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来源于《社论》版块
Aircraft-carriers
航空母舰
Sink or swim
自主浮沉
When it comes to aircraft-carriers, bigger isn’t better
航空母舰并不是越大越好
“No piece of hardware better exemplifies America’s military might than an aircraft-carrier,” declare the memoirs of Ashton Carter, America’s defence secretary in 2015-17. Nor does any other piece of hardware so plainly exemplify what is wrong with America’s military thinking. Aircraft-carriers are the largest and most expensive machines in the history of warfare. A new American Ford-class ship costs $13bn—more than the annual defence budget of Poland or Pakistan. However, as precision missiles become faster, more accurate and more numerous, these beasts look increasingly like giant floating targets.
“没有什么硬件比航空母舰更能体现美国的军事实力了，”美国国防部长阿什顿·卡特在2015-17年回忆录中写道。其他任何一件硬件也不能如此清楚地说明美国军事思维的问题。航空母舰是战争史上最大最昂贵的机器。一艘新的美国福特级军舰耗资130亿美元，超过了波兰和巴基斯坦的年度国防预算。然而，随着精确导弹变得更快、更精确、数量更多，这些庞然大物越来越像巨大的浮动目标。
Although America has by far the world’s largest fleet of carriers— 11 of the full-sized sort, plus half a dozen smaller ones— their appeal is global, and growing. China’s first domestically built carrier will be commissioned within months. Britain’s second modern carrier began its sea trials in September. Even pacifist Japan is converting two destroyers to carry jets, for the first time since the second world war.
尽管美国拥有迄今为止世界上最大的航母舰队——11艘全尺寸航母，外加6艘小型航母——但航空母舰的吸引力是全球性的，而且还在不断增长。中国首艘国产航母将在几个月内服役。英国的第二艘现代航空母舰9月份开始试航。就连奉行和平主义的日本，也将进行二战后首次将两艘驱逐舰改为喷气式飞机的改造。
Aircraft-carriers have proved their worth in recent years. Many armed forces watched admiringly as American naval jets did the lion’s share of bombing in the early months of war in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 (and again in 2014). Land bases were often unavailable because of awkward geography or recalcitrant allies.
近年来，航空母舰已经证明了其价值。在2001年的阿富汗战争和2003年的伊拉克战争(以及2014年的伊拉克战争)的头几个月里，美国海军战机在轰炸中发挥了最大的作用，许多武装部队羡慕地看着这一幕。由于地理位置不佳或盟友顽固不化，地面基地常常无法使用。
But the seas off enemy shores look ever less safe. Russia and China are both developing long-range missiles that are manoeuvrable and accurate enough to hit large ships at sea. Several countries are building cheaper anti-ship cruise missiles, which fly shorter distances but can be launched from planes. Anti-ship missiles are growing in range, precision and number.
但是，在敌人海岸外的海域，似乎越来越不安全了。俄罗斯和中国都在研发远程导弹，这种导弹的机动性和精确性足以打击海上的大型船只。一些国家正在制造成本更低的反舰巡航导弹，这种导弹飞行距离较短，但可以从飞机上发射。反舰导弹的射程、精度和数量都在增长。
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