2021年经济学人 从科幻走向现实的"空中航母"呼之欲出(2)

Gremlins' principal jobs would be intercepting¹ communications, jamming signals and hunting for things to be destroyed, thus softening² up the defences in contested airspace to make it safer for crewed aircraft. Such drones could also be armed with small missiles or explosives for a kamikaze attack. And they would both share data and co-operate among themselves, and pass reconnaissance and targeting information back to warships³ and aircraft able to fire bigger missiles than they could carry.

小精灵的主要任务将是拦截通信、干扰信号以及搜寻摧毁目标，从而削弱作战空域中的防御力量，让有人战机的处境更安全。这种无人机还可以装备小型导弹或者自杀式袭击炸弹。它们彼此间会共享数据，相互协作，并将侦察和攻击目标的信息传回给那些能发射它们无力搭载的更大型导弹的军舰和飞机。

Gremlin swarms⁴ would no doubt suffer losses. But drawing enemy fire would actually be an objective, says Andrew Krepinevich, the boss of a defence consultancy called Solarium, which advises the defence department on aspects of naval⁵ and aerial warfare⁶. This way, Gremlins would flush out the position of any hostile missile battery that switched on its targeting radar⁷, marking it for subsequent destruction.

毫无疑问，小精灵机群会遭受损伤。但是，为美国国防部提供海空作战建议的国防咨询公司Solarium的老板安德鲁克雷皮内维奇（Andrew Krepinevich）表示，吸引敌方火力实际上本身就会是一个目的。一旦任何敌方导弹阵地打开瞄准雷达，小精灵就拿到了它的方位，把它标记下来以待后续摧毁。

In the calculus⁸ of combat, sacrificing a drone or two to knock out an enemy air-defence battery makes for a nice swap⁹. Gremlins should therefore be thought of as "tradable" for systems of greater value, says Mr Wierzbanowski. The better to fool the foe¹⁰, military planners also envisage¹¹ airlaunched drones that mimic¹² the radar and heat signatures of bigger fighter jets and bombers¹³. This would be done by using shapes and materials that reflect rather than absorbing radar pings, and by leaving an engine's heat signature unmasked. The illusion could be enhanced by flying drones at speeds and in patterns indicative of larger aircraft.

在作战的得失考量中，牺牲一两架无人机就能摧毁敌方的防空阵地，这笔账很划算。所以应该把小精灵视为“可交易”更高价值的系统，维尔兹巴诺夫斯基表示。为了更好地迷惑敌人，军事规划人员还设想让空基发射的无人机模仿大型战斗机和轰炸机的雷达和热信号。这就需要使用能反射而不是吸收雷达波的外形和材料，并不再遮蔽发动机的热信号。如果无人机再模拟大型飞机的飞行速度和模式，以假乱真的程度还可能更高。

On top of all this, a defender's need to squander¹⁴ precious attention and pricey missiles on incoming cheap drones will give its adversary's more capable aircraft freer rein¹⁵. Enthusiasts¹⁶ for air-launched drones therefore see value in numbers. Putting lots of blips on radar screens is a good way to fluster¹⁷ an enemy with "complexity¹⁸ and multiple dilemmas¹⁹", says Tim Keeter, who manages the Gremlins programme at Dynetics, DARPA's principal contractor²⁰ for the project.

最重要的是，防御一方需要把宝贵的注意力和昂贵的导弹耗费在来袭的廉价无人机上，这就给了对手更厉害的飞机更多机会施展拳脚。空基发射无人机的拥趸因此看到了它们在以量取胜上的价值。让雷达显示屏上出现大量光点是用“复杂性和多重困境”来扰乱敌人的好办法，DARPA小精灵项目的主要承包商Dynetics的项目负责人蒂姆·基特（TimKeeter）表示。

1 intercepting   

截取（技术），截接

参考例句：

• The police had been intercepting my mail, ie reading it before it was delivered. 警方一直截查我的邮件。
• We've been intercepting radio transmissions from Moscow. 我们已从莫斯科拦截到无线电信号。

2 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

3 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

4 swarms   

蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
• On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

5 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

6 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

7 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

8 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

9 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

10 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

11 envisage   

v.想象，设想，展望，正视

参考例句：

• Nobody can envisage the consequences of total nuclear war.没有人能够想像全面核战争的后果。
• When do you envisage being able to pay me back?你看你什么时候能还我钱？

12 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

13 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 squander   

v.浪费，挥霍

参考例句：

• Don't squander your time in reading those dime novels.不要把你的时间浪费在读那些胡编乱造的廉价小说上。
• Every chance is precious，so don't squander any chance away!每次机会都很宝贵，所以不要将任何一个白白放走。

15 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

16 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

17 fluster   

adj.慌乱，狼狈，混乱，激动

参考例句：

• She was put in a fluster by the unexpected guests.不速之客的到来弄得她很慌张。
• She was all in a fluster at the thought of meeting the boss.一想到要见老板，她就感到紧张。

18 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

19 dilemmas   

n.左右为难( dilemma的名词复数 )；窘境，困境

参考例句：

• They dealt with their dilemmas by mixing perhaps unintentionally an explosive brew. 他们――也许是无意地――把爆炸性的佐料混合在一起，以此来应付困难处境。 来自辞典例句
• Ten years later we encountered the same dilemmas in Vietnam. 十年后，我们又在越南遇到了同样进退两难的局面。 来自辞典例句

20 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。