正文翻譯

November 12, 2020 Topic: Technology Region: Americas Blog Brand: The Reboot Tags: SubmarinesSubsU.S. NavyAir IndependentMilitaryTechnologyBoomer

2020年11月12日 主題：技術(shù)區(qū)域：Americas Blog品牌：Reboot 標(biāo)簽：SubmarinesSubsU.S 海軍航空獨(dú)立軍事技術(shù)潮

by Robert Farley

作者：Robert Farley

Invention

發(fā)明

Several navies experimented with AIP during the twentieth century. The earliest work began in World War II in the German and Soviet navies, although none of the experiments produced operationally suitable boats. After the war Britain, the United States and the Soviet unx took advantage of German research to produce their own experimental boats, but nuclear propulsion seemed to offer a more fruitful direction for submarine development.

在20世紀(jì)，一些海軍嘗試了AIP。最早的嘗試開始于第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間的德國和蘇聯(lián)海軍，盡管沒有一個(gè)嘗試能夠生產(chǎn)出適合實(shí)戰(zhàn)的船只。戰(zhàn)后，英國、美國和蘇聯(lián)利用德國的研究成果生產(chǎn)了自己的實(shí)驗(yàn)船，但是核推進(jìn)似乎為潛艇的發(fā)展提供了更富有成果的方向。

Engineering

工程

AIP systems allow conventional submarines to recharge their batteries without surfacing for air, which enables them to remain underwater for extend periods of time and not expose themselves to detection. Three main types of AIP are found in extant diesel-electric submarines:

AIP系統(tǒng)允許常規(guī)潛艇在不需要空氣的情況下為電池充電，這使它們可以在水下停留較長時(shí)間，并且不會(huì)使其自身被到探測到。現(xiàn)在的柴電潛艇中有三種主要的AIP：

Used on French-built submarines, closed cycle steam turbines mimic the energy production process found on nuclear subs (where a nuclear reactor provides heat that turns water into steam) by mixing oxygen and ethanol. This system (dubbed MEsmA by the French) is complex, generates a lot of power, but is somewhat less efficient than the alternatives.

法國制造的潛艇使用閉環(huán)蒸汽輪機(jī)，通過混合氧氣和乙醇來模擬在核潛艇（核反應(yīng)堆提供熱量將水變成蒸汽）中產(chǎn)生能量的過程。該系統(tǒng)（法國人將其稱為MEsmA）很復(fù)雜，產(chǎn)生了強(qiáng)大的推力，但是運(yùn)行效率卻比其他系統(tǒng)低。

Stirling Cycle

斯特林循環(huán)

Fuel Cell

燃料電池

Fuel-cell technology is probably the state of the art in AIP. A fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, and has almost no moving parts. They can generate a lot of energy with minimal waste product, and are very quiet. German-built submarines have successfully taken advantage of fuel cell technology, and the French, Russians and Indians are also moving in this direction.

燃料電池技術(shù)可能是AIP中的最新技術(shù)。燃料電池使用氫氣和氧氣來發(fā)電，幾乎沒有活動(dòng)部件。它們可以產(chǎn)生大量的能量，而產(chǎn)生的廢料最少，且非常安靜。德國制造的潛艇已成功利用了燃料電池技術(shù)，法國、俄羅斯和印度人也在朝這個(gè)方向發(fā)展。

Procurement Trends

采購趨勢

The great thing about AIP is that the technologies involved can be retrofitted into older submarines through the insertion of a hull section. Germany has done this with some boats, including a Type 209, and reports suggest Russia has managed to retrofit a Kilo. Sweden has retrofitted four older boats, and Japan at least one. For navies that want to maximize the lethality of their existing sub flotillas, retrofits can be cost effective.

