美国国家公共电台 NPR Buried In Trump's Nuclear Report: A Russian Doomsday Weapon

Buried In Trump¹'s Nuclear Report: A Russian Doomsday Weapon

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Today the Trump administration released a report on America's nuclear weaponry. Most of the assessment² was of the Pentagon's nukes and missiles, but buried in the plan was also mention of a mysterious Russian weapon called Status-6. NPR's Geoff Brumfiel reports that Status-6 appears to be some kind of a doomsday device if it's real.

GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE³: Status-6 made its first public appearance two years ago. Edward Geist is with the RAND Corporation.

EDWARD GEIST: Putin was receiving a briefing from his generals when he was on a visit to Sochi.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Russian).

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (Speaking Russian).

BRUMFIEL: Russia state television reported the visit. The camera showed Putin seated at a long table with his generals. And then it cuts to a shot over one of the general's shoulders. He's looking at a drawing of a weapon. Now, it seems like the camera just happened to catch the drawing, but Geist says this was no accident.

GEIST: Our general consensus⁴ is that this was very intentional⁵. This is all very engineered by the Russians.

BRUMFIEL: The drawing appears to be a new nuclear weapon, a weapon far more powerful than anything in the U.S. or Russian arsenals⁶. Its name?

GEIST: The Oceanic Multipurpose Systems Status-6 (ph).

BRUMFIEL: Status-6. It looks like a giant torpedo⁷ about a third the length of a big Russian submarine.

GEIST: The specification⁸ on the slide - this thing is faster than most or all of our torpedoes⁹. It's supposed to operate at a depth greater than our submarines can go.

BRUMFIEL: It's nuclear-powered, so it can travel thousands of miles underwater without surfacing. If the slide is to be believed - and we'll talk more about that in a second - then Status-6 would launch from beneath a Russian submarine. It would shoot under the ocean at a depth too deep to be intercepted¹⁰ and then incinerate a U.S. coastal¹¹ city.

GEIST: In terms of the sheer destructiveness of such a weapon, it's - I mean, it's a little - it's difficult to imagine in normal terms because the radius¹² of total or near total destruction is the size of a pretty large metropolitan¹³ area, actually.

BRUMFIEL: Pavel Podvig, who runs a blog called "Russian Forces" (ph), says the size of the bomb might also cause radioactive fallout on a massive scale.

PAVEL PODVIG: This fallout would spread over - I think that we're talking about the kind of northeast corridor in the U.S.

BRUMFIEL: Washington to Boston bathed in radioactive soot¹⁴. Status-6 would probably be used as a weapon of last resort. If Russia fell under attack from the U.S. and couldn't retaliate¹⁵ with its missiles it might trigger Status-6, a doomsday machine. Then again, the whole thing might be a fake.

PODVIG: The drawing of this drone looks more like a enlarged drawing of a smaller torpedo.

BRUMFIEL: A standard Russian torpedo. In other words, it looks like the Russians may have taken some torpedo clip art, blown it up to terrifying size, and then broadcast it on state television. Why?

GEIST: It's a way to get our attention.

BRUMFIEL: That's Edward Geist from RAND again. Geist says that Russia is worried about U.S. missile defenses. They fear that the U.S. might be able to shoot down their missiles in a nuclear war. That would upset the nuclear balance of power.

GEIST: So my read of the whole Status-6 slide leak was that the Russians were trying to send us a message.

BRUMFIEL: Keep building missile defenses, they're saying, and we'll find another way to hit you, one you can't shoot down because it's underwater. Podvig agrees the leak of Status-6 is probably just a warning shot. But the fact it appeared in the Pentagon's latest report on nuclear weapons showed that some war planners are taking the idea seriously. And Podvig and Geist also say they think the program isn't completely made up. Geist says a long-range underwater drone without a nuclear warhead would still be a useful weapon.

GEIST: You could use it for all sorts of things. You could use it for, like, tapping, say, our underwater communications cables. Or simpler in a war is just going out and, like, finding them and cutting them.

BRUMFIEL: Russia's been working on deep water drones for decades, and Status-6 may be a significant new program if it exists. Geoff Brumfiel, NPR News, Washington.

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 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

5 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

6 arsenals   

n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成

参考例句：

• We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句
• Arsenals are factories that produce weapons. 军工厂是生产武器的工厂。 来自互联网

7 torpedo   

n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏

参考例句：

• His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
• Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。

8 specification   

n.详述；[常pl.]规格，说明书，规范

参考例句：

• I want to know his specification of details.我想知道他对细节的详述。
• Examination confirmed that the quality of the products was up to specification.经检查，产品质量合格。

9 torpedoes   

鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 )； 油井爆破筒； 刺客； 掼炮

参考例句：

• We top off, take on provisions and torpedoes, and go. 我们维修完，装上给养和鱼雷就出发。
• The torpedoes hit amidship, and there followed a series of crashing explosions. 鱼雷击中了船腹，引起了一阵隆隆的爆炸声。

10 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

11 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

12 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

13 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

14 soot   

n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟

参考例句：

• Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
• The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。

15 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。