【10月4日】看軍聞學英語
■泰戈爾
原文:
As Europe’s flagship next-generation fighter effort unravels, Airbus is betting heavily on uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft.
Airbus has pulled the wraps off the U760 Ravenstorm, a combat drone designed to operate alongside fighter aircraft in air-to-air combat, strike missions, and electronic warfare roles.
The new uncrewed aircraft is part of a revamped drone portfolio from the company, which also includes a Europeanized version of the stealthy XQ-58A Valkyrie, a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) platform, various tactical solutions, as well as the U145 uncrewed helicopter.
The timing of the announcement - and the unveiling of the Ravenstorm, in particular - is especially notable given the recent collapse of the Franco-German-led plan to build a crewed (NGF) aircraft, as part of the broader, pan-European (FCAS) initiative.
"Whatever uncrewed or ‘drone’ capability our customers need to strengthen sovereign air power, we deliver," said Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, in a company press release. "Our portfolio ranges from rapid-response drone interceptors and various tactical drones, autonomous cargo helicopters to uncrewed fighter aircraft UCCAs (uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft) operating co-operatively with crewed fighter jets."
中譯:
隨著歐洲旗艦級的下世代戰機計畫陷入停滯,空中巴士正將重注押在「無人協同作戰飛機」上。
空中巴士已正式揭開U760「雷暴」(Ravenstorm)的神祕面紗,這是一款旨在與有人駕駛戰機並肩作戰的戰鬥無人機,能執行空對空作戰、打擊任務,以及電子戰任務。
這款新型無人機是該公司全新改良之無人機產品組合的一部分,該組合還包含一款歐洲在地化版本的XQ-58A「女武神」(Valkyrie)匿蹤無人機、一款中空長航時無人機平臺、各式戰術解決方案、反無人機系統,以及U145無人直升機。
這項公告的發布時機—尤其是「雷暴」無人機的首次亮相—格外引人關注。因為在此之前,作為更廣泛的泛歐「未來空戰系統」(FCAS)倡議的一部分,由法德兩國主導建造有人駕駛「新世代戰機」(NGF)的計畫剛剛宣告破局。
空中巴士國防與航太公司執行長舍爾霍恩在公司新聞稿中表示:「無論我們的客戶需要何種無人或『無人機』戰力來強化國家主權空戰力量,我們都能提供。我們的產品組合涵蓋了快速反應的無人機攔截器、各式戰術無人機、自主貨運直升機,以及能與有人駕駛戰鬥機協同作戰的無人協同作戰飛機(UCCA)。」
-關鍵軍語-
※electronic warfare:電子戰
※stealthy:隱形的