武器的乐园

    将全球部分最先进的海军武器汇总在一块儿，摆进一个大厅里，这个大厅里到处是各种战斗机的模型、最新型的无人机、一排排涂成灰色的精确制导炸弹、吓人的自动舰防炮，以及各种高性能的摄相头和传感器——非常多的传感器！这就是一年一度的美国海军军事技术盛会——美国海空天博览会的场景。它将最新的海军武器及支持系统与使用这些武器的人聚在一起，它既是行业博览会，也是武器展销会，同时也是国防行业的一次盛典。

    它也是全球军火业的一次顶尖展会。从美国海军，到波音公司（Boeing）、洛克希德马丁（Lockheed Martin） 、诺斯罗普格曼（Northrop Grumman）、德事隆（Textron）、亨廷顿英戈尔斯（Huntington Ingalls）等全球知名航空航海公司，都经常会趁这个盛会发布最新型武器装备。同时军火商和军方也通过这次盛会给我们提供了一个机会，看看明天的精尖武器会是什么样子。

    在这个经济紧缩时代的武器采购会是什么样子的？大家不妨想象一下，机器人、无人机和各种新型武器会怎样让上一代的武器变成更有效、更具性价比的现代国防工具的。

Wonderland of weapons

    Take a small legion of top navy brass from around the globe, pack them into a convention hall full of mocked-up fighter jets, the latest in unmanned aerial hardware, rows of matte gray precision guided projectiles, menacing robotic shipboard defense cannons, and myriad high-powered cameras and sensors -- so many sensors! -- and you can start to envision Sea-Air-Space, the Navy's annual defense technology confab. Designed to put the latest in naval armament and support systems in the same room with the very people who use them, Sea-Air-Space is part industry trade show, part arms bazaar, and part defense industry social event.

    It's also something of a bellwether for the global defense industry. Sea-Air-Space is often the venue for big reveals from both the Navy and the biggest names in aerospace and maritime technology--names like Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), Lockheed Martin (LMT, Fortune 500),Northrop Grumman (NOC, Fortune 500), Textron (TXT, Fortune 500), and Huntington Ingalls (HII). But it's also a place where contractors and militaries offer glimpses into their ongoing programs of record and let us see -- or at least extrapolate -- what the fighting forces of tomorrow will look like.

    What does arms procurement in the age of austerity look like? Think robots, drones, and retrofits that make the dumb weapons of previous generations into more efficient, more cost effective tools of modern defense.

MQ-8C“火力侦察兵”无人直升机

    能从航空母舰上起降的无人喷气式战斗机可能还需要几年才能面世，不过美国海军现在已经列装了第一批舰载无人直升机，而且第五批战机已经部署在阿富汗和非洲等地（其中一架于2011年在利比亚内战中执行执勤和侦察任务时被击落）。美国海军目前拥有约30架MQ-8B“火力侦察兵”无人侦察机，这款半自动的无人机只有24英尺长，目前没有装配武器，主要在全球执行情报、执勤、侦察任务。

    在本次海空天博览会上，诺斯罗普格曼公司发布了下一代“火力侦察兵”系列的原型机模型，也就是所谓的MQ-8C。它的尺寸几乎达到MQ-8B的一倍（它的机身借鉴自Bell 407民用直升机，后者的某些改款能容纳７名乘客）。MQ-8C代表了未来战术无人直升机的发展方向。对于正计划把“火力侦察兵”与下一代濒海战斗舰进行整合的美国海军来说（事实上，美国最新的濒海战斗舰多多少少都要依赖一种可以垂直起降的战机），MQ-8C在保持战斗力的同时，也有望降低长期成本。

    诺斯罗普格曼公司的战术无人系统业务开发部总监麦克•富科表示：“从负担能力的角度看，无人机是一个非常好的选择。”虽然无人机也需要军舰上配备一个维护和操作团队，但像“火力侦察兵”这样的系统与有人直升机相比，其重量一般更轻，燃油经济性也更好，可以腾出更多空间搭载更好、更精密的传感装置，可以根据现有商用零件进行生产（如Bell 407民用直升机），而且从战术上更不容易被击落。如果２０１１年在利比亚被击落的那架侦察机是有人飞机，那么相应的成本可能会极高，甚至可能包括付出人的生命，而人命的价值是无法估算的。光是由于这个原因，“火力侦察兵”的价值虽然不算便宜（到２０１２年底，该项目共花去２８亿美元），但仍然可能会继续获得美国海军的支持。”

MQ-8C Fire Scout

    The Navy's first aircraft carrier-capable unmanned fighter jet is still several years away, but its first carrier-launched helicopter is already in service and on its fifth deployment in places like Afghanistan and Africa (one was even shot down over Libya in 2011 while conducting surveillance and reconnaissance during the civil war there). The Navy currently owns roughly 30 of these little 24-foot-long unmanned, semi-autonomous helicopters, known as the MQ-8B Fire Scout, which it currently uses as non-weaponized, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms around the world.

