中國疑似開發出超音速軌道炮

A mysterious, bulging turret fitted on the bow of a Chinese navy ship has provoked speculation that Beijing is testing a hypersonic “rail gun”, in what would be the first time such a weapon has been trialled at sea.

中國一艘海軍艦艇的艦首出現的一座神祕、突出的炮塔引發外界猜測：中國正測試一款超音速“軌道炮”，這將是這種武器首次在海上測試。

Photos taken in a Chinese shipyard of what military experts say appears to be the new weapon come as Beijing pours money into high-tech arms aimed at changing the maritime balance of power with the US.

這些圖片是在中國一造船廠拍攝的，軍事專家表示，圖片中的裝置似乎是這種新武器。此際，中國正將資金投入高科技武器，旨在改變中美之間在海上的力量平衡。

Rail guns rely on electromagnetic pulses to fire projectiles further and faster than conventional guns, targeting enemy ships, aircraft and missiles from up to 100 nautical miles (185km) away. However, they require massive amounts of electric power to function, one of the reasons they have remained mainly on the drawing board.

軌道炮依賴電磁脈衝發射炮彈，比傳統火炮射程更遠，速度也更快，能夠打擊距離最遠達100海里（185公里）的敵軍艦船、飛機和導彈。然而，它們需要大量電力才能工作，這是它們目前還主要停留在構想中的原因之一。

Recent photographs published online show a hulking turret and three shipping containers fitted on the deck of the Haiyang Shan, an amphibious landing ship, berthed in Wuchang shipyard in Hubei province. Military experts said it appeared to be an experimental rail gun.

最近網上發佈的照片顯示，大型登陸艦“海洋山”號的甲板上安裝了一座巨大的炮塔和3個航運集裝箱，停靠在湖北省武昌造船廠。軍事專家表示，這似乎是一門實驗型軌道炮。

“Based on the pictures a rail gun is a plausible explanation, but it’s not conclusive,” said Chad Ohlandt, senior engineer at the Rand Corporation in Washington.

華盛頓蘭德公司(Rand Corporation)高級工程師查德?奧蘭特(Chad Ohlandt)表示：“根據照片，軌道炮是一種合理的解釋，但無法完全確定。”

The US has been developing a rail gun since 2005 but a plan to test one on a US navy Spearhead catamaran in 2016 was axed due to high costs.

自2005年以來，美國一直在研製軌道炮，但由於成本高，2016年在一艘美國海軍先鋒級(Spearhead)雙體船上測試軌道炮的計劃被取消。

A two-decade military build-up by Beijing has begun to focus on high-tech weapons to challenge US dominance in the air and sea. China is developing everything from artificial intelligence and aircraft carrier-killer missiles to drone swarms.

經過20年的軍事建設，中國已開始着重研究高科技武器，以挑戰美國在空中和海上的主導地位。中國正研製各種產品，從人工智能導彈和航母殺手導彈到無人機蜂羣。

Mr Ohlandt said the case for a rail gun in the photo was supported by the three shipping containers mounted on the deck, which may be a power source. However, he added that they did not appear big enough for such a weapon.

奧蘭特表示，甲板上安裝的3個航運集裝箱（可能是電力來源）支持瞭如下判斷：顯示在照片中的就是軌道炮。然而，他補充稱，如果是爲軌道炮配的，這幾個集裝箱似乎又不夠大。

“If those are generators and power storage systems on the deck, I’m not sure they are large enough to power a rail gun,” he said. “Rail guns typically require a large capacitor bank.”

“如果那幾個箱子是甲板上的發電機和電力存儲系統的話，我不確定它們的體積是否足夠爲軌道炮提供動力，”奧蘭特表示，“軌道炮一般需要巨大的電容組。”

Mr Ohlandt said the ship could have a capacitor bank in the below-deck cargo area. “It’s also possible that the above-deck stuff is just enough to fire one shot, then wait minutes or hours until they recharge for the next test,” he said.

奧蘭特表示，可能在這艘船甲板下方的貨艙區域有一個電容組。他表示：“也有可能甲板上方的那幾樣東西僅夠發射一發炮彈，然後需要等待幾分鐘或幾小時來充電，才能進行下一次測試。”

The gun, he added, could also be a large conventional naval gun with the above-deck equipment simply powering the oversized test turret.

他補充稱，這門大炮可能是一種大型海軍傳統大炮，甲板上方的設備只是爲巨大的測試炮塔提供動力。

The most recent US test of the technology occurred in November 2016 when the navy tested a 32-megajoule rail gun built by BAE Systems at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia. It fired a 16kg projectile at roughly six times the speed of sound — much faster than conventional arms. The Office of Naval Research has said the gun will eventually be able to fire 10 times a minute over 100 nautical miles.

美國最近一次測試該技術是在2016年11月，當時美國海軍在弗吉尼亞州達爾格倫的海軍水面作戰中心(Naval Surface Warfare Center)測試了由BAE系統公司(BAE Systems)製造的32兆焦軌道炮。當時它以大約6倍聲速的速度發射了一枚16公斤的炮彈，速度遠遠快於傳統武器。美國海軍研究辦公室(Office of Naval Research)表示，這門大炮最終將能夠每分鐘發射10發炮彈，射程達100海里。