韓國計劃組建無人機集群

South Korea will create an armed drone unit to swarm into North Korea in the event of a conflict as Seoul seeks to bolster its military capabilities against its nuclear-armed neighbour.

韓國將組建一支武裝無人機部隊，一旦朝鮮半島出現(xiàn)沖突，無人機群將蜂擁飛向朝鮮。目前首爾方面正尋求增強軍事能力，以應對其擁有核武器的鄰國。

Operated by the army, the unit will primarily engage in reconnaissance missions to survey developments at the North’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile sites, but could be used to launch swarm attacks, according to people familiar with the matter.

據(jù)知情人士稱，該小隊由韓國陸軍指揮，主要執(zhí)行對朝鮮核武器和彈道導彈試驗場活動的偵察任務，但也可能用于發(fā)動無人機集群攻擊。

The establishment of the army unit follows calls from western officials and analysts for South Korea to improve its advanced surveillance technology.

此前，西方官員和分析人士曾呼吁韓國改進其先進的監(jiān)控技術(shù)。

It also comes amid growing concerns that the rapid advancement of Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes has in effect changed the balance of power in the region.

該無人機小隊的成立，也正值外界日益擔憂朝鮮核武和彈道導彈計劃的迅速進展實際上已改變朝鮮半島均勢之際。

On Tuesday, William Perry, a US defence secretary in the Clinton administration, told a forum it would be “preferable” for South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear force — an option that the US has been historically reluctant to support.

周二，曾在克林頓(Clinton)政府擔任美國國防部長的威廉•佩里(William Perry)在一場座談會上表示，韓國和日本“最好”發(fā)展自己的核力量——這是一個美國一向不愿支持的選項。

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has rejected calls to develop nuclear weapons. But he is facing growing pressure from members of the conservative establishment, who view a balance of nuclear power between the two Koreas as the only way to maintain peace.

韓國總統(tǒng)文在寅(Moon Jae-in)拒絕了發(fā)展核武器的呼吁。但他面臨的來自保守建制派成員的壓力越來越大，后者把韓朝核力量平衡視為維持和平的唯一辦法。

Instead, Seoul is pursuing the establishment of the drone unit that is likely to be modelled on the one created by Israel in 2010.

相反，首爾方面試圖成立無人機部隊，可能參照2010年以色列建立的無人機部隊。

“South Korea’s army plans to create a drone-bot combat unit in 2018 and set up a professional combat team to operate it,” the defence ministry confirmed.

韓國國防部證實：“韓國陸軍計劃在2018年成立一支無人機機器人戰(zhàn)斗部隊，并組建專業(yè)的作戰(zhàn)團隊來指揮。”

Drones have featured in conflicts worldwide for more than a decade. But developments in artificial intelligence mean drones will increasingly be able to communicate movements with each other, in effect forming swarms.

無人機的參與已成為過去十多年全球各地沖突的特征之一。但人工智能的發(fā)展意味著無人機將日益能夠彼此就行動進行溝通，實際上組成無人機集群。

“South Korea has reached a level of consensus on swarm technology, but adoption will take a while,” said a person familiar with the military developments. “The army is facing [political] pressure to reduce its forces, so it has to come up with new ideas.”

“韓國已經(jīng)就無人機集群技術(shù)達成了共識，但需要一段時間才能采用該技術(shù)。”一名了解韓國軍事動向的知情人士表示，“陸軍正面臨裁軍的(政治)壓力，因此它不得不想些新主意。”

The technology is being pursued in China, where some believe the country should adopt an “asymmetric” drone strategy rather than try to close the gap in traditional capabilities with the US.

中國正在發(fā)展這項技術(shù)，一些人認為中國應該采取“非對稱的”無人機戰(zhàn)略，而不是試圖縮小其在傳統(tǒng)軍事能力上與美國的差距。

Experts say such technology could have lethal and non-lethal capabilities. In the case of the latter, a swarm of thousands of cheap but connected drones could prevent area access by clustering around and blocking ships or aircraft.

專家稱，此類技術(shù)可能具備致命性和非致命性的軍事能力。在非致命性的軍事能力方面，由數(shù)千架價格低廉但相互連通的無人機組成的集群，可以通過包圍和封鎖船只或飛機來阻止其進入相關(guān)區(qū)域。

“Some of us in the field proposed the Republic of Korea military should take advantage of this superiority against North Korea,” said Bong Young-shik, an expert on North Korean military developments at Yonsei University.

“我們在該領(lǐng)域的一些專家建議韓國軍方應該利用這種優(yōu)勢來對付朝鮮，”延世大學(Yonsei University)朝鮮軍事發(fā)展方面的專家奉英植(Bong Young-shik)表示。

“Although it is unlikely, if the South Korean military wants, these drones can carry bombs, as the nation is no longer bound by payload limits,” he added, referring to a decision by the Trump administration this year to lift limits on South Korean munitions.

他補充稱，“盡管不太可能，但如果韓國軍方希望的話，這些無人機可以攜帶炸彈，因為韓國已經(jīng)不再受有效載荷限制。”他指的是指今年特朗普政府決定解除對韓軍售中的這種限制。

Yesterday, Seoul said it would increase its military budget by 7 per cent next year — its biggest jump since 2009 — as a result of the “grim security reality”.

昨天，首爾方面表示，由于“嚴峻的安全形勢”，明年將把軍事預算提高7%——這是自2009年以來的最大增幅。