【6月12日】看軍聞學英語

■刀客

原文：

The U.S. Air Force is taking a hard look at outfitting the B-1B Lancer bomber to carry hypersonic missiles. The ex-nuclear bomber could carry more than two dozen ARRW missiles, each of which flies at a blistering 15,345 miles an hour. The refit could transform the B-1 from an aging bomber on the verge of retirement into a‘door kicker’ that would fire the opening shots in a future conflict.

The B-1B bomber was originally designed as a heavy strategic bomber meant to conduct low-level, high-speed dashes into Soviet territory to carry out nuclear strikes. In the 2000s the bomber lost its nuclear mission and performed as a‘workhorse’ over the skies of Afghanistan, delivering precision guided strikes in support of friendly ground forces.

中譯：

美國空軍正認真考量，以B-1B「槍騎兵」戰略轟炸機裝載極音速飛彈。這款上一代的轟炸機可以掛載超過24枚空射快速反應武器，這種飛彈飛行速度極快，時速可達1萬5345英里。改裝後的B-1轟炸機，可將這款陳舊即將除役的轟炸機，轉換成在未來衝突中打響第一槍的「攻堅利器」。

B-1B轟炸機原本就是要打造成可實施低空高速飛行，直搗蘇聯領土執行核子攻擊的一種重型戰略轟炸機。進入21世紀後的這幾年來，這款轟炸機不再執行核子任務，而被充作吃力不討好的「長工」，在阿富汗空域執行精準導引攻擊，支援友軍地面部隊。

－關鍵軍語－

※ARRW:

Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon.

※nuclear strike:

Nuclear attack.

例句：

A nuclear strike could cause substantial fatalities, injuries, and infrastructure damage.

核子攻擊會造成大量傷亡，並毀壞基礎設施。