VOA慢速英语2020--“超高速”武器的竞争仍在继续

The Race for 'Ultra-Fast' Weapons Continues

They fly at speeds of over one-and-one-half kilometers a second, sometimes faster. They move in ways that make them extra difficult to find and destroy in flight.

United States President Donald Trump¹ calls them "super-duper" missiles, although they are better known as hypersonic weapons. And they are at the heart of Trump administration worries about China and Russia.

For years, the U.S. has searched for ways to get ultra-fast flight right. But it has done so unevenly² -- suspending research projects, and then starting them up again. Now, China and Russia are arguably closer to perfecting the necessary technology. And the Trump administration is setting aside billions of dollars a year for hypersonic offense³ and defense⁴.

The U.S. defense department is clear about its purpose. Mark Lewis is the department's director of defense research and engineering for modernization⁵. In March, he told reporters: "Our ... goal is, simply, we want to dominate future battlefields."

Critics argue that hypersonic weapons would add little to the U.S. military's ability to prevent war. Some think such weapons could lead to a new, destabilizing arms race.

Two things make these weapons special: speed and maneuverability, the ability to make complex movements. Speed brings surprise, and maneuverability makes the weapons difficult to follow. Together, those qualities could mean trouble for missile defenses.

By generally agreed definition, a hypersonic weapon is one that flies at speeds higher than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. That is about 1,234 kilometers per hour. Most U.S. missiles, such as those launched from aircraft to hit other aircraft or ground targets, travel between Mach 1 and Mach 5.

Trump sometimes talks about his interest in hypersonic weapons, sometimes without using the correct term. In February he told state governors visiting the White House: "We have the super-fast missiles — tremendous number of the super-fast. We call them ‘super-fast,' where they're four, five, six and even seven times faster than an ordinary missile. We need that because, again, Russia has some."

And earlier this month, Trump told reporters, "We have no choice, we have to do it, with the adversaries⁷ we have out there," naming China and Russia.

The U.S. defense department is working on two main kinds of hypersonic weapons. One, called a hypersonic glide⁸ vehicle, is launched from a rocket. It then maneuvers⁹ to a target at high speed to avoid interception¹⁰.

The other is sometimes called a hypersonic cruise missile. Launched from a fighter jet or bomber¹¹, it would be powered by a supersonic combustion¹² ramjet, or scramjet. This helps the missile to fly and maneuver⁶ at lower altitudes.

On March 19, the military flight-tested a hypersonic glide vehicle at its Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. Pentagon officials called the test a success.

Unlike Russia, the United States says it is not developing hypersonic weapons for use with nuclear arms. As a result, a U.S. hypersonic weapon will need to be better at reaching targets.

As recently as 2017, the Pentagon was spending about $800 million on hypersonic weapon programs. That nearly doubled the following year, then rose to $2.4 billion a year later and hit $3.4 billion this year.

This project is highly important to the Pentagon. But it could become limited by the budgetary pressures that are expected as a result of federal spending on coronavirus related issues.

China is pushing for major developments in hypersonic weapons. It has carried out successful tests of the DF-17, a missile designed to launch hypersonic glide vehicles. A U.S. Congressional Research Service report shows that the DF-17 missile is designed to travel between 1,600 and 2,400 kilometers and could be deployed¹³ this year.

Last December, Russia said its first hypersonic missile system had become operational.

Critics see hypersonic weapons as unnecessarily dangerous and a continuation of the arms race between the U.S. and former Soviet¹⁴ Union. A 2017 report from the RAND Corporation research group warned about these technologies spreading to countries other than China, Russia, and the U.S.

I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

ultra- – pref. extremely

dominate – v. to have control of or power over someone or something

destabilizing – v. causing something, such as a government, to be unable to continue existing or working in the usual or desired way

tremendous – adj. very large or great

ordinary – adj. not unusual, different, or special

adversaries – n. enemies or opponents

interception – n. the act of stopping and taking someone or something that is going from one place to another place before that person or thing gets there

altitude(s) – n. the height of something, such as an airplane, above the level of the sea

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 unevenly   

adv.不均匀的

参考例句：

• Fuel resources are very unevenly distributed. 燃料资源分布很不均匀。
• The cloth is dyed unevenly. 布染花了。

3 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

4 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。

5 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

6 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

7 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

8 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

9 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

10 interception   

n.拦截；截击；截取；截住，截断；窃听

参考例句：

• Aerial photography can provide valuable information on precipitation, evapotraspiration, interception, and runoff. 航空摄影可提供有关降水量、蒸发蒸腾量、入渗和径流量的有价值的资料。
• Light interception and distribution in hedgerow orchards with different alleyway widths is indicated in Fig. 56. 图56显示篱壁果园不同行间宽度的光能截取和分配的情况。

11 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。

12 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

13 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。

14 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。