We think of drones as a modern invention, but they've been part of warfare for longer than you think. Here's a look at the evolution of drones and the way they've changed how war works.

我們都把無人機當做是現(xiàn)代的新發(fā)明，但它們參戰(zhàn)的歷史可是遠比你想象得要長。以下展現(xiàn)的就是無人機的演進發(fā)展歷史，以及它們是如何改變戰(zhàn)爭方式的。





1917: Sperry Aerial Torpedo

1917：斯皮里“空中魚雷”式

Toward the end of World War I, powered flight was in its infancy, the Wright brothers having flown their primitive biplane across the dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, a little over a decade earlier. But it was a time of stunning innovation. In 1917, Peter Cooper and Elmer A. Sperry invented the first automatic gyroscopic stabilizer, which straightens and levels out aircraft during flight, and unmanned flight was born. The new technology was used to convert a U.S. Navy Curtiss N-9 trainer aircraft into the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), controlled by radio. For 50 miles in test flights, the Sperry Aerial Torpedo flew with a 300-pound bomb, but it was never used in combat.

動力飛行器直到一戰(zhàn)末期時仍然處于其嬰兒期：萊特兄弟駕著他們那原始的雙翼機飛過北卡羅來納州基蒂霍克的沙丘也不過是十年之前的事兒。但這同樣是一個充斥著奇妙發(fā)明的時代。1917年，彼得.庫伯和艾爾姆.A.斯皮里發(fā)明了第一臺自動陀螺穩(wěn)定儀，該裝置可以幫助飛機在飛行時保持平直向前，無人飛行從此誕生了。美國海軍采用了這一新技術，將他們的一架柯蒂斯N-9式教練機改裝成了世界上第一架無人飛行載具（UAV）——當時是用無線電波來控制的。斯皮里“空中魚雷”式在飛行測試中掛載一枚300磅重的炸彈飛行了50英里，但它卻從來沒有參加過戰(zhàn)斗。




1917: Kettering Aerial Torpedo

1917：凱特林“空中魚雷”式

The wooden Kettering Aerial Torpedo, nicknamed the "Kettering Bug," cost $400 in 1917 and could haul 300 pounds. General Motors' Charles F. Kettering, who designed the Bug, crafted it to launch from a trolley with rolling wheels and gave it detachable wings. Toward the end of World War I, the U.S. military placed orders for large shipments of Kettering Bugs, but the war ended before they were used.

凱特林“空中魚雷”式也被昵稱為“凱特林小飛蟲”，這種木制飛機在1917年的造價為400美元，載重為300磅。這種“小蟲”由通用公司的查爾斯.F.凱特林設計，飛機配有可拆卸機翼，并且可以從自帶滾輪的小車上起飛。到一戰(zhàn)末期時，美國軍方為“凱特林小飛蟲”下了大批訂單，但還未來得及投入使用，戰(zhàn)爭就已經(jīng)結束了。




1935: DH.82B Queen Bee

1935：DH.82B“蜂后”式

Until 1935, UAVs could not return to their original launching point, so they couldn't be reused. With the invention of the Queen Bee, drones could return to their senders, making them significantly more practical. Peaking at 17,000 feet and traveling a 100 mph maximum, Queen Bees were used in the British Royal Navy and Air Force until 1947.

直到1935年以前為止，當時的無人機在起飛后都無法回到原點，所以沒法對其加以再利用。隨著“蜂后”式的問世，無人機得以返回其起飛點，這就在很大程度上使得它們變得更為實用了?！胺浜蟆笔降娘w行高度達17,000英尺，最大速度為100英里/小時，它在英國皇家海軍和皇家空軍中一直服役到了1947年。





1944: V-1 (Revenge Weapon-1)

1944：V-1（復仇武器1號）

Adolf Hitler wanted a flying bomb to use against nonmilitary targets, so in 1944 a German engineer, Fieseler Flugzeuhau, designed this 470 mph flying drone. A predecessor to today's cruise missiles, the V-1, which became known as the Vergeltungswaffe, or Revenge Weapon-1, was intended to be used to bomb the British Isles. The V-1 could carry substantially more weight than its predecessors and frequently towed warheads up to 2,000 pounds. Before releasing its bombs, which killed more than 900 civilians in Britain, the V-1 would travel a preprogrammed 150 miles after its launch off a catapult ramp.