    At Sea-Air-Space, Northrop Grumman unveiled the first scale model of the next iteration in the Fire Scout series, the MQ-8C. At nearly twice the size of its predecessor (its airframe is borrowed from the Bell 407 civilian helicopter, which in some variations can seat seven passengers), the MQ-8C is a real glimpse at the future of unmanned tactical helicopter flight. And for the Navy, which plans to integrate its Fire Scouts into its next generation of combat ships (in fact, its new Littoral Combat Ships more or less depend on an unmanned vertical takeoff and landing vehicle), the MQ-8C is also a way of maintaining a capability while hopefully driving down long-term costs.

    "UAVs have a really good story from an affordability perspective," says Mike Fuqua, director of business development for Northrop Grumman's tactical unmanned systems. While they do require a shipboard maintenance team and operating crew, systems like Fire Scout are generally lighter and more fuel-efficient than manned helicopters, can devote more space to better and more complex sensor payloads, can be constructed from existing commercial components (like that Bell 407 airframe), and are tactically less vulnerable to boot. Had a manned ISR aircraft been shot down over Libya in 2011, the associated costs could've been extremely high -- up to and including the incalculable cost of human life. For this reason alone, the Fire Scout, though not inexpensive (total program cost stood at $2.8 billion as of the end of 2012), will likely continue to receive Navy support.

高级精确杀伤武器

    我们已经进入数码时代了，为什么还要展出这么多２.７５英寸的非制导空地火箭弹模型呢？BAE公司推出的高级精确杀伤武器系统（即上图最后侧的那枚较小的火箭弹）让以前非智能的炸弹摇身一变，变成了为２１世纪战争所准备的精确激光制导炸弹。

    高级精确杀伤武器系统（简称APKWS）的好处在于它不需要对使用该弹药的飞机的硬件进行升级。这种火箭弹在美军各单位中非常普遍，它可以从AH-10或MH-60“黑鹰”武装直升机上发射，也可以从A-10“雷电”攻击机或鹞式战斗机上发射。美国国防部的仓库里有成千上万这种传统的非制导炸弹（这种炸弹也叫Hydra 70，它基本上就是朝鲜战争和越战中用到的MK40火箭弹的现代化改款）。不过在现代战场上，这种非制导炸弹可不仅仅是一件古董，它很可能会对战斗地点附近的友军和非战斗人员造成危险。

    军事技术公司BAE就此给出了它的解决方案：给军火库中积压的现有火箭弹安装一个激光制导模块。这个模块安装在火箭弹的马达与弹头之间。作战时，其打击目标可由地面的前线人员制导，也可以由执行打击任务的战机自身或该空域的其他飞机制导（这种方式叫做“配合发射”。BAE把这项小项术与一种久经战火考验的弹药结合在一起，为如何把现有传统武器改造成能精确制导的智能武器点明了方向。这不仅能使国防部门从已经投资的经费中获得最大效果，同时也意味着击中一个给定目标所需要的弹药消耗少了。另外它每发射一次的成本只有2.8万美元，所以它的意义是非同寻常的。

Advanced Precision Kill Weapon

    What's a digital age fighting force to do with storehouses full of 2.75-inch unguided, analog air to ground rockets? BAE's Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (it's the smaller projectile on the far right in the image above) turns formerly dumb munitions into precision laser-guided rockets ready for 21st-century warfare.

    The beauty of the APKWS is that it requires no hardware upgrade to the aircraft that use it. These particular rockets are fairly universal among American military branches and can be fired from workhorse helicopter platforms like the AH-10 or MH-60 Black Hawk as well as fixed-wing aircraft like the A-10 Warthog or the Harrier "jump jet." The Department of Defense has thousands upon thousands of these conventional, unguided rockets laying around (known as Hydra 70s, they are basically modern variants of the Mk 40 rocket used in the Korean and Vietnam wars). But on a modern battlefield, such unguided rockets are not only somewhat antique -- they're potentially dangerous for close-in friendly ground troops as well as any non-combatants in the area of operations.

    Defense technology firm BAE's solution: a laser guidance module that can be retrofitted onto existing rockets already in the arsenal. Tucked between the rocket motor and the small warhead in the nose of the rocket, the guidance system can detect targets "painted" with a laser by forward operators on the ground, the attacking aircraft itself, or other aircraft in the area (that's known as a "buddy lase"). By embedding this small technology package on a proven, battle-tested armament, BAE has figured out how to turn existing stores of dumb weapons into precision, guided smart weapons. That not only allows the armed services to get the most out of money already invested, but it means fewer rockets have to be fired to take out a given target. At just under $28,000 a shot, that makes a real difference.

