【9月8日】看軍聞學英語

■泰戈爾

原文：

Sen. Kevin Cramer said lawmakers "need more information for sure" about projected price increases for the air refueler, which budget documents show could climb by $100 million per tail.

The Air Force now expects an updated vision system for the troubled KC-46 Pegasus air refueler to be ready in "early 2028" amid a broader deal with manufacturer Boeing to boost the tanker’s readiness.

According to an Air Force press release published Tuesday, the service and Boeing are pursuing a three-pronged plan to revamp the Pegasus fleet. One effort is focused on "repurposing" five earlier aircraft into "dedicated test assets," which in turn will free up "high-value spare parts" for operational jets. Secondly, the service will implement a "temporary, performance-based logistics agreement" for the tanker’s "aerial-refueling subsystem and other key components," which "represent the largest detractors of KC-46 availability."

Collectively, the Air Force said these projects and new investments proposed in the service’s fiscal 2027 budget request should boost "near-term aircraft availability" by six percent that would then rise to 20 percent come 2030.

中譯：

參議員克拉默表示，對於這款空中加油機預計上漲的價格，國會議員「肯定需要更多資訊」。根據預算文件，每架飛機的成本可能增加1億美元。

鑑於與製造商波音公司達成旨在提升加油機妥善率的廣泛協議，美國空軍目前預計為問題重重的KC-46「飛馬座」（Pegasus）加油機更換的升級版視覺系統，將於2028年初就緒。

根據空軍週二發布的新聞稿，軍方與波音正執行一項「三管齊下」的計畫來改造KC-46機隊。第一項工作重點是將5架早期型號的飛機「重新調整用途」，轉為「專用測試資產」，進而為現役飛機騰出「高價值備件」。第二項，空軍將針對加油機的「空中加油子系統及其他關鍵組件」實施「臨時性效益後勤協議」，這些組件是導致KC-46可用性低下的主因。

空軍表示，透過這些計畫與在2027財年預算請求中擬議的新投資，應能使「近期飛機可用性」提高6%，並在2030年前提升至20%。

—關鍵軍語—

※air refueler：空中加油機

※performance-based logistics：效益後勤