华盛顿，10月2日——一位美国官员表示，在一项于1月启动的试点项目中，这些小型无人驾驶监视船成功帮助当局发现了非法越境行为和毒品走私活动，并起到了威慑作用。因此，五角大楼可能会在里奥格兰德河及墨西哥湾地区更广泛地使用这类船只。
WASHINGTON, Oct 2 - The Pentagon may expand its use of autonomous surveillance boats on the Rio Grande and in the Gulf of Mexico after the canoe-sized vessels helped authorities detect and deter illegal border crossings and narcotics trafficking during a pilot program that began in January, a US official said.
这些无人驾驶水面船只由总部位于圣地亚哥的初创公司Seasats制造，能够在无需人工操作的情况下长时间在河流中执行巡逻任务。这是军方和执法机构越来越多地采用低成本、自主化的监控与安全系统的体现。
The unmanned surface vessels, built by San Diego-based startup Seasats, patrol the river for long periods without crews and are part of a growing push by the military and law enforcement agencies to use relatively inexpensive, autonomous systems for surveillance and security missions.
这一边境监控项目也凸显了新一代由风险投资支持的国防初创企业的竞争优势：在传统承包商长期主导该领域的情况下，这些企业正试图赢得更多业务机会。五角大楼正在寻求更快、更经济的方式来部署这些能够全天候运行的新兴技术。
The border mission also highlights how a new generation of venture-backed defense startups is positioned to win business once dominated by traditional contractors, as the Pentagon looks for faster, cheaper ways to deploy emerging technologies that can operate around-the-clock.
国防官员正在研究这些依靠太阳能板供电的船只是否可以更广泛地应用于里奥格兰德河的监控任务中。除了Seasats外，Saronic、Saildrone和Splash等公司也提供了类似的海事无人机产品。
Defense officials are studying whether the boats, which draw power from solar panels, could be deployed more widely as part of broader efforts to monitor remote stretches of the Rio Grande. Aside from Seasats, companies named Saronic, Saildrone and Splash provide similar marine drones.
作为唐纳德·特朗普总统打击非法移民政策的一部分，国防部门希望将现有的10艘无人驾驶船只数量增加到最多50艘，以减轻海岸警卫队巡逻船及载人飞机在边境地区的压力。
Defense officials want to increase the robotic fleet from its current test group of 10 vessels by as many as 50 to relieve the strain on Coast Guard cutters and crewed aircraft patrolling the border with Mexico as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.
负责国土防御与美洲安全事务的国防部助理部长罗斯福·迪特莱夫森（Roosevelt Ditlevson）表示：“这些海上无人机是拦截毒品走私者的有效工具，能够及时阻止他们进入这些关键区域。”
Maritime drones are "cost-effective solutions to interdict and put people in these areas that narco traffickers are now moving towards," said M. Roosevelt Ditlevson, assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs.
近年来，由于在乌克兰战争中的多次成功应用，小型无人机及其他无人驾驶平台已在美国军队中得到广泛普及。
Small drones and other unmanned platforms have proliferated across the US military in recent years after their repeated successes in the war in Ukraine.
无人船可连续运行数月。Seasats的Lightfish无人船长11英尺、重340磅，外形低矮，造价约24万美元，可从船用坡道或皮卡车厢后部下水。该无人船能在风浪险恶的海域中一次连续运行数月。
DRONES CAN OPERATE FOR MONTHS Seasats' 11-foot, 340-pound Lightfish is a low-profile autonomous vessel that costs roughly $240,000 and can be launched from a boat ramp or the back of a pickup truck. The drone can operate for months at a time in rough seas.
这些无人船配备包括光电、红外和声呐在内的传感器，能够将实时跟踪数据直接输入军事软件网络，其中包括Palantir Technologies的Maven智能系统和Anduril Industries的Fortress平台，并向美国海关与边境保护局及海岸警卫队所属单位发出警报。
The vessels carry sensors — including electro-optical, infrared and sonar sensors — that feed real-time tracking data directly into military software networks, including Palantir Technologies' Maven Smart System and Anduril Industries' Fortress platform, alerting Customs and Border Protection and Coast Guard units.
五角大楼表示，在平均一个月内，Lightfish无人船协助发现了452次目标、抓捕了350人并劝返了100人。“劝返”是指一群人在意识到自己已经被发现后放弃越境尝试。
The Pentagon said that in an average month, the Lightfish drones have assisted in 452 detections, 350 apprehensions and 100 turnbacks, which refer to when a group of people abort a border crossing attempt after realizing they have been discovered.
迪特列夫森说：“他们看到无人船正等在那里，就知道自己实际上已经被发现了。”
They "see that the vessel is waiting there for them, and they know that they've basically been found out," Ditlevson said.
7月，路透社报道称，一艘在菲律宾专属经济区内执行任务的商业用途Lightfish无人船曾驶近中国人民解放军海军一艘导弹驱逐舰 近至足以拍摄清晰的近景视频，展示了低成本自主航行器如何监视价值数十亿美元的军事装备。这一报道使该无人船制造商获得了国际关注。
The drone maker gained international attention in July when Reuters reported that a commercial Lightfish vessel operating inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone navigated close enough to a Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer to capture detailed close-up video, demonstrating how low-cost autonomous craft can monitor multibillion-dollar military assets.
迪特列夫森表示，随着Lightfish取得持续成功，其订单可能增加50艘，并有望进一步在墨西哥湾执行任务，在得克萨斯州与基韦斯特之间形成一道雷达防线。不过，迪特列夫森说，其应用将以渐进方式扩大，并逐步探索不同的技术。
With continued success, Ditlevson said Lightfish orders could rise by 50 boats and potentially also operate in the Gulf of Mexico, forming a radar fence between Texas and Key West. But Ditlevson said use will expand in increments, exploring different technologies.
他在接受路透社采访时说：“我们不偏向任何供应商。我们想要的是最好的技术。”
"We're agnostic to the vendor. We want the best technology," he told Reuters in an interview.
Seasats首席执行官迈克·弗拉尼根表示，无人系统能够提供传统重型燃油装备无法比拟的持续覆盖。
Seasats Chief Executive Mike Flanigan said uncrewed systems provide persistent coverage that traditional, fuel-heavy assets cannot match.
“一架飞机或一艘船可以飞得或航得又快又远，但如果你说：‘我想让那架波音737在一片海域上空停留一天’，它就是做不到，”弗拉尼根说。“船的覆盖速度远不及飞机，但它一次可以在那里停留数月，而这正是此类安防和监测应用的关键区别。”
"A plane or a ship might go really far really fast, but if you say, 'I want to keep that Boeing 737 over a patch of ocean for a day,' it just can't do it," Flanigan said. "The boat doesn't cover nearly as much territory as fast, but it can stay there for months at a time, which is the key differentiator for these security and monitoring applications."
随着边境安保力度加大以及有针对性的军事行动减少了毒品走私通道，贩毒集团正越来越多地转向沿海水域和近岸地区。扩大无人机在墨西哥湾的使用，是为测试这些船只驶入圣迭戈附近太平洋更为恶劣海域做准备。
As tighter border security and targeted military operations have reduced drug smuggling routes, cartels have increasingly pushed into coastal waterways and near-coastal regions. The expanded drone use in the Gulf of Mexico is a precursor to testing the vessels in the harsher seas of the Pacific Ocean near San Diego.