布利泽轨道炮

    通用原子公司（General Atomics）最出名的产品当属它的“猎食者”和“收割者”无人机，不过它的一项海军武器也同样充满未来主义色彩，这就是它的布利泽轨道炮项目。

    轨道炮是电磁炮的一种，它通过小心地引导电流通过两段平行导轨所产生的磁场对弹丸进行加速，它的弹丸可以是任何东西，可以是一架飞机也可以是一枚炮弹，美国海军研究室已经对轨道炮研究了很长时间，希望未来能够用它来代替传统舰炮，因为轨道炮的弹道更平稳、射程更远，而且杀伤力更强。在美国海军的测试中，轨道炮的弹药速度已经超过了每秒钟1.5英里，与轨道炮未来的最终潜力相比，这还仅仅是一个开始。

    不过轨道炮现在还没有完全做好服役的准备，一方面是由于它电力消耗巨大，一方也是由于轨道炮技术尚不完全成熟。通用原子公司此次带了一件轨道炮的原型模型来参加展会，只是为了展示这项技术的研究程度和武器设计。不过通用原子公司并不是唯一一家花大力气研发轨道炮技术的公司。BAE系统公司也为美国海军研发了轨道炮原型产品，而且波音公司的鬼怪工程部（Phantom Works）也启动了用于轨道炮的精确打击弹药的研发。

Blitzer Rail Gun

    General Atomics is best known for its Predator and Reaper drones, but where Naval warfare technology is concerned it has something equally futuristic in the works: its Blitzer Railgun program.

    Railguns are electromagnetic projectile launchers that accelerate their payloads -- which could be anything from an aircraft to an artillery round -- by carefully manipulating an electromagnetic current running the length of two parallel rails. The Office of Naval Research has long researched railguns as potential future replacements for its naval surface guns, as they launch projectiles on flatter trajectories to much greater distances with far more devastating force. In U.S. Navy tests, railguns have launched projectiles at speeds in excess of 1.5 miles per second, and that's really just the beginning of what railguns could eventually do.

    While railguns aren't quite ready for service -- aside from being too energy intensive, the technology isn't completely reliable just yet -- General Atomics brought a prototype to Sea-Air-Space simply to show off how far they've come with both launcher and projectile design. But General Atomics isn't the only defense company heavily into the railgun race. BAE Systems has also developed railgun prototypes for the Navy, and Boeing's Phantom Works has developed precision sabot projectiles for railguns to launch.

可以扔的机器人Throwbot XT

    ReconRobotics生产的抛式机器人Throwbot XT的理念非常简单，而其设计又非常聪明，无怪乎美国海军陆战队和国内执法机关都热情地接纳了这款装备。它的大小和造型和一个啤酒罐差不多，可以扔进窗子里，可以隔着墙扔过去，也可以扔到房顶，然后遥控控制它四处滚动侦察情况。它配备了一台非常好用的手持遥控器，上面有一块屏幕，可以显示Throwbot XT上安装的摄像头看到的情况（红外摄像头甚至能看到夜间影响）。

    军警人员可以把Throwbot XT投掷到危险的地方，让现场人员了解危急情况，同时也避免了派人员侦察可能产生的危险。而且每个Throwbot XT的价格大约只有1.3万美元，它是本届海空天博览会上最便宜的高科技产品之一。

Throwbot XT

    ReconRobotics Throwbot XT is a concept so simple and a design so clever that it's no wonder both the U.S. Marines and domestic tactical law enforcement teams have enthusiastically embraced it. Roughly the size and shape of a tallboy beer can, the hardy little robot can be thrown through windows, over walls, or onto rooftops and then controlled remotely to roll around and take stock of a situation. An easy-to-use handheld controller also contains a screen that shows the operator what the Throwbot XT's onboard camera is seeing (an IR camera even provides vision in the dark).

    Officers and soldiers can toss their Throwbots into dangerous situations to provide critical situational awareness without sending a human being into harm's way. And at roughly $13,000 per Throwbot, it was one of the more inexpensive technologies we came across at Sea-Air-Space.

