Yes, as the technical director responsible for aerospace technology at Northrop Grumman, even though he wasn't the chief designer of the Global Hawk, he dealt with drones daily. He had the expertise to recognize that the design approach of the two drones on the ground was completely different from those of his company and its competitor, General Atomics. Considering General Atomics' attempt to kidnap the chubby kid last night, it was clear to this technical director that his competitors had already discovered the unknown advantages of these drones and were desperate to get their hands on the developer.
Unfortunately for General Atomics, whether due to haste or poor intelligence gathering, they targeted the wrong person, providing Northrop Grumman with the same opportunity.
Although he was only nominally the technical director for aerospace at Northrop Grumman and hadn't participated in developing the Global Hawk series, he'd seen enough of the technology to recognize its significance. These two drones, just from their aerodynamic design and power distribution, showed a fundamentally different approach from what Northrop Grumman or General Atomics had developed. Even without seeing these drones in flight, Mark, the technical director, could tell that his company might indeed have stumbled upon a significant advantage.
The technical director from the European aircraft manufacturer trailing behind him also quickly realized the value contained in these two drones, which differed entirely from current drone technology. Initially resentful of Gianna, whom he thought had dragged them to New York without understanding the industry, this Italian technical director now saw they might be incredibly fortunate.
These two drones were cobbled together by Castle from various sources. If he had followed the blueprints from the system reward, which included designs from Tony Stark in the Marvel Universe, the fully realized drones would be much larger. Castle had compromised on size and functionality due to cost and practical use, using a flight control system directly from Stark Industries in the Marvel Universe.
Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk, with a wingspan of 34 meters, dwarfed these two small drones. In terms of flight time, altitude, and endurance, these smaller drones couldn't compare to current military drones. However, this wasn't a reason to underestimate Castle's drones. Both the European representative and Mark, the Northrop Grumman technical director, understood that scaling these drones up proportionally and implementing their flight control system could yield tremendous benefits.
Gianna, curious about the small drones, had no idea why Castle was so confident in bringing representatives from the third-largest U.S. defense contractor here for a 'flight demonstration.' Despite her lack of drone expertise, she had researched military drones on the flight from Rome to New York. The two small drones before her did not seem capable of fulfilling military purposes.
Castle had initially built these drones using materials sourced with Winston's help and from supplies purchased at Zeus's hardware store. The drones were inherently smaller than military drones due to Castle's purposeful downsizing. He didn't need his drones for firepower missions, so he miniaturized the original reconnaissance and strike drone designs. Yet, the flight control system came directly from Stark Industries in the Marvel Universe.
For the current Global Hawk drones, extensive ground stations and numerous personnel are required to operate them perfectly. But here, what did Mark see? The chubby kid controlled two drones flawlessly, seemingly without effort. The drones performed separate tasks, flying in different directions. The kid looked more focused on his soda than the drones. This showed the writer wasn't kidding—the flight control system was indeed semi-autonomous.
Damn, he struck gold! That was Mark's only thought.
The Italian technical director, initially resentful, now looked like a fish out of water, his mouth agape. Although he didn't possess Mark's technical sensitivity, he had enough experience to recognize the value of these drones. Military drones typically use jet engines and require runways for takeoff, whereas civilian quadcopters, though capable of vertical takeoff, lack speed. These drones, however, could take off vertically like helicopters and then transition to horizontal flight like propeller planes. This method had been used on the V-22 Osprey but never on drones, making these designs groundbreaking.
Realizing this, Mark signaled to Castle, asking if he could observe the control console behind the chubby kid. Castle nodded in approval, allowing Mark to proceed.
Simultaneously, both technical directors approached the control console to observe the drones' flight state closely.
At this moment, John Wick, with a peculiar expression, asked Castle, "What's your plan? Are you just going to sell these drones to them?"
Castle laughed heartily, "Of course not! Today is just a simple demonstration. We'll still need to sit down and negotiate. I'll have a friend handle the negotiations for me. That is, if they're interested in my drones."
Castle's eyes gleamed with amusement, "By the way, I need to introduce you to some friends, especially the one who'll be handling the negotiations. Moz, I think you'll like him..."
John Wick looked at Castle, bewildered, sensing that his friend was up to something mischievous, not harmful, but likely a prank.
Familiar with Castle's occasional bouts of eccentricity, John could only shake his head in resignation.
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