在俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争中，快速推进的军备竞赛意味着国防企业永远无法真正认为产品已完工，也无法停止定期更新，一家乌克兰领先无人机制造商向《商业内幕》表示。乌克兰国防企业从在战斗中使用其产品的士兵那里持续收集反馈，并进行频繁更新，有时甚至是每日更新。许多企业和士兵表示，如果没有这些更新，他们的装备可能在几周内就会在战场上失去作用。
The fast-moving arms development race amid Russia's war against Ukraine means that the defense companies can't ever really consider a product finished or stop making regular updates, a leading Ukrainian drone maker told Business Insider. Ukraine's defense companies gather constant feedback from soldiers using their products in combat and make frequent updates, sometimes daily. Many companies and soldiers say that without these updates, their gear could become irrelevant on the battlefield within weeks.
乌克兰主要光纤和拦截无人机制造商TechEx的一位高管奥列格告诉《商业内幕》：“最重要的是，你希望这款产品能随时间不断演进。永远不会有这样一个时刻，你只是制造了一款产品，它就永远好用了。”他说，如果一家国防企业“只坚持单一产品，我认为三个月内它就会过时，没人会再用它”，他出于安全原因要求仅使用名字首字母。
Oleg, an executive at major Ukrainian fiber-optic and interceptor drone maker TechEx, told Business Insider that "the most important thing is that you want this product to evolve over time. There will never be a moment when you just build a product, and it's just good." If a defense company "just stays with one single product, I think within three months, it will be outdated, and nobody will use it," he said, speaking on the condition that only his first name be used for safety purposes.
奥列格表示，TechEx的无人机每周更新，有时是重大改动，有时仅是几毫米或几克的微调。他说，在这场战争中，“当你制造出一款好产品，敌人就会研发出反制措施。”为了留在战场上，武器制造商必须持续适应。“你需要持续不断地工作。”
TechEx's drones, he said, are updated weekly, sometimes with major modifications and other times with adjustments of just a few millimeters or grams. In this war, he said, "when you build a good product, the enemy builds the countermeasure." To stay in the fight, weapons makers must keep adapting. "You need to work constantly."
乌克兰的Frontline Robotics公司告诉《商业内幕》，它全天候从士兵那里获取反馈，每月对产品进行多达20次小幅更改，大约每六个月推出一次重大更新。另一家乌克兰公司Ark Robotics表示，可能会在几周内对一款产品进行约半打不同的更改。
Ukraine's Frontline Robotics, for example, told Business Insider that it gets feedback from soldiers 24/7 and makes small changes to its products up to 20 times a month, with major updates coming roughly every six months. Ark Robotics, another Ukrainian company, said it may make about half a dozen different changes to a product over a few weeks.
企业从设计之初就将快速、定期更新的能力融入其中，采用模块化和软件优先的设计，以便能够远程、快速地进行更改，而无需从头重新设计或重建整个产品。
Companies are baking the ability for fast and regular updates into their design from the very beginning, making them modular and software-first so changes can be made remotely, quickly, and without needing to redesign or rebuild the entire product from scratch.
西方武器研发的传统模式较慢。通常先让设计成熟并完成测试，然后再投入生产，接着以相对稳定的批次生产数年，变更主要围绕计划内的升级进行，而非考虑持续重新设计。英国皇家联合军种研究所（RUSI）12月发布的一份分析指出，西方武器系统“被视为不可分割的整体，采购周期往往长达10至20年，升级需要对整个项目进行重组。这种传统做法将创新视为罕见事件，而非持续过程。”
The traditional model for Western weapons development is slower. A design is typically matured and tested before production, then is built in relatively stable batches for years, with changes made around scheduled upgrades rather than thinking about constant redesign. An analysis published by RUSI in December wrote that Western weapons systems "are treated as indivisible wholes, with procurement cycles often stretching over 10 to 20 years and upgrades requiring entire programme restructurings. This legacy approach treats innovation as a rare event rather than a continuous process."
在乌克兰，企业和士兵可以直接沟通并创新。企业通过短信、WhatsApp 和视频通话与身处前线的士兵保持联系，持续交换反馈和需求。乌克兰的模式是自下而上、去中心化的。奥列格表示，TechEx 的技术支持部门与100多个单位合作，持续提供支持并获取战场反馈。乌克兰企业通常有员工前往前线附近探访士兵，收集反馈，并协助他们进行维修或升级，随后将这些改进整合回产品中。士兵们往往以其使用或改装装备的方式让乌克兰企业感到惊讶，这反过来又影响了企业的研发方向和新增功能。
In Ukraine, companies and soldiers are allowed to directly communicate and innovate. Companies text, Whatsapp, and video call soldiers even when they are in the field to exchange constant feedback and requests. Ukraine's model is bottom-up and decentralized. Oleg said that TechEx's technical support department works with over 100 units to constantly support them and get battlefield feedback. Ukrainian companies often have employees who visit soldiers near the front lines, gather feedback, and help them make repairs or upgrades that can then be integrated back into the products. Soldiers often surprise Ukrainian companies with how they use or modify their gear, which in turn influences what they build and what features they add.
西方企业长期以来的运作方式不同。反馈通常通过较慢、正式的链条传递，而非直接来自使用装备的士兵。但许多西方企业开始改变流程，特别是那些产品在乌克兰投入使用的企业。今年早些时候，担任北约欧洲盟军最高统帅、负责监督北约军事行动的美国空军上将亚历克西·格林克维奇对《商业内幕》表示，北约希望建立与乌克兰相同类型的战场反馈闭环，盟友正在为此努力。
Western companies have long operated differently. Feedback from typically comes through a slower, formal chain rather than straight from the soldier who is using it. But many Western companies are starting to change their processes, particularly those with products in use in Ukraine. Earlier this year, US Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who oversees NATO military operations as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told Business Insider that NATO wants to establish the same kind of battlefield feedback loop that Ukraine has, and that's something allies are working on.
不断更改或重新设计武器的弊端在于，这会让大规模生产变得更加困难。乌克兰-爱沙尼亚机器人、无人机和软件公司Ark Robotics的首席执行官Achi此前曾告诉《商业内幕》，当“谈论规模化制造时，任何更改都要付出极高的代价”，这会拖慢甚至停止生产。但变革必不可少。“你承担不起无法做出改变的后果，”他说。
The drawback to constantly changing or redesigning weapons is that it makes it much harder to produce at scale. Achi, the CEO of the Ukrainian-Estonian robot, drone, and software company Ark Robotics, previously told Business Insider that when "talking about scale manufacturing, any change comes at a very high price," slowing down or even halting production. But change is essential. "You cannot afford not to be able to make changes," he said.
这迫使制造商在努力维持生产的同时，必须预判战场需求的变化。Oleg表示，欧洲合作伙伴需要为武器开发中持续适应变化的现实做好准备，其他乌克兰公司和官员也发出了类似警告。他告诫称，俄罗斯“在技术方面非常擅长”，且善于针对即使是乌克兰最好的武器研发对策。“他们被许多人低估了。”对乌克兰武器制造商而言，这意味着产品可能永远不存在真正“完成”的时候。
That forces manufacturers to anticipate changing battlefield needs while trying to maintain production. Oleg said that European partners need to prepare for the reality of constant adaptation in weapons development, a warning echoed by other Ukrainian companies and officials. He cautioned that Russia is "really good at technology" and at developing countermeasures to even Ukraine's best weapons. "They're being underestimated by a lot of people." For Ukrainian weapons makers, that means there may never be a point when a product is truly finished.