2023年经济学人 可回收导弹与无人机(2)（在线收听）

    Perhaps. Comparing air-defence systems is tricky, for they are designed for different things.

    也许吧。与防空系统对照是很棘手的，因为它们的设计目的不同。

    Iron Dome deals with small rockets.

    “铁穹”对付的是小型火箭。

    Patriot handles large missiles and planes.

    爱国者处理大型导弹和飞机。

    Coyote is built for what the Pentagon calls Group One and Two drones, which weigh less than 25kg and fly below 3,500 feet (1,069 metres).

    郊狼是为五角大楼所谓的第一组和第二组无人机建造的，它们的重量不到25公斤，飞行高度在3500英尺(1069米)以下。

    Roadrunner is designed for Group Three threats, which can weigh almost 600kg and fly up to 18,000 feet, like the Iranian Shahed-136 drones that Russia has used to attack Ukraine.

    “走鹃”是为应对第三类威胁而设计的，这种无人机重达近600公斤，飞行高度可达1.8万英尺，就像俄罗斯用来攻击乌克兰的伊朗观察者-136无人机一样。

    A Coyote costs about $100,000 per unit.

    每台郊狼的价格约为10万美元。

    Roadrunner is priced at “low six figures”.

    走鹃的定价为“六位数出头”。

    That makes it “not much cheaper than many existing air-defence missiles that can engage a far wider range of higher-end threats”, like cruise missiles, says Justin Bronk of the RUSI think-tank in London.

    伦敦智库皇家联合军种研究院的贾斯汀·布朗克表示，这使得它“并不比许多现有的防空导弹便宜多少，这些导弹可以应对更大范围的高端威胁”，比如巡航导弹。

    He points to NASAMS, a Norwegian-American system which uses off-the-shelf missiles.

    他指出，挪威和美国联合开发的国家先进防空导弹系统使用的是现成的导弹。

    The cheapest cost around $400,000 to $500,000 each.

    最便宜的花销在40万到50万美元之间。

    Nonetheless, America’s special forces have already bought a few Roadrunners.

    尽管如此，美国特种部队已经购买了一些走鹃。

    Anduril will hope large-scale production can bring costs down.

    安都瑞尔希望大规模生产能降低成本。

    But anti-drone technology is a crowded field.

    但反无人机技术是一个拥挤的领域。

    In 2019 an American destroyer downed an Iranian drone using electronic warfare.

    2019年，一艘美国驱逐舰利用电子战击落了一架伊朗无人机。

    High-powered microwave weapons and lasers have been fitted on warships and tested at air bases.

    军舰上已经装备了高功率微波武器和激光，并在空军基地进行了测试。

    Roadrunner’s theatrical launch reflects a divide in America’s arms industry.

    走鹃的戏剧性上市反映了美国军火工业的分歧。

    Critics see the country’s established firms as complacent and lazy, and welcome disruption from scrappy newcomers such as Anduril.

    批评人士认为该国的老牌公司自满且懒惰，并欢迎像安都瑞尔这样斗志旺盛的新来者的破坏。

    Indeed, Roadrunner’s name is a deliberate dig.

    事实上，走鹃的名字是一个有意的挖掘。

    In the Looney Tunes cartoon of the same name, the nimble roadrunner outwits Wile E. Coyote’s attempts to catch it with needlessly complicated gadgets.

    在同名动画片《兔八哥》中，狼怀尔企图抓住这只敏捷的跑鹃，它用一些无用的复杂装置以智取胜。

    The big players, for their part, roll their eyes at upstarts with little experience of mass production.

    对于那些没有大规模生产经验的后起之秀，大厂商们不屑一顾。

    But there is nothing like a little competition to spur everybody on.

    但是没有什么比一场小小的竞争更能激励每个人了。