美国研发无人潜艇以威慑中国 US develops sub drones to deter China

As it watches China build up its presence in the South China Sea, one reclaimed island at a time, the US military is betting on a new technology to help retain its edge — submarine drones.

目睹中国在南中国海(South China Sea)地区加强存在、每次声索一个岛的主权，美军正在押注于一项新技术来帮助其保持优势——无人潜艇。

During the past six months, the Pentagon has started to talk publicly about a once-secret programme to develop unmanned undersea vehicles, the term given the drone subs that are becoming part of its plan to deter China from trying to dominate the region.

在过去6个月内，五角大楼(The Pentagon)开始公开谈论曾经的机密项目——开发无人潜航器(UUV)，即无人潜艇。无人潜艇正成为美军阻止中国主导南中国海地区的计划的一部分。

Ashton Carter, US defence secretary, made special mention of drone subs in a speech about military strategy in Asia and hinted at their potential use in the South China Sea, which has large areas of shallower water.

美国国防部长阿什顿•卡特(Ashton Carter)在一次关于亚洲军事战略的演讲中特别提到了无人潜艇，暗示它们可能用于拥有大片浅水区域的南中国海。

The Pentagon’s investment in subs “includes new undersea drones in multiple sizes and diverse payloads that can, importantly, operate in shallow water, where manned submarines cannot”, said Mr Carter, who visited a US warship in the South China Sea on Friday.

五角大楼在潜艇方面的投资“包括多种大小、多种载荷的新型无人潜艇，重要的是，它们可以在浅水作业，这是载人潜艇无法做到的，”卡特表示。他上周五视察了美军在南中国海上巡航的斯坦尼斯号(USS Stennis)航母。

By lifting the veil on new technologies such as drone subs, some of which it hopes will be operational by the end of the decade, the Pentagon is trying to deter potential rivals such as China and Russia by pointing to its continuing military superiority. The drones are part of a push by the US military into robotics as it tries to keep one step ahead.

借着揭开无人潜艇等新技术的面纱，五角大楼正试图通过指出其继续保持的军事优势，来威慑中国和俄罗斯等潜在竞争对手。无人潜艇正是美军力图在技术上领先一步、推动机器人技术的努力的一部分。五角大楼希望部分无人潜艇可以在本十年末投入使用。

“The idea is that if we were ever to get into a bust-up in the South China Sea, the Chinese would not know for sure what sort of capabilities the US might have,” says Shawn Brimley, a former White House and Pentagon official now at the Center for a New American Security. “This might have some deterrent impact on the potential for provocative behaviour.”

“我们的想法是，如果我们一旦在南中国海上陷入争端，中方将不会确切知道美国可能拥有何种能力，”曾在白宫(White House)和五角大楼担任官员、现于新美国安全中心(Center for a New American Security)供职的肖恩•布里姆利(Shawn Brimley)称，“这可能会对未来可能的挑衅行为起到一些威慑作用。”

Mr Carter’s trip to the USS Stennis on Friday was part of a visit to the Philippines aimed at expanding military co-operation between the two countries that is partly aimed at checking China’s growing influence. The Philippines, which will now hosts US fighter jets, is one of the countries that has contested claims with China for some of the land features and islands in the South China Sea.

卡特上周五视察斯坦尼斯号是其菲律宾之行的一部分，他访问菲律宾旨在扩大两国之间的军事合作，部分目的在于遏制中国日益扩大的影响力。菲律宾如今将成为美国战斗机驻地，是与中国在南中国海部分地物和岛屿存在主权争议的国家之一。

“Countries across the Asia-Pacific are voicing concern with China’s land reclamation, which stands out in size and scope, as well as its militarisation in the South China Sea,” Mr Carter said in Manila on Thursday.

“亚太各国对中国填海造岛及其在南中国海上的军事化举动表示关切，其填海造岛的规模和范围引人注目，”卡特上周四在马尼拉表示。

As military competition intensifies in the western Pacific between the US and China, submarines have become one of the key areas. China’s heavy investment in missiles has put at risk US land-based forces in the region and some of its surface vessels. As a result the US is investing $8bn next year in submarines to “ensure ours is the most lethal and most advanced undersea and anti-submarine force in the world”, as Mr Carter put it last week.

