国家地理:Wings Over The Gulf 波湾战机 - 5

Threat posed by Iraq's Scud¹ ballistic missiles. Militarily, Scuds² were insignificant³. But politically, Scud attacks on Israel and Saudi Arabia could have torn the coalition⁴ apart. The political importance of hunting down the Scuds was so great that the best aircraft on hand was assigned to the task. That plane was the brand-new F15-E fighter bomber⁵. Though technically⁶ still in testing, F15-Es were rushed into combat when the Gulf⁷ War erupted. 48 were deployed⁸ to Saudi Arabia. The reason for this haste was that the E was simply too powerful a plane not to use.

A dual-role fighter, the F15-E has the air-to-air combat capability⁹ of the F15-C, plus the ability to fly night bombing missions in bad weather at altitudes as low as 200 feet, while carrying 24,500 pounds of ordnance¹⁰. In keeping with the Eagle's no-expense-spared history, the F15-E is equipped with the finest weapon system available. The heart of the system is the same radar¹¹ in every F15, the APG-70. When used in the bombing role, this powerful radar gives pilots sharp views of the targets, no matter what the weather. F-15s were the only planes in the Gulf that carried fully¹² functional¹³ LANTIRN pods. The Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared¹⁴ for Night system lets the Eagle fly across featureless terrain¹⁵ without navigation aids. It also contains a target tracker and a laser designator. The E's two crewmen have a bewildering array of instruments to monitor. The front seater flies the airplane and guards against air-to-air threats, while the weapon system operator in the back seat monitors four screens with up to 23 different displays.

"From very long distances you can locate things on the ground that look just like a picture that you take from overhead satellite. And they are photograph-capable and you need very low squint¹⁶ angles to do that so I don't necessarily have to be at a high altitude. I can be down at 300 or 500 feet and get very much the same picture I would if I cruise over 25,000."

F15-Es worked closely with two planes carrying Grumman's brand-new Joint¹⁷ Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System, known as JSTARS. JSTARS scans the ground, day or night and in all weather conditions. It can detect and target virtually every object that falls in the path of its radar. Controllers relay this information down to ground commanders, who decide who and what will attack the targets. Unfortunately, on radar a Scud carrier looks like any other large truck. Scud launchers were usually detected after they had fired a missile.

"What turned out to be different the way we originally envisioned was the need to go in and find mobile Scud targets. That one had taken a lot of our time. I would guess that probably about 50%-52% of the missions that we flew over there were done in Western Iraq looking for mobile Scuds and associated equipment."

F15-Es patrolled the Iraqi border, ready to attack Scud sites. On the ground, British and American commanders went deep behind enemy lines, looking for Scuds, and calling in air strike when they found them. But Iraq had over 1,200 Scuds and the vast size of the region made finding them extremely difficult. Their very lack of sophistication made them easy to set up and fire. And their mobility¹⁸ made them easy to hide.

"We believe that they adapted their tactics to the threat, which, for them, was the threat of being obliterated by

1 scud   

n.疾行；v.疾行

参考例句：

• The helpers came in a scud.救援者飞奔而来。
• Rabbits scud across the turf.兔子飞快地穿过草地。

2 scuds   

v.（尤指船、舰或云彩）笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Of scuds metals conduct heat most quickly. They are the best heat conductors. 在所有的固体中金属传热最快，它们是最好的导热体。 来自互联网
• Launch Scuds – Fires many, inaccurate Scud missiles at the target (costs per use) 射飞毛腿：朝目标射很多打不准的飞毛腿（使用要钱） 来自互联网

3 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

6 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 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。

9 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

10 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

11 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。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

14 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

15 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

16 squint   

v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的

参考例句：

• A squint can sometimes be corrected by an eyepatch. 斜视有时候可以通过戴眼罩来纠正。
• The sun was shinning straight in her eyes which made her squint. 太阳直射着她的眼睛,使她眯起了眼睛。

17 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

18 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。