:英国海军的潜艇设计像真正海洋生物

British Navy Submarine Designs Look Like Real Sea Creatures

New images released by Britain’s Royal Navy show how future submarines could look and move like real sea creatures.

The designs were created by young British engineers and scientists. They were challenged by the Royal Navy to imagine how future underwater war machines might look.

The engineers and scientists are members of the group UKNEST. This not-for-profit organization promotes science, engineering and technology for British naval¹ design.

The group kept the same requirements used in advanced submarines used today. But the designers added new technological² ideas to make them easier and less costly³ to build, as well as more effective in battle.

Current submarines were designed to perform many roles as a single piece of equipment. But the Royal Navy of the future is expected to operate a family of submarines. This would include many shapes and sizes to carry out different operations. Some submarines would be manned and others unmanned.

The designs included a “mothership” that would act as a major command and control center supporting other submarines and ships. This submarine, with a crew of about 20 people, would be shaped like a manta ray with wide wings to guide it through the sea. The futuristic mothership would travel to British-controlled waters worldwide, docking with other underwater bases.

The future Royal Navy might also use eel⁴-like unmanned underwater vehicles. The designers imagined these submarines as capable of curving around objects like an eel and disguising themselves as sea lifeforms. They could be launched from the mothership and travel hundreds of miles in near silence.

Some of the naval equipment would be engineered with materials to dissolve after a period of time to avoid being captured by enemies. One image even shows flying missile weapons shooting out of the water like sharks or dolphins.

The submarine design project was called Nautilus 100. It was named after the U.S. Navy’s USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine.

Britain’s Minister for Defense⁵ Procurement⁶, Harriet Baldwin, praised the project. “These remarkable⁷ designs display the great promise of our young engineers and scientists and the great ambition of the Royal Navy.”

She added that the futuristic concepts are an example of what Britain’s navy could produce to meet future military challenges.

Commander Peter Pipkin is a robotics officer with the Royal Navy. He said that with more than 70 percent of the planet covered by water, there will be more competition between nations in the future to live and work at or under the sea. For this reason, he said the Royal Navy is looking 50 years into the future to find new ways to protect British interests around the world.

“If only 10 perb cent of these ideas become reality, it will put us at the cutting edge of future warfare⁸ and defense operations," Pipkin said.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

challenge – v. invite a person to compete in a contest or fight

dock – v. join together with another ship

disguise – v. change the appearance of something so it cannot be recognized

dissolve – v. break down or disappear

ambition – n. goal or aim to do or be something

concept – n. an idea of what something could be

1 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。

2 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 eel   

n.鳗鲡

参考例句：

• He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
• In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆，他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。

5 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。

6 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 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。