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）（在线收听）

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 infrastructure, 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 deployed 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 minimal 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 metaphorical as well as the physical radar.

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 munitions 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 interfered with its planned deployment 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 ministry announced that dedicated loitering-munition 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 deployable system when the current war started, experience has shown that Ukrainian armourers excel at improvisation 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。