阿道夫.ＸＴＬ想要用一種會飛行的炸彈來對付非軍事目標，于是在1944年時，一個名叫弗萊舍.弗魯岑豪的德國工程師設計了這種飛行速度為470英里/小時的無人機。V-1是現(xiàn)代巡航導彈的先驅(qū)，得名于“Vergeltungswaffe”——即“復仇武器”1號，當時準備用來轟炸英倫諸島。V-1的載重量大大超越了它的前輩，而且攜帶的彈頭往往都達到了2000磅。V-1從發(fā)射斜坡上起飛之后會先按照預定軌道飛行150英里，然后再釋放戰(zhàn)斗部，有900名以上的英國平民死于V-1之手。

（譯者注：此處存疑，V1實際上造成的傷亡超過兩萬，而圖中的這架飛行器也與我們所熟知的V1大不一樣，希望熟悉這方面歷史的朋友幫忙解惑）




1955: Ryan Firebee

1995：瑞安“火蜂”式

Manufactured by Ryan Aeronautical Company, the first Firebee prototype, the XQ-2, was created in 1951 and first took flight four years later. Used primarily by the U.S. Air Force, the Firebee was one of the first jet-propelled drones. The unmanned craft were used for intelligence-gathering missions and radio-communications monitoring.

瑞安飛機公司于1951年制造了第一架“火蜂”原型機XQ-2，并在四年后實現(xiàn)了首飛?；鸱渥鳛槭澜缟系谝环N噴氣動力無人機，被美國空軍率先裝備。這種無人機被用來執(zhí)行情報收集和監(jiān)聽無線信號的任務。




1963: Lockheed M-21 and D-21

1963：洛克希德M-21與D-21

The M-21, a variant of the A-12, the earliest in the Blackbird family, was a craft used to launch the Lockheed D-21, a higher-flying drone. The M-21 and D-21 were created as part of a project from 1963 until 1968 and kept secret for more than 40 years. The M-21 had an improved design that included a second cockpit for a launch control operator, and together the two designs were used in four missions between 1969 and 1971 to spy on the Lop Nur nuclear test site. The 21s were canceled in 1966 after a collision during a launch between a D-21 drone and the M-21 mother ship.

M-21是A-12的型號之一，也是黑鳥家族中問世最早的一款型號，這型飛機被用來發(fā)射洛克希德的一款高空無人機——D-21。M-21和D-21誕生于1963-1968年之間那場秘密項目的一個子工程中，該項目在后來的40多年中始終保持機密狀態(tài)。M-21的設計比起之前來得到了不少改進，其中包括為發(fā)射控制員新增加的一個副駕駛艙。在1969-1971年之間，這兩款型號的飛機在羅布泊核試驗場上空一起執(zhí)行了4次間諜任務。1966年，一架D-21無人機在發(fā)射時與M-21母機相撞，此后這個“21家族”就退出了歷史舞臺。




1986: The Pioneer RQ-2A

1986：“先鋒”RQ-2A

First launched in December 1986, the Pioneer UAV system -- which gives the tactical commander images of a specific target or battleground image in real time -- performs a wide variety of "reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition" tasks, according to the U.S. Navy. It was first used in the late 1980s when military operations in Grenada, Lebanon, and Libya required a system of unmanned targeting at a low cost. The Pioneer, still in use today, is launched by a rocket-assisted takeoff, weighs 416 pounds, and travels at over 109 miles per hour. It can float, and can be recovered from sea landings.

“先鋒”無人機系統(tǒng)于1986年12月實現(xiàn)首飛，它能夠為戰(zhàn)地指揮官們提供特定目標或戰(zhàn)場的實時圖像——按照美國海軍的說法，它能夠執(zhí)行包括“偵察、監(jiān)視和目標獲取”在內(nèi)的一系列任務?！跋蠕h”于1980年代末期首次投入使用，它在格林納達、黎巴嫩和利比亞的軍事行動中以較低的損失滿足了軍方以無人機獲取目標的要求?！跋蠕h”至今仍在服役，它由一個火箭助推器發(fā)射升空，負重為416磅，每小時飛行速度超過109英里。它可以在空中懸停，而且即使是降落在海上之后也可以回收。




1994: MQ Predator drone

1994：MQ“捕食者”無人機

General Atomics manufactured the MQ Predator drone in 1994. This updated version allows the Predator to transition from a strictly reconnaissance role to a critical ability to transport and launch weapons at targets. More than 125 Predators have been delivered to the U.S. Air Force and six are in use by the Italian Air Force. Predator UAVs have been operational in Bosnia since 1995 to aid NATO, U.N., and U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but are gradually being phased out.

