Xbox控制器可能是美国军方在应对无人机防御挑战时的一个意外但关键的解决方案的一部分。随着廉价无人机的普及，击落它们可能意味着发射价值数百万美元的导弹来摧毁价值仅为其几分之一的飞机。
An Xbox controller may be a key part of an unlikely answer to the U.S. military’s struggle with counter-drone defense. As cheap drones proliferate, shooting them down can mean firing multimillion-dollar missiles to destroy aircraft worth just a fraction of that price.
这款游戏外设是KBR的Firefly系统的一部分，该系统由Kord Technologies开发，是一种移动式高能激光武器系统。最近，五角大楼选中该公司参与一个试点项目，以测试防御美国军事设施免受敌对无人机袭击。该系统使用聚焦光束而非昂贵的导弹拦截器，可能提供一种更经济的方式来击落无人机。
The gaming accessory is part of KBR’s Firefly, a mobile high-energy laser weapon system developed by Kord Technologies. Recently, the Pentagon selected the company for a pilot program to test defending U.S. military installations against adversarial drones. The system uses a concentrated beam of light instead of costly missile interceptors, potentially offering a less expensive way to bring down drones.
KBR高级总监David Zoller Jr.表示，该控制器“减少了培训某人所需的时间，因为他们已经知道那种感觉——他们熟悉所有按钮的操作。”试点项目将在全国各地的军事基地部署定向能武器，进行为期一年的评估，届时官兵将操作、维护并收集武器数据。五角大楼随后将收集成本和后勤方面的信息。
David Zoller Jr., senior director for KBR, said the controller “reduces the amount of time that it takes to train somebody because they already know what that feels like — what all the buttonology is.”The pilot program will place directed-energy weapons at military bases across the country for a yearlong assessment, where service members will operate, maintain and collect data on the weapons. The Pentagon will, in turn, gather information on cost and logistics.
KBR的子公司Kord将Firefly宣传为一种托盘式移动激光系统。该公司表示，该系统——部分外观类似未来感的模块化手机相机镜头——可在零下15摄氏度至35摄氏度的温度范围内运行。在阿拉巴马州八月的一次演示中，公司官员表示，车载系统只需几秒钟就能击落小型无人机。其工作原理如下：当雷达系统检测到潜在威胁时，它会向人工操作员发送提示，以便进一步调查。
KBR subsidiary Kord has marketed Firefly as a palletized mobile laser. The company said the system — part of which looks like a futuristic, modular cell phone camera lens — can operate in temperatures ranging from negative 15 to 35 degrees Celsius. During an August demonstration in Alabama, company officials said that a truck-mounted system needs just a few seconds to down a small drone. Here is how it works: When the radar system detects a potential threat, it sends a cue to the human operator to investigate further.
该软件还具备目标列表功能，因此可以帮助人工识别可能构成威胁的目标。人工操作员可以使用内置摄像头对异常情况进行放大观察——无论那是鸟、飞机还是无人机。AI功能会自动进行追踪，但操作杆背后的人类操作员负责决策。佐勒表示，该系统“仍然由人来决定不仅何时开火，而且在哪里开火。”一旦操作员作出必要的决策，系统就会介入，跟踪威胁并将激光对准威胁的任何特定部位。
The software also has target list capabilities, so it can help a human identify things that might be threats. The human can use built-in cameras to zoom in on the anomaly — whether that be a bird, plane or drone. The AI capability tracks automatically, but the human behind the joystick makes decisions. The system, Zoller said, “still has a person that decides not just when to fire, but also where to fire.”Once the operator makes the requisite decisions, the system steps in, tracking the threat and aiming the laser at any specific part of the threat.
佐勒表示，激光会发射“武器化光束”来通过烧穿的方式应对威胁，并且可以精确到瞄准特定的螺旋桨、发动机或油箱。
The laser directs “weaponized light” to counter threats by burning a hole through, Zoller said, and can be as specific as aiming at a particular propeller, engine or fuel tank.
但佐勒警告称，高能激光系统“并非万能解决方案”。Firefly系统一次只能应对一个威胁，因此在面对无人机群时，需要优先处理最高威胁目标。他解释道：“当无人机群袭来时，我会让多个系统同时针对最紧迫的威胁进行打击。”
But Zoller cautions high-energy laser systems are “not a silver bullet.”The Firefly can only engage one threat at a time, so in a drone swarm, the highest threat would need to be prioritized. “As a swarm would come in, I would have multiple systems engaging on the most imminent threat,” he explained.