2019年经济学人 谁主浮沉--航空母舰的发展方向(2)

 

Though guiding such missiles onto a distant moving target is tricky¹, no navy will be keen on putting several billion dollars and thousands of sailors in peril². Carriers have become too big to fail. As a result, they will probably have to remain at least 1,000km away from shore, a distance that their warplanes cannot cross without refuelling. That could have grave implications for America’s ability to project power across the Pacific—and so for all its allies. Carriers will also have to be cocooned³ with destroyers and frigates⁴, which will absorb most of the resources of smaller navies, like those of Britain and France.

虽然将这种导弹引导到一个遥远的移动目标是棘手的，没有海军会热衷于把数十亿美元和数以千计的水手置于危险之中。航空母舰太大，禁不起失败。因此，他们可能不得不在离岸至少1000公里的地方停留，这是他们的战机不加燃料就无法跨越的距离。这可能会严重影响美国在整个太平洋地区投射力量的能力——对其所有盟友也是如此。航空母舰还将被驱逐舰和护卫舰包围，这将吸收英国和法国等小型海军的大部分资源。

Carriers are not entirely⁵ obsolete⁶. Most wars will not be greatpower clashes. They will remain useful against foes⁷ which lack modern missile systems. Even in intense conflicts, warships⁸ will require air power to protect them from the predations of enemy ships and aircraft. As long as navies have surface ships, they will want to be able to fly planes above them.

航空母舰并不是完全过时。大多数战争不会是大国之间的冲突。他们将继续对缺乏现代导弹系统的敌人有用。即使在激烈的冲突中，军舰也需要空中力量来保护它们免受敌人船只和飞机的掠夺。只要海军有水面舰艇，他们就想让飞机飞到其上空。

But what sort of planes? Even as missiles force carriers farther offshore⁹, the average combat range of their air wings has shrunk, from 2,240km in 1956 to around 1,000km today. (Modern munitions¹⁰ travel farther, but do not make up the difference.) The obvious remedy is to use drones that can fly longer, riskier¹¹ missions than human pilots, allowing their host carriers to keep a safe distance away. But the Pentagon unwisely scrapped¹² its programme for such a drone in 2016, replacing it with one that would merely refuel inhabited planes.

但是什么样的飞机呢？即使导弹迫使航空母舰远离海岸，它们的平均战斗距离也从1956年的2240公里缩小到今天的1000公里左右。（现代的弹药可以飞得更远，但无法弥补差距。）显而易见的解决办法是使用比人类飞行员飞行时间更长、执行风险更大任务的无人机，让它们的主航母保持安全距离。但美国政府在2016年不明智地取消了这种无人机的计划，代之以一种只会给有人驾驶的飞机加油的无人机。

Aircraft-carriers, like the warplanes on them, belong to a class of large, vastly expensive weapons that military types call “exquisite”. A more homely¹³ approach to military technology is warranted. Smaller, cheaper and, where possible, unmanned systems could be procured¹⁴ in larger numbers, dispersed¹⁵ more widely and used more daringly. Such forces may lack the prestige of massive warships. But they are better adapted to a world in which the projection¹⁶ of military power is growing ever harder.

航空母舰，就像它们上面的战机一样，属于一种被军方称为“精致”的巨大而昂贵的武器。有必要对军事技术采取一种更平常的方式。更小、成本更低，而且在可能的情况下，无人驾驶系统可以被大量采购、更广泛地分散和更大胆地使用。这些部队可能缺乏大型战舰的威望。但它们更能适应一个军事力量投射越来越困难的世界。

1 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

2 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

3 cocooned   

v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The doctors cocooned the patient in blankets. 医生们将病人紧包在毯子里。 来自辞典例句
• I cocooned in my own kingdom. 我完全沉迷在我自己的王国中。 来自辞典例句

4 frigates   

n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Frigates are a vital part of any balanced sea-going fleet. 护卫舰是任何一个配置均衡的远洋舰队所必需的。 来自互联网
• These ships are based on the Chinese Jiangwei II class frigates. 这些战舰是基于中国的江卫II型护卫舰。 来自互联网

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

7 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

8 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

9 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

10 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。

11 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

12 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

13 homely   

adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的

参考例句：

• We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。
• Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭，好吗？

14 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

15 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

16 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。