AIP的優(yōu)勢之處在于，可以通過拋入船體部分的方式將此技術(shù)改裝到舊型潛艇上。德國已經(jīng)使用了包括209型在內(nèi)的一些潛艇來實(shí)現(xiàn)這一方式，據(jù)報(bào)道，俄羅斯已經(jīng)設(shè)法對(duì)基洛進(jìn)行了改裝。瑞典改裝了四艘舊潛艇，日本改裝了至少一艘。對(duì)于希望最大程度地提高現(xiàn)有已有潛艇的攻擊力的海軍，改進(jìn)型可以節(jié)省成本。

Combat Implications

戰(zhàn)斗意義

SSPs can exceed the performance of SSNs under certain conditions. They can take advantage of good endurance and extreme quiet to lay in ambush for approaching enemy vessels, although this requires good intelligence about enemy fleet deployments. They can also conduct short and medium range surveillance of enemy naval forces. In situations that favor small, maneuverable boats (shallow littorals, for example) they can pose a serious combat threat to their larger nuclear cousins.

在某些條件下，SSP可能會(huì)超過SSN的性能。他們可以利用良好的續(xù)航力和極度的安靜性來伏擊敵人的船只，盡管這需要對(duì)敵方艦隊(duì)的部署有足夠的了解。他們還可以對(duì)敵方海軍部隊(duì)進(jìn)行中近程監(jiān)視。在適合小型機(jī)動(dòng)船（例如淺海沿岸）的情況下，它們也可能對(duì)其較大的核潛艇構(gòu)成嚴(yán)重的戰(zhàn)斗威脅。

What This Means for the United States

這對(duì)美國意味著什么

Should the United States build SSPs? The United States has not built a diesel-electric submarine since 1959. Much of the know-how associated with the construction of nuclear subs is transferable to their conventional cousins, but it would nevertheless involve a significant learning curve. The United States is a global leader in the development of fuel-cell technology, so it is likely that American sub builders would go that route.

美國應(yīng)該建造SSP嗎？自1959年以來，美國還沒有建造過柴油電潛艇。與建造核潛艇有關(guān)的許多專門知識(shí)都可以轉(zhuǎn)移到它們的常規(guī)潛艇，但盡管如此，它仍需要大量研究。美國是燃料電池技術(shù)發(fā)展的全球領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，因此美國的制造商也可能會(huì)走這條路。

However, the U.S. Navy is nearly unique for its global focus; it intends to fight in areas distant from U.S. shores. Diesel electrics, even with AIP, have shorter ranges than nuclear boats and therefore require nearby bases. Moreover, cost-consciousness in the U.S. Navy has manifested largely in terms of personnel reductions, meaning that the organization tends to prefer smaller numbers of high-end, expensive platforms to large numbers of inexpensive vessels.

但是，美國海軍的全球關(guān)注點(diǎn)幾乎是獨(dú)特的。它目標(biāo)是在遠(yuǎn)離美國海岸的地區(qū)作戰(zhàn)。即使使用了AIP，柴電氣設(shè)備的潛艇航程也比核潛艇短，因此需要更近的基地。此外，美國海軍的成本意識(shí)在很大程度上體現(xiàn)在減少艇員方面，這意味著美國軍方傾向于使用數(shù)量較少的高端、昂貴的平臺(tái)，而不是數(shù)量眾多的廉價(jià)船只。

All in all, there is no question that AIP-equipped boats pose a threat, under some conditions, to the large nuclear attack submarines that many great navies have come to rely on. However, this does not necessarily mean that the best response for the U.S. Navy is to invest in these conventional subs. They cannot do many of the tasks that the navy requires of its submarine force, and in coming years technology may eclipse many of the advantages that they bring.

總而言之，毫無疑問，配備AIP的船只在某些情況下會(huì)對(duì)許多大國的海軍依賴的大型核攻擊潛艇構(gòu)成威脅。但是，這并不一定意味著美國海軍最好的應(yīng)對(duì)方法就是對(duì)這些常規(guī)潛艇進(jìn)行投入。他們無法完成海軍對(duì)其潛艇部隊(duì)所要求的許多任務(wù)，并且在未來幾年中，技術(shù)發(fā)展可能會(huì)超過AIP帶來的許多優(yōu)勢。