Battlefield Life Support

    说到救命的技术，美国海军的供氧和外部吸氧监控平台（MOVES）可以说是一个在战斗的最前线为士兵提供生命支持的系统。它可以被固定在担架上，如果有海军陆战队员负了重伤，它可以在转移的过程中和入院之前提供抢救所必需的氧气。该系统上的多个传感器会持续监控伤员的重要生命体征，这些传感器是由两块独立的电池供电的，所以不必担心突然断电的问题。一旦伤员到达医院后，MOVES系统就可以从担架上拆卸下来，直接整合到医院环境中，因此伤员不必从一个生命支持系统转移到另一个生命支持系统。

Battlefield Life Support

    Speaking of life-saving technologies, the U.S. Marines' Monitoring Oxygen Ventilation and External Suction (MOVES) platform is something like life support for warfighters right at the point of battle. It can be fixed to a stretcher when a wounded Marine reaches triage and can provide the necessary oxygen for survival throughout transit and on into the hospital. The various onboard sensors that continuously monitor the patient's vitals are powered by two independent batteries so they can be hot-swapped without having to cut power to the unit even for a moment. Once the Marine reaches the hospital, MOVES can be taken off the stretcher and integrated right into the hospital environment so the wounded party never has to be transitioned from one life-support platform to another.

Wave Glider SV3

    流动机器人公司（Liquid Robotics）最擅长研制的是用海浪提供能源的机器人平台。也就是说，这种机器人能够在海浪中获得电力，推动自己在海上行进。该公司推出的海浪滑板2号机器人（Wave Glider Surface Vehicle 2）去年创下了一项无人驾驶船只的世界纪录，它从美国旧金山出发，只花了一年多的时间就完成了一次9000多海里的跨太平洋的航行，中间所耗费的能源全靠它从海浪中自己自足。

    流动机器人公司之所以登上此次海空天博览会，不仅仅是由于它的机器人创下的航程纪录。它最新推出的SV3平台比去年横跨太平洋的SV2平台长了2英尺，可以多装载4倍的传感器、计算资源、电池等硬件。该公司的SHARC产品是专门为美国海军定制的版本。由于海洋可以为它提供无尽的能源，而且它自己不会留下任何雷达或声纳足迹，因此美国海军可以把几个SHARC扔到大洋中央，然后就可以经年累月地不管它们了。如果有船只或潜艇进入它的传感器感知范围，它就会通过卫星通知附近舰艇。

Wave Glider SV3

    Liquid Robotics' expertise is wave-powered robotic platforms -- that is, seafaring robots that propel themselves across the ocean by converting energy harvested from the ocean's own waves into propulsion. Their self-sufficient Wave Glider Surface Vehicle 2 set a world record for an ocean crossing by an autonomous watercraft last year when it arrived in Brisbane, Australia, after completing a trans-Pacific crossing that began 9,000 nautical miles away in San Francisco and took just over a year.

    But Liquid Robotics isn't in it for the distance records. Its new SV3 platform is about two feet longer than the SV2 that crossed the Pacific and is now wired up to accommodate something like four times more hardware like sensor payloads, computing resources, or batteries for energy storage. The company's SHARC (that's Sensor Hosting Autonomous Remote Craft) is a version of the aforementioned technology trimmed down and customized for the U.S. Navy. With a limitless power source provided by the ocean itself and no radar or acoustic signature to give it away, the Navy can basically drop its SHARCs in the middle of the ocean and leave them out there for months at a time. If a boat or submarine comes within range of its sensors it can tip off nearby vessels via satellite link.

Aeroscraft

    在过去十年里，五角大楼重拾对大型飞艇的兴趣，因为它似乎是长时间空中侦察的理想平台，同时也可以为固定翼飞机去不了的地方运送物资（比如没有跑道的地方）。不过随着伊战和阿富汗战争的结束，五角大楼再次失去了对飞艇的兴趣，在过去几年里，美国海陆空三军各自砍掉了一个大型飞艇项目。

    可能有些人仍然认为飞艇的第二个黄金时代会到来，好在我们还有Aeroscraft。这款飞艇是由加利弗尼亚洲的Worldwide Aeros Corp公司生产的，它可以提起66吨的重物并把它部署到其它某处，不受飞机跑道的限制。希望有一天这家公司会结束原型测试，让我们看到除了模型以外的东西。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

Aeroscraft

    Over the past decade, the Pentagon found a renewed passion for large-scale, lighter-than-air airships, which seem like ideal platforms for long-duration surveillance and monitoring as well as for hauling cargo to places inhospitable to large fixed-wing aircraft (read: places with no runways). But with the wars in Iraq and now Afghanistan winding down, the Pentagon has lost interest in its massive airships, and the Navy, Air Force, and Army have each killed a massive air ship program over the last couple of years, essentially mothballing hundreds of millions in research and development.

    For those who still believe that a second golden age of airships is realistic even without Pentagon support, there's Aeroscraft. Designed by California-based Worldwide Aeros Corp., the lighter-than-air Aeroscraft could one day lift 66 tons vertically into the air and deposit it somewhere else, no runway necessary. One day, that is, when the company moves beyond testing with a scaled down prototype and gives us something to look at other than a model.