亚洲国家寻求低成本武器升级

Countries throughout Asia are looking for less costly ways to upgrade their militaries, defense companies said at the Singapore Airshow last week. The airshow brings together government, military and high-level business officials every two years.
国防公司上周在新加坡航展上表示，亚洲各国都在寻找成本更低的方式对军队进行升级。这场两年一度的航展汇聚了政府、军方和高级商业官员。

Before the show, Indonesia said it would order 42 French fighter jets in an $8.1 billion deal. That makes the island nation the biggest French arms user in the area.
在这次航展之前，印尼表示将以81亿美元的价格订购42架法国战斗机。这使得该岛国成为该地区最大的法国武器用户。

Southeast Asia countries especially will most likely deal with important needs in the next year, said Collin Koh. He is a researcher at Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies.
高瑞连表示，尤其是东南亚国家明年很可能要应对重大需求。他是新加坡国防与战略研究所的研究员。

"A good number of countries in the region are facing rising debt ... that means the spending will very likely be very conservative," Koh said. He added that many countries were shopping for better or upgraded helicopters.
高瑞连说：“该地区很多国家都面临债务不断上升，这意味着支出很可能会非常保守。”他还表示，许多国家都在购买性能更好或升级换代的直升机。

The Philippines announced in January it was buying 32 S-70i Blackhawk helicopters from a company owned by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky is owned by the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
菲律宾于1月宣布将从西科斯基飞机公司旗下企业购买32架S-70i黑鹰直升机。西科斯基隶属于洛克希德马丁公司。

Tim Cahill is Lockheed Martin's senior vice president for global business. At the airshow, he said there was a "growing need for helicopters" in the area.
蒂姆·卡希尔是洛克希德马丁公司负责全球业务的高级副总裁。他在这次航展上表示，该地区“对直升机的需求不断增长”。

"The Philippines order was a very good one for us; the partnership with the armed forces is really positive for us, and in fact they are ordering more," he said.
他说：“菲律宾的订单对我们非常有利。与该武装部队的合作伙伴关系对我们来说确实是非常积极的，事实上他们正在订购更多产品。”

Aircraft called maritime patrol aircraft, or MPA, remain a major need for guarding the waters between some Asian nations, said Boaz Levy. He is chief executive officer of Israel Aerospace Industries. The company has an MPA partnership with aircraft manufacturer Embraer.
博阿兹·勒维表示，被称为海上巡逻机的飞机仍然是一些亚洲国家之间保卫水域的主要需求。他是以色列航空航天工业公司的首席执行官。该公司与飞机制造商巴西航空工业公司在海上巡逻机方面存在合作伙伴关系。

"There are a lot of customers interested - I can't say what stage or what country," Levy said. "We have a lot of activities, especially with the airborne radar. There is big demand for such an aircraft and such capabilities."
勒维表示：“有很多客户感兴趣，我不能说哪个阶段或是哪个国家。我们做了很多事情，尤其是机载雷达。这些客户对这种飞机以及这种能力的需求很大。”

MPAs are often costly, however. The last major MPA deal was the sale of six Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft to South Korea in 2018 for nearly $2 billion. Another four Poseidon aircraft went to New Zealand for about $1.6 billion.
然而海上巡逻机通常价格昂贵。最新一项海上巡逻机的重大交易是2018年以近20亿美元的价格向韩国出售了6架波音P-8反潜巡逻机。另外4架P-8反潜巡逻机以大约16亿美元的价格卖给了新西兰。

Unmanned aircraft, or drones, offer a less costly way to patrol the seas for possible threats. Australia is working with Boeing to produce so-called "loyal wingman" drones. These drones would fly alongside piloted fighter aircraft, a representative said at the airshow.
无人机提供了一种较低成本的海上巡逻方式以应对可能的威胁。澳大利亚正与波音公司合作生产所谓的“忠诚僚机”无人机。一位代表在航展上表示，这些无人机将与有人驾驶的战斗机一起飞行。

Drones are also being considered for use in shipping. Lockheed Martin recently tested a self-operating UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. However, selling such a system has its own difficulties, Cahill said.
无人机也被考虑用于航运。洛克希德马丁公司最近测试了一家自动操作的UH-60黑鹰直升机。然而，卡希尔表示，销售这样的系统有其自身的困难。

"Sending out an unmanned aircraft to do a patrol, everyone is OK with that. Then you say it will carry troops ... then there's a comfort level you have to achieve," he added.
他还表示：“派出一架无人机进行巡逻大家都能接受。然而说到搭载部队，就必须达到一个舒适度。”

Both Cahill and Koh said a rise in production of ballistic missiles and long-range rockets in the area has increased interest in improved air-defense systems.
卡希尔和高瑞连都表示，该地区的弹道导弹和远程火箭产量增加，这增加了人们对改进防空系统的兴趣。

But Koh warned that such upgrades were costly and not always seen as urgent.
但是高瑞连警告称，这种升级成本高昂，并且并不总是被视紧急的。

"There will be interest in long-range (air defense) going forward in terms of upgrading," he said. "But given the funding environment... governments will...be satisfied with their short-range and medium-range air defense systems."
高瑞连表示：“在防空系统的升级方面，对远程防空会有兴趣。但是鉴于资金环境，政府将满足于他们的中短程防空系统。”

I'm Jonathan Evans.
我是乔纳森·埃文斯。