never would have happened.
He had no doubt that both Pratt & Whitney and Northrup would soon come knocking. They couldn't possibly ignore an engine optimization scheme that would instantly enhance U.S. military aircraft performance and bring immense profits to both companies.
Just think: if all 100-plus Raptors in the U.S. fleet could replace their two F119-100 engines with these, that would mean over 300 engines. Add the F-35s that were now being rolled out to replace the F-18s on carriers—how many engines was that? This was no small opportunity. Moreover, since the F-35 project was a joint venture with Europe, they could likely get the European partners to finance it, too.
No wonder even a massive company like Pratt & Whitney was so excited. Although Castle had been tangentially involved in a previous incident that had cost the family of a prominent senator, they were willing to overlook that now given the stakes.
As Castle was holed up at his estate, thinking of ways to handle the two companies, representatives from both were already on their way to New York by private jet. Northrup had sent the same senior vice president Castle had dealt with before, along with their aerospace technology director, who had initially helped win Northrup's favor for Castle. They couldn't risk Pratt & Whitney poaching Castle's technology.
But Pratt & Whitney, another American defense contractor and one of the world's top three aircraft engine manufacturers, wasn't about to back down. Just like Northrup, they had a high-ranking executive en route to New York, confident in their advantage. Northrup couldn't offer Castle the kind of stock incentives they'd given him before, but Pratt & Whitney could. They were prepared to offer him 0.5% of the company's shares if he could confirm that he'd developed the technology himself.
The Cat Company didn't specialize in aircraft engines; they just wanted a piece of the action. But for Pratt & Whitney, confirming Castle's talent in aircraft engine design could be monumental. They saw this "author" as a multi-talented genius. His background in aircraft design and manufacturing clearly ran deeper than anyone had guessed. As a private individual with a supercomputer, anything requiring advanced calculations was likely within his reach.
It was no wonder Northrup valued Castle so highly. With his incredible efficiency, he'd managed to bring the police drone from concept to prototype in less than a month. Although he'd already developed a version of the drone previously, there was still a significant difference between police and military drones. That he could produce a functional model so quickly suggested his private supercomputer had played a crucial role.
And now, as he upgraded the drone, he'd incidentally optimized the aircraft engine to an astounding level, which spoke volumes about his expertise. Clearly, this "author" was in his element with these projects. Why let a genius like him slip away to rivals like General Electric or Rolls-Royce?
Castle had learned that both Northrup and Pratt & Whitney representatives were en route to New York, aware that the Cat Company just wanted a slice of the pie, while Pratt & Whitney was determined to bring him on board.
Thanks to the skills and memories granted by the system from Tony Stark, Castle's mind was brimming with aircraft and engine designs. In the Marvel universe, Stark Industries had become the world's leading arms dealer, thanks to Tony Stark's genius before his capture in Afghanistan. Given the more advanced technology in that world, Castle had access to designs here that were groundbreaking.
Although the system had blocked information on Iron Man suits and arc reactor technology, everything else was accessible. If he wanted to, Castle could use Tony Stark's weapon designs to establish an incredibly powerful arms company. Of course, that would likely lead to competition from established arms manufacturers, but Castle was far from powerless. He simply preferred a low-key life, aiming to support his wife in her role as a police precinct chief, help her rise to city council, and settle down to raise a few kids.
If it weren't for the system occasionally pushing him with missions, Castle might already be retired…
Meanwhile, in another part of New York, Dominic Toretto and his crew were pursuing a suspect wanted by Diplomatic Security. They had been wary of returning to New York ever since their last run-in there. Compared to other U.S. police forces, NYPD was on a different level entirely.
Damn, where else would you find cops patrolling the streets with Belgian FN SCAR assault rifles? Manhattan precincts especially had enough firepower to make even Dominic, for all his bravado, feel a twinge of fear at the thought of being cornered by police armed with automatic rifles.
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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