随着美中在西太平洋上的军事竞争愈演愈烈，潜艇已经成为关键的技术领域之一。中国大力投资导弹，对美国在该地区的陆上军事力量和部分水面舰艇构成威胁。因此，卡特上周表示，美国明年将在潜艇方面投资80亿美元，以“确保我们的潜艇是世界上杀伤力最强、最先进的水下及反潜力量”。

Small, remotely operated subs have been used for some time in search and rescue and the Navy has been using Remus drones to search for mines. The new investments are in more autonomous vessels that might eventually carry weapons.

小型远程操控无人潜艇一段时间以来已被用于执行搜救任务，美国海军目前使用Remus无人潜艇来搜索水雷。新投资主要投向自动化更高的潜艇，最终可能将配备武器。

Last autumn, the US Navy unveiled a 10-foot, semi-autonomous sub drone known as the large displacement unmanned underwater vehicle, which is due to conduct its first test voyage in open seas in the summer. Officials hope that a squadron will be operating by 2020 if tests go well. As well as being able to operate for 30 days at a time, other distinguishing features of the submarine include being yellow.

去年秋天，美国海军公布了长达10英尺、半自动化的无人潜艇，被认为是大排量无人潜水器，定于今年夏天在公海进行首次试航。如果试航顺利，美国官员希望在2020年之前组建中队进行作业。除了可以单次作业30天以外，该潜艇的辨识特征还包括黄色外观。

The initial function of sub drones is expected to be surveillance, however naval planners believe there are endless potential uses. One model is what one official calls a Russian doll approach — with a mother sub or surface vessel that can then release a series of much smaller drones that could be mines or used to track subs or even launch their own missiles.

预计无人潜艇的初步功能是侦查，不过海军规划人士认为，无人潜艇有着无尽的潜在用途。其中一种模式被一名官员称为俄罗斯套娃模式——一艘母艇或者水面舰艇可以释放一系列小得多的无人潜艇，可以用作水雷或者用于追踪潜艇、甚至发射导弹。

Small sub drones would be much harder to monitor using sonar systems that are designed to find large objects in deep waters. It might be possible, for instance, for a vessel to enter an enemy harbour unobserved.

小型无人潜艇很难被声纳系统（用于在深水寻找大型目标）探测。例如，它或许可以在敌方毫无察觉的情况下进入其港口。

The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been testing a programme it calls upward falling payloads — robot pods that would hide on the ocean floor for years and release sub drones or small surveillance aircraft once activated. Another reconnaissance drone under development is shaped and swims like a small fish.

五角大楼国防高级研究计划署(Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)一直在试验其所称的“浮沉载荷计划”(Upward Falling Payloads)。该项目研发的是可以在海底隐藏多年的机器人舱，一旦激活，该机器人舱可以发射无人潜艇或小型侦查飞行器。另一项正在研发中的无人驾驶侦察器的造型像小鱼一样，可以像鱼一样游动。

“The use of undersea drones opens up a whole new area of capabilities,” said Mr Brimley.

“无人潜艇的使用打开了作战能力的全新领域，”布里姆利称。

The principal obstacles at the moment are providing enough power for the drones so that they can stay underwater for long periods and communicating with them.

目前的主要障碍是为无人潜艇提供足够动力以使它们可以长期待在水下，以及如何与无人潜艇进行沟通。

Officials are also debating how much autonomy they will want to give sub drones — an issue that will become more difficult if and when they start to carry weapons.

美国官员也在争论该给无人潜艇多大的自主权——一旦它们开始搭载武器，该问题将变得更加复杂。

As well as investing in undersea drones, the US is developing unmanned surface vessels. Last week the Pentagon unveiled what it calls the Sea Hunter, the prototype of a sub hunter. Robert Work, deputy secretary of defence, said the vessels could be used in the western Pacific in the next five years.

除了对无人潜艇进行投资外，美国还在研发无人驾驶水面舰艇。上周，五角大楼公布了反潜无人驾驶船“海猎号”(Sea Hunter)。美国国防部副部长罗伯特•沃克(Robert Work)称，该船或将在未来五年内用于西太平洋作业。