国家地理:Wings Over The Gulf 波湾战机 - 8

Very roomy. For a single-seat fighter it's spacious¹. Plenty of room to lay out stuff we carry with us. The nose is cut and you won't see any perpendicular² surfaces go around. The four probes in the front are not machine guns. And they are not holographic projectors³. They are called pitot tubes, air sensing tubes we used. There were four channel fly-by-wire flight control system. We have four pitot tubes.

The grids⁴ in front replace normal intakes⁵ and are put on there for radar⁶ cross section reduction. Also you will notice / around the airplane where the cantipedes meet and where the weapons' bay yard is opened, and on the gear door you shall see saw-toothed edges . That's also done to break up the radar energy, I mean we have two edges that meet, end up with a reflective edge.

One of the things to notice is also from the bottom, once the gear goes up there is an elliptical shape to it. And those are how it's hard to see which way the airplane is. We call it aspect angle. For other pilots, which way the airplane is approaching, you're angle to it. And so as you see it can almost look like when the airplane is turning or straight leveled like it has a saucer sort of type of shape below that is surrounded.

If you look at the tail you don't see any visible exhaust. The reason is that ledge⁷ aligned⁸ around the cross here, / is a set of bricks that goes before with the tail we take and spread the exhaust out across the width to cool it from / across these bricks and duct it up so that there is no jet blast nearly behind the airplane it's above. It gets rid of all our infrared⁹ signature below and if you imagine / you are entering a fighter trying to fight this from above, you'll see the tails slope out, which get directly at six o'clock, the tail will cover the exhaust from right behind the airplane.

We have to do maintenance in the airplane and we have to remove the RAM¹⁰ portions to get to the panels so that the maintenance in the airplane is exactly like our any other airplane as far as once you get under the skin. Ugly is always skin-deep for beauty is always skin-deep, depend on how you'll look at it. Once you get under the skin it's a standard air force type of aircraft.

The F-117's skin, a radar-absorbant material, or RAM, absorbs whatever lingering radar energy that hasn't been deflected¹¹ by the Nighthawk's faceted¹² surfaces. This tori contains the F-117's forward-looking infrared sensor¹³, part of its highly classified navigation and attack system. Under the fuselage sits the downward-looking infrared sensor. Both the FLIR and DLIR are equipped with lasers that spotlight¹⁴ targets for laser guided precision weapons. And precision is a must since the Nighthawk can only carry two 2000-pound bombs. The bombs must be carried internally to keep the plane's radar cross section stealthy. When not flying combat missions, pilots carry their belongings¹⁵ in personal effects pods that ride in the bomb bay.

Until the Gulf¹⁶ War began, even those familiar with the F-117 weren't completely certain that stealth would work against a sophisticated air defense¹⁷ system. But the coalition's air command was gambling¹⁸ that stealth would work as advertised. They planned to send F-117s alone into Baghdad, the most heavily defended city in Iraq.

January 17th, 1991, 3 A.M. Saudi time, two squadrons of F-117 Nighthawks launched simultaneous strikes across the city of Baghdad. Dropping approximately 60 laser guided bombs on Iraqi communications buildings, air defense bunkers, ammunition¹⁹ bunkers, Scud²⁰ missile sites and the headquarters of the Iraqi air force. Within minutes the foundation of Iraq's complex command and control network has been crippled. And the war in the...

1 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

2 perpendicular   

adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The two lines of bones are set perpendicular to one another.这两排骨头相互垂直。
• The wall is out of the perpendicular.这墙有些倾斜。

3 projectors   

电影放映机，幻灯机( projector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Energy projectors fired and peeled off the ships' armor in a flash. 能量投射器开火然后在一阵闪光后剥离了飞船的装甲。
• All classrooms equipped with computers, projectors, video and audio booth, broadcasting equipment. 全部教室配备电脑、投影仪、视频展台和音响、广播设备。

4 grids   

n.格子( grid的名词复数 )；地图上的坐标方格；（输电线路、天然气管道等的）系统网络；（汽车比赛）赛车起跑线

参考例句：

• Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
• The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅，以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句

5 intakes   

吸入( intake的名词复数 )； （液体等）进入口； （一定时期内）进入或纳入的人数； （采煤）进风巷道

参考例句：

• The Tornado jet fighter-bomber has two air intakes. 旋风式喷气轰炸机有两个空气入口。
• The air intakes to the carburetors were filling up with freezing snow. 汽化器的进气道被积雪封住了。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821

6 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。

7 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

8 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

9 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

10 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

11 deflected   

偏离的

参考例句：

• The ball deflected off Reid's body into the goal. 球打在里德身上反弹进球门。
• Most of its particles are deflected. 此物质的料子大多是偏斜的。

12 faceted   

adj. 有小面的，分成块面的

参考例句：

• The skill with which Mr. Smith faceted the diamond is remarkable. 史密斯先生在钻石上雕刻小平面的精湛技巧真是了不起。
• Webb is a multi-faceted performer. 韦布是一个多才多艺的表演者。

13 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

14 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

15 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

16 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

17 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

18 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

19 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

20 scud   

n.疾行；v.疾行

参考例句：

• The helpers came in a scud.救援者飞奔而来。
• Rabbits scud across the turf.兔子飞快地穿过草地。