2023年经济学人 可回收导弹与无人机(1)

 

    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 radical¹ 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。

    Sensors² 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 Patriot³ and Israel’s Iron Dome⁴, fire several missiles at a target to boost the odds⁵ 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 precedents⁶.

    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 previously⁷ 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。

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

3 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

4 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

5 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

6 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。