2022年经济学人 法棍面包大小的飞行炸弹即将在乌克兰投入使用（2）

These, in the form of missile-carrying Bayraktar tb2 drones from Turkey, helped Ukraine mount its defence in the early phases of the war.

这些来自土耳其的携带导弹的Bayraktar TB2无人机，帮助乌克兰在战争的早期阶段加强了防御。

But they are the size of light aircraft and need considerable supporting infrastructure¹, such as runways and refuelling facilities.

但它们的大小相当于轻型飞机，需要相当多的配套基础设施，如跑道和加油设施。

A Switchblade, by contrast, can be carried around in a backpack (it is about the size of a baguette) and deployed² whenever needed.

相比之下，“Switchblade”可以装在背包里随身携带（它大约有法棍那么大），并在需要的时候随时使用。

It is also cheaper, far easier to distribute and can be used with minimal³ training.

它也更便宜，更容易分发，只需最少的培训就可以投入使用。

Though thousands of Switchblades have been used in action by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan since their introduction in 2011, they have until now flown under the metaphorical⁴ as well as the physical radar⁵.

尽管自2011年“Switchblade”问世以来，美国军队在伊拉克和阿富汗使用了数千把弹簧刀，但到目前为止，它们一直处于象征描述和物理雷达的作用之下。

No video has been released of them in combat.

目前还没有发布他们在战斗中的视频。

And they have been exported only to Britain, probably America’s most trusted ally.

而且它们只出口到英国，可能是美国最信任的盟友。

Ukraine, however, is well prepared to use them.

然而，乌克兰已经做好了使用它们的充分准备。

Its military planners realised some time ago that loitering munitions⁷ could be an effective equaliser for a smallish country threatened by a large neighbour.

乌克兰军事规划者不久前意识到，对于一个受到强大邻国威胁的小国来说，“游荡弹药”可能是一个有效对抗攻击的设备。

In 2017 the government signed a deal with wb Group, a Polish electronics company, to buy supplies of its catapult-launched Warmate loiterer, which has a weight of 5.3kg and a range of 15km—though legal problems interfered⁸ with its planned deployment⁹ last year, and whether it is now in use is not public information.

2017年，乌克兰政府与波兰电子公司WB Group签署了一项协议，购买Warmate微型巡飞弹设备，该装置重5.3公斤，射程15公里--尽管法律问题干扰了其去年的部署计划，目前尚不清楚它是否已投入使用。

Nevertheless, in December the defence ministry¹⁰ announced that dedicated¹¹ loitering-munition⁶ units would be formed within Ukraine’s army, to act as parts of “brigades of the future”.

然而，去年12月，乌克兰国防部宣布，将在乌克兰军队内组建专门的游荡弹药部队，作为“未来旅”的一部分。

On top of all this, several Ukrainian firms are developing loiterers.

最重要的是，几家乌克兰公司正在开发游荡弹药设备。

The most advanced project is run by Athlon Avia, one of many enterprises which sprang up to aid the armed forces before, during and after the Crimean crisis of 2014.

其中最先进的项目是由Athlon Avia运营的，该公司是在2014年克里米亚危机之前、期间和之后涌现出来的为军队提供援助的众多企业之一。

Since then, Athlon has become a full-fledged drone-maker, and one of its products, the st-35, is a loitering munition.

从那时起，Athlon已经成为一家成熟的无人机制造商，其产品之一st-35是一种游荡弹药。

This weapon passed flight tests with the Ukrainian army in 2020—though whether it has yet been deployed has not been announced.

这种武器在2020年通过了乌克兰军队的飞行测试--尽管尚未宣布是否已经部署。

The st-35 is launched in an unusual way.

St-35发射方式很不同寻常。

Instead of being fired from the ground it is taken aloft by a multicopter drone which, after releasing it, then acts as a communication link.

它不是从地面发射，而是由一架直升飞机把它带到空中，释放后，无人机充当通信链路。

That gives an effective control range of 30km.

有效控制范围为30公里。

Three other Ukrainian firms—Adrones, cdet and Cobra—are also working on the idea, and although none had a deployable¹² system when the current war started, experience has shown that Ukrainian armourers excel at improvisation¹³ and at turning out usable products rapidly in difficult conditions.

其他三家乌克兰公司--Adrones、CDET和Cobra--也在研究这一想法，尽管在当前的战争开始时，没有一家公司拥有可部署的系统，但经验表明，乌克兰的装甲商擅长即兴发挥，可在困难的条件下迅速生产出可用的产品。

Weapons which offer the potential of striking unseen from long range, whether supplied from America or from Poland or in haste from local workshops, are particularly valuable.

无论是来自美国、波兰还是当地工厂的武器，都具有进行远距离打击的潜力，这些武器特别有价值。

Their success may also give an insight into how important they could be in future wars.

它们的成功可能也让我们了解到他们在未来战争中的重要性。

1 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

4 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。

5 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。

6 munition   

n.军火；军需品；v.给某部门提供军火

参考例句：

• The rebels bombed the munition factory.叛军轰炸了兵工厂。
• The soldiers had plenty of arms and munition!士兵们有充足的武器和弹药！

7 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

8 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

12 deployable   

糟透的，可叹的，可悲的； 应受谴责的； 破旧的

参考例句：

• Here you can add and remove deployable languages and retail products. 您可以在这儿添加和删除可部署语言和零售产品。
• Deployable underwater Surveillance Systems-Analysis of Experimental Results. Part 3; Saclantcen rept. 可配置水下监视系统枣实验结果分析。第三部分。

13 improvisation   

n.即席演奏(或演唱)；即兴创作

参考例句：

• a free-form jazz improvisation 自由创作的爵士乐即兴演出
• Most of their music was spontaneous improvisation. 他们的大部分音乐作品都是即兴创作的。