中國武漢思凱沃克科技有限公司(Skywalker Technologies)生產(chǎn)的、機翼翼展超過兩米的天行者X-8商用無人機,是業(yè)余愛好者和航空攝影發(fā)燒友的最愛。
But the aircraft, which can be bought for just a few hundred dollars, is also perfect for military reconnaissance, artillery spotting and even aerial bombing, as soldiers fighting against Isis in Iraq and Syria have discovered.
但是,這款幾百美元就可買到的無人機也是軍事偵察、彈著觀測、甚至空中轟炸的完美設(shè)備,在伊拉克和敘利亞打擊伊斯蘭國(ISIS)的士兵已經(jīng)在戰(zhàn)場上發(fā)現(xiàn)了這款無人機。
The first X-8 in a conflict zone was spotted in 2015 by Kurdish forces near the Mosul Dam in Iraq, while in October 2016 a bomb-laden X-8 killed two Kurdish soldiers and injured two French commandos in the same area, according to Sahan Research, a UK-based think-tank.
據(jù)英國智庫沙汗研究與發(fā)展組織(Sahan Research)提供的信息,2015年,庫爾德武裝在伊拉克摩蘇爾大壩(Mosul Dam)附近發(fā)現(xiàn)天行者X-8,這是首次在沖突地區(qū)發(fā)現(xiàn)該款無人機;2016年10月,一架載有炸彈的X-8在同一地區(qū)炸死了兩名庫爾德士兵,炸傷兩名法國突擊隊隊員。
China’s world-leading drone industry faces a burgeoning problem: its recreational aircraft, in addition to taking breathtaking clifftop selfies, are being used by terrorists to kill people.
全球領(lǐng)先的中國無人機行業(yè)遇上了一個新問題:本來是用于休閑娛樂的無人機,除了被用于令人屏息的懸崖自拍外,還成為了恐怖分子殺人的工具。
As of the end of last year, 32 models from six countries had been identified in the Syria and Iraq conflict, according to research by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York state.
紐約州巴德學(xué)院(Bard College)無人機研究中心的研究發(fā)現(xiàn),截至去年年底,在敘利亞和伊拉克沖突中,共發(fā)現(xiàn)了由6個國家生產(chǎn)的32個型號的無人機。
While most are military drones such as the US Predator and its Chinese copy the Caihong CH-4, the conflict has seen the first widespread use of hobby drones as weapons — and almost all were Chinese brands.
雖然沖突中發(fā)現(xiàn)的無人機多數(shù)是軍用無人機,如美國的“捕食者”(Predator)無人機、及其中國仿造版“彩虹CH-4”無人機,但是,消遣用的無人機在此次沖突中首次被廣泛用作武器——而且此類無人機幾乎全部是中國品牌。
Their introduction marks a “milestone in the widespread proliferation of aerial surveillance platforms among insurgent and terrorist groups”, the center said.
消遣型無人機的采用,成為了“叛亂分子和恐怖組織空中監(jiān)視平臺大規(guī)模擴散的一個里程碑”,上述無人機研究中心說。
Isis revealed its weaponised drone capabilities in a January video. Since then, says Steve Stalinsky of Memri, a Middle East media think-tank, “we have been seeing almost daily Isis drone attacks, sometimes several times a day, against many different targets”.
ISIS在一月份發(fā)布的一個視頻中展示了其武裝無人機的能力。從那時起,“我們幾乎每天都會看到ISIS利用無人機進(jìn)行襲擊的消息,有時甚至每天幾次,針對多個不同目標(biāo),”中東媒體研究院(Memri)的史蒂文•斯坦林斯基(Steve Stalinsky)說。
Bombmaking workshops run by Isis have weaponised X-8s and other drones such as the Phantom, made by Shenzhen-based DJI, the world’s largest commercial dronemaker. Some hobby drones now boast formidable capabilities, with 7km ranges and payloads up to 40kg.
ISIS的炸彈制造工廠已經(jīng)將天行者X-8和其他型號的無人機改裝成了武器,其中包括由全球最大的商用無人機制造公司深圳大疆創(chuàng)新科技有限公司(DJI)生產(chǎn)的大疆精靈(Phantom)?,F(xiàn)在,一些消遣型無人機號稱具備強大性能,續(xù)航距離可達(dá)7公里,有效載荷可達(dá)40公斤。
The Kurdish government claims to have recorded at least two instances of Isis-controlled drones dropping hand grenades on its forces. 庫爾德自治政府聲稱,他們至少記錄了兩起ISIS控制的無人機向其武裝部隊投擲手榴彈的事件。
The founder of one Shenzhen-based armed drone manufacturer says that while military drones are strictly regulated, consumer drones are not — and unmanned aerial vehicles “can be retrofitted with one to two hand grenades very easily”.
深圳一家武裝無人機制造商的創(chuàng)始人說,軍用無人機受到嚴(yán)格監(jiān)管,但民用無人機卻沒有,而且給無人駕駛飛行器“加裝一到兩個手榴彈簡單至極”。
Chinese consumer drones figure prominently in the arsenals of terror groups for the same reasons they have grabbed market share all over the world, according to Robert Garbett, chairman of Drone Major, a UK-based consultancy: “They are cheap and readily available.”
英國咨詢公司Drone Major的董事長羅伯特•加伯特(Robert Garbett)認(rèn)為,中國民用無人機在全球市場搶占份額,同時在恐怖組織武器庫中占據(jù)重要位置,都出于同一個原因。他說:“它們價格低廉,很容易買到。”
Chinese dronemakers say there is nothing they can do to prevent their wares from being hijacked. DJI laments the use of its drones in warfare as “deplorable” and an “abuse of the technology”.
