The Secret History of Boeing’s Killer Drone
By David Axe
June 6, 2011
Translation by Autumnson Blog
When the pilotless, wing-shaped warplane lifted off a runway at California’s Edwards Air Force Base for the first time on the morning of April 27, it was like the resurrection of the dead. The Boeing Phantom Ray — one of the most advanced drones ever built — came close to never flying at all.
當沒有領航員、翼狀戰機4月27日早上第一次在加州愛德華茲空軍基地的跑道升空，它像是死人的復活。波音幻影射線 - 有史以來建造的一種最先進無人駕駛飛機 - 曾近至完全永不飛行。
In late 2007, according to company insiders, U.S. military officials ordered Boeing to destroy an earlier version of the Phantom Ray, the X-45C. Exactly why the feds wanted the robotic aircraft dismantled has never been fully explained.
在2007年年底，根據公司內部人士透露，美國軍方官員下令波音摧毀一較早期版本的幻影射線X-45C。正是為什麼聯邦調查局想要該架機器人飛機被拆除而從未充分解釋過。
Boeing had just lost out to rival aerospace firm Northrop Grumman in a contest to develop a so-called “Unmanned Combat Air System” for the Navy, capable of taking off from, and landing on, aircraft carriers. That contest, known by its acronym N-UCAS — “N” for “Navy” — was actually the third time in five years Boeing had gone toe-to-toe with Northrop over a government contract to build killer drones, and the second time it had lost.
波音公司剛輸給對手航空企業諾思羅普格魯曼公司，在一項為海軍開發所謂的“無人作戰空中系統”的比賽中，能夠起飛並降落在航空母艦上。那場比賽，如其縮寫的N-UCAS - “N”是“海軍” - 實際上是五年來的第三次，波音與諾斯羅普在政府合約去建造殺手無人駕駛飛機上鬥馬鼻，和第二次它輸掉了。
With each round of competition, Boeing had made enemies.
隨著每一回合的競爭，波音公司已製造了敵人。
Even so, the kill order came as a shock to the Chicago-based company. Rare if not unprecedented in the world of military contracting, the command represented the climax of a nearly decade-long drama pitting a rotating field of corporations and government agencies against each other and, bizarrely, even against themselves — all in an effort to develop a controversial, but potentially revolutionary, pilotless jet fighter.
即便如此，殺令對該芝加哥公司為一震驚。世界的軍事承包史上是罕有如果不是前所未有，該命令代表近十年之久的戲劇高潮，壓陷一公司和政府機構相互對抗的旋轉磁場，和奇怪的是，即使針對他們自己 - 全都在努力發展一爭議性、但潛在地革命性的無人駕駛噴氣式戰鬥機。
The UCAS development story has all the trappings of a paperback technothriller: secret technology, a brilliant military scientist, scheming businessmen, and the unseen-but-decisive hand of the military’s top brass.
And the story’s not over. The X-45C barely survived the government’s alleged assassination attempt. And after three years of clandestine development, a modified version of the flying-wing ‘bot leaped into the air that day in late April, an event depicted in the video above. The Boeing drone’s first flight opened a new chapter in the ongoing struggle to build a combat-ready, jet-powered robot warplane — and to convince the military to give the new unmanned aircraft a place on the front lines of aerial warfare.
What follows is the Phantom Ray’s secret history, reconstructed from news reports, interviews with government and corporate officials, leaked documents, and a treasure trove of information from Boeing insiders who spoke to Danger Room on condition of anonymity. Officials at Northrop largely declined to answer in-depth questions about their unmanned aircraft’s development.
This isn’t a complete retelling of the competition to build the combat drone. By virtue of its subject and sources, this portrays largely Boeing’s point of view over those of its rivals and customers. And Boeing played just one role, however prominent, in the continuing drama.
With traditional manned fighters growing more expensive — and consequently rarer — by the day, unmanned warplanes are rising to take their place. Boeing isn’t alone in testing pilotless jet fighters. Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, General Atomics, European firm EADS, British BAE Systems and Swedish plane-maker Saab are also working on killer drones. Each company’s UCAS surely has its own secret history.
The future of aerial warfare is more robotic than ever. Boeing’s decade-long struggle to launch the Phantom Ray, and the drone’s ultimate takeoff, is one reason why.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/06/killer-drone-secret-history/
波音幻影射線揭開面紗：是我們常見的三角形UFO？
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