[2023-02-13] 华尔街日报 - 美军在北美上空击落第四个高空物体
Action comes amid stepped-up defense of airspace, closer examination of raw radar data 在加强空域防御、仔细检查原始雷达数据的同时采取行动
WASHINGTON—The U.S. shot down a fourth flying object Sunday afternoon at 20,000 feet above Michigan’s Lake Huron, the Pentagon said, underscoring its stepped-up defense of North American airspace following the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon. 华盛顿——五角大楼表示,周日下午,美国在密歇根州休伦湖上空 20,000 英尺处击落了第四个飞行物,突显出在发现疑似中国间谍气球后,美国加强了对北美领空的防御。
An F-16 jet fighter shot down the object on orders of President Biden at 2:42 p.m., the Pentagon said, with the same kind of missile used in the previous three shootdowns, an AIM-9X Sidewinder. 五角大楼表示,一架 F-16 喷气式战斗机在下午 2 点 42 分按照拜登总统的命令击落了该物体,所用导弹与前 3 次击落中使用的导弹相同,是一枚 AIM-9X 响尾蛇导弹。
“Its path and altitude raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation,” the Pentagon said in its statement. “The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery.” 五角大楼在声明中说:“它的路径和高度引起了担忧,包括它可能对民用航空造成危害。” “为这次击落选择的地点让我们有机会避免对地面人员造成影响,同时提高碎片回收的机会。”
“There are no indications of any civilians hurt or otherwise affected,” the statement said. “没有迹象表明任何平民受伤或受到其他影响,”声明说。
Anita Anand, Canada’s Defense Minister, said both U.S. and Canadian jet fighters were dispatched to investigate the object, which was flying near the Canadian border. 加拿大国防部长安妮塔·阿南德 (Anita Anand) 表示,美国和加拿大的喷气式战斗机都被派往调查该在加拿大边境附近飞行的物体。
“We unequivocally support this action, and we’ll continue to work with the U.S.” to defend North America, she said. “我们明确支持这一行动,我们将继续与美国合作。” 保卫北美,她说。
The U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Atlantic coast Feb. 4. Military jets shot down unidentified objects over Alaska on Friday and over Canada’s Yukon territory Saturday, both of which were described by U.S. and Canadian officials as balloons. 2 月 4 日,美国在大西洋沿岸击落了一个疑似中国间谍气球。军用喷气式飞机周五在阿拉斯加上空和周六在加拿大育空地区上空击落了不明物体,美国和加拿大官员都将这两个物体描述为气球。
Officials have yet to determine who launched the objects and their purpose. 官员们尚未确定是谁发射了这些物体及其目的。
The Pentagon said it began tracking the object over Montana. Earlier this weekend, the Federal Aviation Administration said it temporarily closed airspace to civilian operations over Montana, and later over Lake Michigan, to support Department of Defense operations. 五角大楼表示,它开始在蒙大拿州上空追踪该物体。 本周末早些时候,美国联邦航空管理局表示,它暂时关闭了蒙大拿州上空的民用空域,后来又关闭了密歇根湖上空的民用空域,以支持国防部的行动。
The airspace was later reopened. After the first closure, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or Norad, said it detected a “radar anomaly” and sent jet fighters to the area, but no object was found. It didn’t immediately respond to a request of comment on Sunday’s incident. 领空后来重新开放。 在第一次关闭后,北美航空航天防御司令部 (Norad) 表示,它检测到“雷达异常”,并向该地区派出了喷气式战斗机,但没有发现任何物体。 它没有立即回应对周日事件发表评论的请求。
In the wake of the objects shot down Friday and Saturday, U.S. officials have reached out to research agencies to determine whether the high-altitude craft might be related to their work, U.S. officials said. But the U.S. hasn’t ruled out that they might be of foreign origin, they said. 美国官员表示,在周五和周六的物体被击落后,美国官员已与研究机构取得联系,以确定高空飞行器是否可能与他们的工作有关。 但他们说,美国并未排除它们可能来自外国。
The suspected Chinese balloon that traveled over the U.S. led the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or Norad, to more closely examine raw radar data, the officials said, leading to the discovery of radar signatures previously unseen. The data has led to a constellation of newly discovered objects that the U.S. is determining how to deal with in real time. 官员们说,疑似中国气球飞越美国,促使北美航空航天防御司令部 (Norad) 更仔细地检查原始雷达数据,从而发现了以前未见过的雷达信号。 这些数据导致了一系列新发现的物体,美国正在决定如何实时处理这些物体。
“What we are doing is changing how we visualize the raw radar data,” one of the officials said. “我们正在做的是改变我们可视化原始雷达数据的方式,”其中一位官员说。
With the new raw data, which in some cases also includes photos, intelligence and assessment of debris, the U.S. is hoping to refine its approach to these objects, the officials said. 官员们表示,利用新的原始数据(在某些情况下还包括照片、情报和碎片评估),美国希望改进其处理这些物体的方法。
