Stratolaunch首席执行官扎卡里·克雷沃（Zachary Krevor）向Axios透露，该公司已购入一架波音777-200ER飞机，并计划在进行改装后，将其用作Talon-A的载机。Talon-A是一款可重复使用的自主高超音速飞行器。
Stratolaunch purchased a Boeing 777-200ER and plans to use it, after some modification, as a carrier for its Talon-A, a reusable, autonomous hypersonic aircraft, chief executive Zachary Krevor told Axios. Why it matters: The addition of an upgraded 777 to the fleet increases Stratolaunch's flight capacity by about 35%.
重要意义：将升级后的777加入机队，使Stratolaunch的飞行能力提升了约35%。这也使这家航空航天公司距离在全球范围内同时进行多次高超音速测试的目标更近了一步。
It also moves the aerospace company closer to being able to conduct multiple simultaneous hypersonic tests around the world.
“高超音速是国家安全的首要任务，”克雷沃说。“纵观历史：速度永远是制胜关键。”新闻动态：Stratolaunch已于本月完成了此次收购。
"Hypersonics are a national security priority," Krevor said. "You can look through history: Speed always wins." Driving the news: Stratolaunch closed on the acquisition this month.
这架777飞机将驻扎在公司总部所在地加利福尼亚州的莫哈韦，但也可根据需求部署在不同国家。
The 777 will be based in Mojave, California, where the company is headquartered, but could be staged in different countries depending on demand.
最新进展：克雷沃表示，该飞机“已经进入细节处理阶段”。它将进行重新喷漆，并加装多个挂架站，以实现Talon-A及其他系统的空中发射。相关工作预计将于明年完成。
The latest: The aircraft is "already in the detailing process," Krevor said. It will get a new paint job, and multiple pylon stations will be added to enable air launch of Talon-A and other systems. Work is expected to wrap next year.
“对于Talon-A，我们使用定制的投放系统。但对于我们的目标项目，我们使用的是许多战斗机和轰炸机上常见的标准炸弹投放架，”克雷沃说。
"With Talon-A, we use a custom release system. But with our targets program, we're using a very typical bomb ejector rack that's found on many fighter jets and bombers," Krevor said.
他补充道：“我们不会改动动力装置和航空电子设备。它飞起来就像普通的777；我们的机组人员已经获得了777机型等级认证。”宏观视角：Stratolaunch的机队还包括翼展全球最大的固定翼飞机“大鹏”（Roc），以及一架被称为“莫哈韦精神”（Spirit of Mojave）的波音747。
"We don't touch the power plants, the avionics aspects," he added. "It flies like a normal 777; our aircrew has already got their 777 type rating." Zoom out: Stratolaunch's fleet also features Roc, the world's largest fixed-wing aircraft by wingspan, and a Boeing 747 known as Spirit of Mojave.
资金流向：该公司是美国国防部“多军种先进能力高超音速试验台”（MACH-TB）的关键参与者，其客户包括空军、海军、导弹防御局和美国国家航空航天局（NASA）。
Follow the money: The company is a key player in the Defense Department's Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) and counts the Air Force, Navy, Missile Defense Agency and NASA among its customers.
克雷沃表示，五角大楼“已经明确表示，仅针对MACH-TB项目，他们每年就需要进行50次高超音速飞行测试”。他们渴望飞行，并且渴望再次飞行。
The Pentagon has "stated they want 50 — five-zero — hypersonic flights on an annual basis, just for MACH-TB," Krevor said. "They want to fly, and they want to fly again."
我们正在关注的内容：大西洋理事会去年首次与Axios分享的一项研究发现，美国在研发和部署高超音速武器方面的迟缓，加上俄罗斯和中国的进展，正在加剧“战场不对称”的局面。
What we're watching: An Atlantic Council study shared first with Axios last year found American sluggishness to develop and deploy hypersonic weapons, coupled with Russian and Chinese advances, was fostering a "battlefield asymmetry."