2023年经济学人 可回收导弹与无人机(1)（在线收听）

    Palmer Luckey is no stranger to hype.

    帕尔默·勒基对炒作并不陌生。

    In 2014 he sold Oculus, a virtual-reality startup, to Facebook for $2bn, kickstarting the current wave of interest in VR.

    2014年，他以20亿美元的价格将虚拟现实初创公司奥克卢斯卖给了脸书，开启了当前人们对虚拟现实的兴趣。

    In 2017 he co-founded Anduril, another startup, this time focused on weapons.

    2017年，他联合创立了另一家初创公司安都瑞尔，这一次专注于武器研发。

    On November 29th Mr Luckey said Anduril would release “a radical new category of weapon that is totally unlike anything that has come before it”.

    11月29日，勒基表示，安都瑞尔将发布“一种全新的武器，与之前的任何武器都完全不同”。

    On December 1st he unveiled Roadrunner, a missile-cum-drone.

    12月1日，他公布了走鹃，一种导弹兼无人机。

    It is not revolutionary.

    它不是革命性的。

    But it is interesting.

    但很有趣。

    Roadrunner has two party tricks.

    走鹃有两个招牌技能。

    Its payload can be changed depending on the mission.

    它的有效载荷可以根据任务而改变。

    Sensors can be installed for surveillance, for instance.

    例如，它可以安装传感器进行监视。

    But the company’s emphasis is on Roadrunner-M, which is explosive-tipped and designed to destroy drones.

    但该公司的重点是走鹃-M，它装有爆炸物，旨在摧毁无人机。

    It is also reusable.

    它也是可重复使用的。

    Most air-defence systems, including America’s Patriot and Israel’s Iron Dome, fire several missiles at a target to boost the odds of a kill.

    大多数防空系统，包括美国的“爱国者”和以色列的“铁穹”，都会向一个目标发射多枚导弹，以提高杀伤几率。

    Unused ones are lost.

    未使用的会丢失。

    Roadrunners can talk to each other in flight.

    走鹃可以在飞行中互相传递信息。

    If one takes out the target, the rest can return home and land.

    如果一个导弹干掉了目标，剩下的就可以返回着陆了。

    Both features have precedents.

    这两个特点都有先例。

    “Loitering munitions” such as Israel’s mini-Harop or the Polish Warblefly can land, too.

    像以色列的迷你哈罗普或波兰的牛皮蝇这样的“游荡弹药”也可以着陆。

    The Coyote, an air-defence weapon built by RTX, an American firm previously known as Raytheon, also has modular payloads.

    “郊狼”防空武器是由RTX公司制造的，这家美国公司以前被称为雷神公司，它也有模块化的有效载荷。

    But putting everything together is new.

    但把所有东西放在一起是新的尝试。

    Anduril claims Roadrunner is “far superior” to competing missiles, with higher take-off speed, a bigger payload and ten times the range.

    安都瑞尔公司声称，“走鹃”比竞争对手的导弹“优越得多”，它的起飞速度更快，有效载荷更大，射程是对手的十倍。

    Brian Schimpf, the firm’s boss, says it can also cope with faster, more evasive drones likely to appear over the coming years, which might be comparable to high-end cruise missiles.

    该公司的老板布莱恩说，它还可以应对未来几年可能出现的速度更快、躲避能力更强的无人机，这些无人机可能与高端巡航导弹速度相当。