1994年，通用公司開始生產(chǎn)MQ“捕食者”無人機?！安妒痴摺钡淖钚滦吞栆呀?jīng)從一種純粹的偵察用機變成了可以攜帶武器并攻擊目標的飛機，而這種能力是非常重要的。迄今為止已經(jīng)有125架以上的“捕食者”移交給了美國空軍，還有6架則在意大利空軍中服役。從1995年開始，“捕食者”無人機就被北約和聯(lián)合國用于執(zhí)行在波斯尼亞的任務，后來也參加了美國在伊拉克和阿富汗的軍事行動，不過目前正在逐漸退出現(xiàn)役。




2004: RQ-7B Shadow 200

2004：RQ-7B“暗影”200

The smallest of a family of drones, the RQ-7B Shadow is used today by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan. The system can locate and identify targets up to 125 km away from the tactical operations center, which allows brigade commanders to see, interoperate, and act swiftly. Widely used in the Middle East, by May 2010, these drones had clocked some 500,000 hours in flight.

RQ-7B“暗影”是無人機大家族中最袖珍的型號，目前在駐伊拉克和阿富汗的美國陸軍和海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊中服役。該系統(tǒng)可以對距離戰(zhàn)術行動中心125千米之外的目標進行定位和識別，從而使得旅一級的指揮官們能夠更為迅速地進行觀察、指揮和行動。這款無人機在中東的用途很廣泛，截至2010年5月，其飛行總時數(shù)已達500,000小時。




2005: Fire Scout Firing Rocket

2005：“火力偵察兵”無人直升機正在發(fā)射火箭

The Fire Scout, an unmanned helicopter known for its ability to autonomously take off and land from any aviation-capable warship and at unprepared landing zones, was created by the U.S. military in the early 2000s. Here, the Fire Scout test fires 2.75-inch unguided rockets during weapons testing at Arizona's Yuma Proving Grounds.

“火力偵察兵”這款無人直升機以其能夠在任何適宜的軍艦上和不適宜的地表上自動起降的能力而著稱，它是于2000年初由美軍開發(fā)出來的。在此圖中，這架“火力偵察兵”正在試射2.75英寸非制導火箭彈，攝于亞利桑那州猶馬試驗場的一次武器試驗期間。

 


2009: RQ-170 Sentinel

2009：RQ-170 “哨兵”

Designed and manufactured by Skunk Works, a Lockheed Martin Corporation subsidiary, the RQ-170 Sentinel is used by the U.S. Air Force. Known as the "Beast of Kandahar" and frequently flying at an altitude of 50,000ft, the RQ-170 was first deployed for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. In May 2011, the RQ-170 was deployed during the raid on the Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden was located and killed. In December, another RQ-170 was captured by Iran and shown on Iranian television. This image displays the basic characteristics of the RQ-170: the winged design and 15,240 meter operating altitude.

RQ-170“哨兵”由洛克希德-馬丁的子公司“臭鼬工廠”設計制造，并裝備于美國空軍。RQ-170首次參戰(zhàn)是在阿富汗的“持久自由”行動之中，它后來被稱為“坎大哈野獸”，飛行高度往往在50000英尺左右。2011年5月，RQ-170參加了對巴基斯坦阿伯塔巴德的突襲，藏身于此的奧薩馬.本.拉登在突襲中被擊斃。當年12月，另一架RQ-170被伊朗俘獲并且被伊朗電視臺公之于眾。此圖展示了RQ-170的基本特征：飛行翼構造以及15240米的飛行高度。


 

2010: Global Hawk

2010：“全球鷹”

The Global Hawk, a high-flying, long-endurance UAV used by the U.S. Air Force, has an integrated sensor that provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. First developed in 2001, the Global Hawk has made significant benchmarks in aviation history. Known as the first UAV to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean, the Global Hawk was authorized to fly in U.S. airspace for the first time in July 2006. Shown here, a full-scale model of the Global Hawk is displayed during a presentation in Tokyo.
       
“全球鷹”是美國空軍裝備的一種高空遠程無人機，機上裝配有傳感器用以進行情報采集、監(jiān)視和偵察任務。“全球鷹”于2001年開始研制，在航空史上具有里程碑式的重大意義。2006年7月，“全球鷹”獲得了在美國領空飛行的許可，并從此成為世界上第一種能夠不經(jīng)停飛越太平洋的無人機。此圖中是“全球鷹”的一架全尺寸模型，攝于在東京舉辦的一次航展上。