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said he was briefed on the matter Saturday evening by Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser. 参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默(纽约州民主党人)说,他在周六晚上听取了拜登的国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文关于此事的简报。
“Until a few months ago we didn’t know of these balloons. Our intelligence and our military didn’t know,” Mr. Schumer said on ABC’s “This Week” television show. “直到几个月前,我们才知道这些气球。 我们的情报和我们的军队不知道,”舒默先生在美国广播公司的“本周”电视节目中说。
While Mr. Schumer didn’t speak directly to the origin of the objects shot down Friday and Saturday, he said China has sent spy balloons around the world. 虽然舒默先生没有直接说明周五和周六被击落物体的来源,但他说中国已经向世界各地发射了间谍气球。
“They’re not just doing the United States. This is a crew of balloons. We saw one in South America,” he said, adding that now Chinese officials will have to reconsider those actions. “I think the Chinese were humiliated. I think the Chinese were caught lying. And I think it’s a real step back for them.” “他们不只是在做美国。 这是一群气球。 我们在南美洲看到了一个,”他说,并补充说现在中国官员将不得不重新考虑这些行动。 “我认为中国人受到了羞辱。 我认为中国人撒谎了。 我认为这对他们来说是真正的倒退。”
China has said the balloon shot down Feb. 4 was for research, not espionage. 中国表示,2 月 4 日击落的气球是为了研究,而不是间谍活动。
Mr. Schumer said U.S. officials are now focused on a comprehensive analysis of the balloons. 舒默先生说,美国官员现在专注于对气球进行全面分析。
“You can be sure that if any, any American interests or people are at risk they will take appropriate action,” he said. “你可以肯定,如果有任何美国利益或人民处于危险之中,他们将采取适当的行动,”他说。
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday that recovery teams are in the Yukon to find and analyze debris from the object shot down on Saturday. 加拿大总理贾斯汀·特鲁多周日表示,救援队正在育空地区寻找和分析周六被击落物体的碎片。
“We have to do everything necessary to protect the integrity of our territory in North America,” Mr. Trudeau said before boarding a plane to the Yukon on a previously scheduled trip to participate in an indigenous ceremony. “There is still much to know about it, and that’s why the analysis is going to be very important.” “我们必须采取一切必要的措施来保护我们在北美领土的完整,”特鲁多先生在登上飞往育空地区的飞机之前说,他的行程先前已安排好,将参加原住民仪式。 “关于它还有很多东西需要了解,这就是为什么分析将非常重要。”
Mr. Biden and Mr. Trudeau ordered Saturday’s shoot down of an object flying at about 40,000 feet above the Yukon territory on grounds it had violated Canadian airspace. 拜登先生和特鲁多先生周六下令击落一个在育空地区上空约 40,000 英尺高空飞行的物体,理由是该物体侵犯了加拿大领空。
On Friday, the U.S. shot down an object flying over Alaska that the Pentagon said had posed a threat to civilian aviation. 周五,美国击落了一个飞越阿拉斯加的物体,五角大楼称该物体对民用航空构成威胁。
Recovery operations for the object shot down Friday are taking place under severe weather conditions and limited daylight near Deadhorse, Alaska, Norad said in a statement on Saturday. 诺拉德在周六的一份声明中说,周五被击落物体的回收行动是在阿拉斯加戴德霍斯附近恶劣的天气条件和有限的日光下进行的。
“We have no further details at this time about the object, including its capabilities, purpose or origin,” Norad said. “我们目前没有关于该物体的更多细节,包括它的能力、目的或来源,”诺拉德说。
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand told reporters Saturday night that the object over the Yukon was cylindrical. Ms. Anand said she wouldn’t speculate on where it originated. 加拿大国防部长安妮塔·阿南德星期六晚上告诉记者,育空地区上空的物体是圆柱形的。 阿南德女士说她不会推测它的起源地。
“The importance of this moment should not be underestimated. We identified the object together, and we defeated this object together,” Ms. Anand said of the joint U.S.-Canada mission. “不应低估这一刻的重要性。 我们一起确定了这个物体,我们一起打败了这个物体,”阿南德女士谈到美加联合任务时说。
She said this marked the first time in the history of Norad that jet fighters shot down an object. Norad was a central part of the U.S. and Canadian militaries’ Cold War deterrence strategy against the former Soviet Union. 她说,这是诺拉德历史上第一次喷气式战斗机击落物体。 诺拉德是美国和加拿大军队针对前苏联的冷战威慑战略的核心部分。
Canada, under pressure from the Biden administration, last year revealed plans to spend tens of billions of Canadian dollars over the next two decades to improve the military’s capacity to detect and track military threats from Russia and China in the Arctic. 加拿大迫于拜登政府的压力,去年透露计划在未来二十年内花费数百亿加元,以提高军队在北极地区探测和追踪来自俄罗斯和中国的军事威胁的能力。标红字体均为楼主更改,与原文作者无关。庆丰破
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