台北时报头版新闻：中国五代机轰动美国

Jack Sparrow

台北时报头版新闻：中国五代机轰动美国
    PRC’s fifth-generation jet pictures cause stir in US - Taipei Times
    　　2011-1-1 星期六

    　　本报驻华盛顿记者 William Lowther

    By William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON

    本周披露的新情报显示，中国五代机的发展迅猛，远超预期，显示了对台湾前所未有的军事威胁。

    Signaling a greater-than-ever military threat to Taiwan, new information emerged this week showing that China might be much further ahead in its development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft than previously believed.

    本周早些时候，北京的互联网新闻审查官们首次准许在互联网上发布成飞集团的隐身战机高清照片，这在五角大楼引发了一场轰动(a major stir)。

    In what has caused a major stir within the Pentagon, Beijing Internet censors ealier this week allowed high-resolution photographs of the Chengdu Aircraft Corp stealth fighter to be published for the first time.
     
    位于华盛顿的“国际评估及战略中心” 研究员Rick Fisher告诉本报记者说：“对台湾来说，这意味着即使出售洛马最新升级的F-16，也仅能对PLA维持很短暂的军事技术均势了”。

    “For Taiwan, this means that even a sale of the latest versions of the Lockheed Martin F-16 will only provide a brief period of technical parity with the People’s Liberation Army,” Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center in Washington, told the Taipei Times.

    Fisher说，中国很可能在十年内部署大量的五代机（绰号“成都J-20”）。他说，“现在台湾更加有理由来考虑购买生存能力更强的短距起降五代机F-35，它的改型增强了空战能力。目前，台湾的双重悲剧在于五角大楼没有意向对台湾出售F-16或F-35战机的任何一种，五角大楼这种缺乏决断的做法只能加速引发(台湾海峡的)军事冲突，而不是象在朝鲜半岛那样，用威慑的手段制止冲突。”

    Fisher said it was now possible China could deploy significant numbers of the fifth-generation fighters — codenamed the Chengdu J-20 — within 10 years.“There is now even greater reason for Taiwan to consider shifting its air defense resources to the more survivable short take-off fifth-generation F-35B, with modifications that increase its air combat potential,” he said. “Today, it is doubly tragic for Taiwan that Washington does not appear to be willing to sell either fighter to Taipei. Such a lack of resolve by Washington will only hasten the military confrontation it has successfully deterred since the Korean War.”

台湾正在紧急向美国总统Barack Obama施压，让他允许出售66架升级版F-16，但在中国主席胡*锦*涛本月末即将访美的情况下，这一军售案不太可能很快得到批准。

Taiwan is urgently pressing US President Barack Obama to sell it 66 advanced versions of the F-16, but with Chinese President Hu Jintao scheduled to visit Washington later this month, a sale is unlikely to be approved anytime soon.

据可靠的内部消息，中国至少将建造300架J-20。《Aviation Week》和《Space Technology》报道说，中国J-20已开始试飞，也就是说它的成军比蹒跚难行的F-35晚不了几年，F-35是美国和其他国家联合开发的多用途攻击战斗机(Joint Strike Fighter)。尽管新公布的J-20照片有可能是伪造的假照片，大部分美国分析人士认为这些照片是真实的。

Credible sources claim China could build at least 300 J-20s. Aviation Week and Space Technology reported that China has begun flight-testing the J-20, which puts it only a few years behind the troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is being developed by the US and a coalition of countries.

While it is possible that the newly released photographs of the J-20 are fakes, most US analysts believe them to be the real thing.
   
一位分析人员说这架飞机的头部呈楔型、有三角翼和全动尾翼，看起来象是美国F-22的前机身和俄罗斯T-50原型机后机身的组合体。

One military analyst said the plane had a chiseled front--section, triangular wings, all-moving tail-planes and seemed to combine the front fuselage of the US’ F-22 with the back half of the Russian T-50 stealth prototype.

分析人员说，“J-20的出现标志着中国空军跨越了一大步。迄今为止中国空军主要是依赖购买俄制飞机或山寨俄罗斯以色列的设计。”

“The J-20’s appearance could signal a big step forward for the Chinese air force, which to date relies mostly on airplanes bought from Russia or reverse--engineered from Russian or Israeli designs,” an analyst said.

从照片上看，J-20长至少21m，这意味着它的“超巡”和机动能力逊于F-22。然而，由于有更大的弹仓和油箱，它的航程和弹药携带量将(比F-22)更大。

Judging from the photographs, the J-20 is at least 21m from nose to tail, which means it would have a lower “supercruise” performance and agility than the F-22. However, with larger weapon bays and more fuel, it would have a longer range and carry more arms.

美国军方人士告诉台湾时报，中国J-20可能得到了俄罗斯的协助，并说莫斯科可能为J-20提供了推力为14.5吨的117S发动机，预期这种机型作为轰炸机需要两个引擎。

US military sources told the Taipei Times that China may be getting Russian help with the J-20 and that Moscow may be supplying 14.5 tonne thrust 117S engines for the plane, which is expected to double as a bomber.

    Fisher说J-20可以不用开加力器(fuel-guzzling afterburners)即能实现长时间“超巡”，也就是以超音速飞行。

    Fisher said the J-20 could “supercruise,” or fly supersonically, for extended periods without using fuel-guzzling afterburners.

    一位评论人士在《Aviation Week》和《Space Technology》网站上撰文称，该新机将“高悬于台湾海峡50000英尺(15.4km)之上，携巨大的下视雷达和满仓的AAM，虎视眈眈地盯着下方的一举一动。”

    One commentator, writing on the Aviation Week and Space Technology Web site, said the new plane was “something to hang out at 50,000 feet [15.2km] over the Taiwan Strait with a large downward looking radar and serve up a large payload of AAM’s [air-to-air missiles] at anything underneath.”

    智库“Heritage Foundation”的成斌从这次出人意料的J-20高清照流出事件，联想到本周早些时候的两条新闻：中国的一种弹道导弹已形成初步战力，可以击沉一艘航空母舰；北京把前苏联的一艘航母修复，即将下水。

    Dean Cheng (成斌) of the Heritage Foundation think tank has linked the unexpected leak of the J-20 photographs with news earlier in the week that China had reached initial operational capability with a ballistic missile that may be capable of hitting and sinking an aircraft carrier, and reports that Beijing would soon launch a refurbished former Soviet aircraft carrier.

    成斌说，“所有这些新闻都清楚表明，中国的军力发展比许多人预期的要迅猛得多，可是中国是在其边境或国家利益没有受到任何紧迫军事威胁的情况下大肆发展军力的。”

    “All of these news items serve to underscore that China’s military development has proceeded more rapidly than many had expected and all of these military efforts are occurring without any pressing military threat to China’s borders or interests,” Cheng said.

    成斌说，“美国永远不要害怕与中国正面冲突，美国也不要让中国认为美国人是出于胆怯才和中国接近。只有安全政策保持连续性，包括保持美国军力在相关区域的长期存在，才能让中国人明白这一点。”

    “The US should never be afraid to engage the PRC [People’s Republic of China], but neither should it give the Chinese the impression that Washington is dealing with them out of fear. Only a consistent national security policy, including a sustained US presence in the region, can do that,” he said.

Paul

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