2021年经济学人 从科幻走向现实的"空中航母"呼之欲出(4)（在线收听）

The Gremlin-mothership arrangement is distinguished by its scale. But several smaller versions of the underlying idea are also in development. One is being put together by General Atomics, the maker of Predator drones. Predators are showing their age, but General Atomics hopes to breathe new life into them by producing a version that is a mothership for smaller drones called Sparrowhawks that will carry intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, electronic-jamming apparatus and possibly explosives. Flight tests began in September 2020, though Sparrowhawks have yet to be air-launched and the firm has not explained how they will be recovered in-flight.

小精灵加母舰这一设计的突出特点就是规模大。但是几种规模没那么大而基本理念相同的方案也在研发中。其中一种正在由“捕食者”无人机的制造商通用原子能整合。捕食者已经显现老态，但通用原子能希望它们能重焕新生。它生产了一款新机型用作更小型无人机的母舰。这些小型无人机名为“雀鹰”，它们将携带情报搜集、监视和侦察等设备，以及电子干扰装置，或许还有炸弹。飞行测试从2020年9月开始，不过雀鹰还没有空基发射过，通用原子能也没有解释将如何在空中回收它们。

Sparrowhawk's ma'am

雀鹰的母舰

The American army, for its part, plans to use helicopters fitted with drone-launching pneumatic tubes as motherships. These drones, which, like Gremlins, unfold their wings after launch, have a wingspan of 2.5 metres. In a test conducted last summer six such drones launched in flight were recovered in the air, albeit not by the Black Hawk from which they had emanated. Rather, they were snared by a quadcopter drone dangling a cord that snagged hooks on the target drones' wings. In May the army plans to use rail catapults to launch bigger drones from helicopters.

而在美国陆军这一边，它计划使用配备了无人机发射气动管的直升机作为母舰。这些无人机和小精灵一样，发射后会展开机翼，翼展有2.5米。在去年夏天的一次测试中，六架这样从空中发射的无人机完成了空中回收，不过并不是由发射它们的黑鹰直升机回收的。捕获它们的是一架四轴无人机，它用投放下来的绳索勾住目标无人机机翼上的挂钩。美国陆军计划在5月使用轨道弹射器从直升机上发射更大的无人机。

As with Gremlins and Sparrowhawks, the army's push for what it calls "air-launched effects" is driven by America's shift from counterinsurgency to potential war with a foreign power. Advances in the ability of Chinese and Russian radars to pinpoint troops and aircraft supporting them is a particular concern, says Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Freude, who is overseeing the technology's development at the Army Futures Command, in Alabama. This will push army helicopters back from the front line, he says, so they will disgorge numerous drones that will zip ahead instead. They are to hunt for targets, distract the enemy, and serve as an extra communications network. The capability should be operational in less than three years.

和小精灵及雀鹰一样，美国陆军之所以要推动它所说的“空中发射效应技术，是因为美国已从平息叛乱转向了应对与外国的潜在战争。位于阿拉巴马州的陆军未来司令部（ArmyFuturesCommand）负责监督这项技术开发的安东尼·弗罗伊德（AnthonyFreude）表示，中国和俄罗斯的雷达在精确定位部队以及支援它们的飞机方面的能力提升之大尤其令人担忧。他说，这迫使军队直升机从前线退后，转而投放一大群无人机来冲锋陷阵。无人机的任务是搜寻目标，分散敌军注意力，并充当额外的通讯网络。这种作战能力应该能在三年内投入使用。

Aerial aircraft-carriers of these sorts do have drawbacks. Snatching drones from midair eats up precious time. That and the manoeuvring required could make it easier for an enemy to shoot down a mothership. But drones that can be reused 20 times offer advantages, not least of cost, over expendable single-shot alternatives.

这类空中航母确实有其缺点。从空中捕获无人机会耗费宝贵的时间。这一点加上所需的操作可能会让母舰更容易被敌人击落。但是，可以重复使用20次的无人机还是比一次性的消耗型无人机更有优势，尤其是在成本方面。

Castle builders solved the problems brought by cannons by redesigning fortresses to be low, thick-walled and protected by bastions. That worked well. Whether launching aircraft-carriers into the sky will be an equally successful response to technological advance remains to be seen.

为解决大炮带来的麻烦，城堡的建造者们更新了设计，降低了它们的高度，增加了墙体厚度并且修建了防御的棱堡。这卓有成效。把航母发射到空中是否能同样成功地反制技术进步，还有待观察。