中國的無人機制造商表示,對于自己的產(chǎn)品被恐怖分子“劫持”,他們無能為力。大疆創(chuàng)新科技痛惜地表示,在戰(zhàn)場上使用其生產(chǎn)的無人機“應(yīng)受到譴責(zé)”,“是對技術(shù)的濫用”。
“As a manufacturer, we are unable to control what people do with them similar to the manufacturers of pick-up trucks, cars or other items that have been weaponised in conflict zones,” the company told the Financial Times.
“與在沖突地區(qū)被用作武器的皮卡、小汽車和其他物品的制造商一樣,作為無人機的生產(chǎn)商,我們也無法控制人們?nèi)绾问褂梦覀兊漠a(chǎn)品,”大疆創(chuàng)新科技對英國《金融時報》說。
Skywalker Technologies likewise said it did not “have the power to require customers make no modifications to our products”.
思凱沃克科技公司同樣表示,其“無權(quán)要求客戶不得改裝我們的產(chǎn)品”。
Other manufacturers appeared to have no idea their products were being used for purposes outside of recreation.
其他制造商似乎對他們的產(chǎn)品被用于娛樂以外的目的并不知情。
“We have never heard of anything like this happening,” said Chen Minfang, a manager at Tensho, a Fujian-based toy aircraft and dronemaker. “We do not know anything about this. How would Isis be using our products? We only sell to Europe and North America. We sell toy planes. How could they arm toy planes?”
“我們從來沒聽說過這種事,”福建玩具飛機和無人機生產(chǎn)商天翔(廈門)模型有限公司(Tensho)的經(jīng)理陳閩芳(音)說。“我們對此一無所知。ISIS怎么會使用我們的產(chǎn)品?我們的產(chǎn)品只銷往歐洲和北美市場。我們賣的是玩具飛機。他們怎么給玩具飛機裝配武器?”
A Tensho Skyhunter drone was shot down by Syrian forces in 2014, according to the Bard College report.
根據(jù)巴德學(xué)院的報告,敘利亞軍隊曾于2014年擊落過一架天翔生產(chǎn)的獵鷹(Skyhunter)無人機。
“It's not clear how these drones are ending up in Isis’s hands,” said Dan Gettinger, director of the Bard College Center. although he noted that “they are pretty available from a lot of resellers on the internet”.
“現(xiàn)在還不清楚這些無人機是如何落到ISIS手中的,”巴德學(xué)院無人機研究中心主任丹•蓋廷格(Dan Gettinger)說。不過,他指出,“網(wǎng)上有很多經(jīng)銷商都在銷售無人機。”
Mr Gettinger said that although the drones had not had a strategic impact on fighting, they had been used effectively as propaganda tools, for example by filming attacks.
蓋廷格說,雖然無人機并未對戰(zhàn)斗產(chǎn)生戰(zhàn)略性影響,但它們被有效地用作宣傳工具,例如,用于拍攝襲擊場面。
“They didn't change the battle in Mosul,” he said. “But they have a larger tactical implication — they compel US military and others to invest in counter-drone systems and improve their capabilities to defend against drones.”
“它們沒有改變摩蘇爾戰(zhàn)役的結(jié)果,”他說,“但是,它們具有較大的戰(zhàn)術(shù)性意義——迫使美國軍方和其他有關(guān)各方投資研發(fā)反無人機系統(tǒng),并提升防御無人機能力。”
Some militaries and police forces have been developing defences against weaponised commercial drones, including the use of microwaves and netting, while Dutch forces have even begun taking down rogue drones with eagles.
一些軍隊和警察機關(guān)已經(jīng)在開發(fā)防御武裝商用無人機的方法,包括用微波探測和張網(wǎng)捕捉。而荷蘭警方甚至已經(jīng)開始用老鷹來擊落“流氓”無人機。
Meanwhile, Chinese dronemakers have been in discussions about promoting global standards for the industry.
與此同時,中國的無人機制造商一直在討論如何推動全球性行業(yè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
DJI has taken the lead among Chinese dronemakers since 2013 in installing geofencing — which uses GPS to prevent drones from working in certain parts of the globe. However, experts say the technology is easy to bypass.
2013年,大疆創(chuàng)新科技率先在其無人機上安裝地理圍欄系統(tǒng)——利用全球定位系統(tǒng)(GPS)防止無人機在某些地理區(qū)域內(nèi)工作,之后其他中國無人機制造商紛紛采取了這項技術(shù)。但是,專家指出,繞開這項技術(shù)的限制非常容易。
Another security measure would be to require buyers to identify themselves and to require drones to carry UDIMs, SIM card-like devices that are a form of digital licence. Chinese dronemakers are actively promoting this technology through the International Standards Organisation, where a committee is developing a global registry for drone users, Mr Garbett says.
另一個安全措施是要求買家進(jìn)行身份驗證,并要求無人機攜帶UDIM——類似SIM卡的裝置,作為無人機數(shù)字證書。中國的無人機制造商正在通過國際標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化組織(International Standards Organization)積極推廣這項技術(shù)。蓋廷格說,該組織的一個委員會正在開發(fā)一個全球性的無人機用戶登記系統(tǒng)。
“The Chinese are very much involved with this effort and very keen to ensure there are global standards that would ensure accountability of drone users,” he says. “That’s not to say that [such a system] couldn’t be tricked or hacked, but one would have to be very determined to do it.”
“中國人在這方面做了大量工作,他們非常希望建立一個能夠?qū)o人機用戶進(jìn)行問責(zé)的全球標(biāo)準(zhǔn),”他說,“這并不是說(這種系統(tǒng))必須無堅不摧,不能被欺騙或被黑客入侵,但必須要下定決心去建立這么一個系統(tǒng)。”
Additional reporting by Erika Solomon 譯者/何黎