By Wei Liqun

魏利群

The large unmanned combat vessel "Orca" adopts a trimaran design, a shape from science fiction.

“虎鯨”號無人作戰(zhàn)艇采用三體船體設(shè)計，造型科幻。

BEIJING, Nov. 18 -- The 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China) provides a window for observing China's latest breakthroughs in military technology. At the airshow, apart from new equipment in aviation and aerospace, weapons and equipment in the fields of land, sea and electronic information also become the focus of attention. Among them, the large unmanned combat vessel "Orca", which made its debut this time, is one of the exhibits that have attracted the most attention both domestically and internationally.

本屆航展是觀察中國軍工技術(shù)新突破的一個重要窗口，除航空航天領(lǐng)域的新裝備外，包括陸軍、海軍和電子信息等領(lǐng)域的武器裝備同樣備受矚目。其中，首次公開亮相的大型無人作戰(zhàn)艇“虎鯨”號就是國內(nèi)外最為關(guān)注的裝備之一。

According to the official source, the "Orca" is a 58-meter long, 23-meter wide, 4-meter deep, and 500-tonne high-speed stealth unmanned surface combat vessel. It is equipped with a diesel-electric dual-mode propulsion system, providing it with a maximum speed of 40 knots (74 kilometers per hour), and a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles(7,400 kilometers). As an autonomous combat vessel, it is like a mobile fortress on the sea which is capable of undertaking tasks such as beyond visual range (BVR) fire strike, air and missile defense, and anti-submarine search and strike.

官方公開的資料顯示，“虎鯨”號是一款500噸級、總長58米、型寬23米、型深4米的高速隱身水面無人作戰(zhàn)艇，采用柴油和電力雙推進系統(tǒng)。最高時速可達 40 節(jié)（74 公里/小時），具備超過4,000海里（7400 公里）的航程。作為一種自主作戰(zhàn)裝備，它可以進行超視距火力打擊、防空反導(dǎo)以及潛艇搜索和打擊等任務(wù)，可以說是海上的一座移動堡壘。

From the first sea trial in 2022 to the public debut in 2024, China built the "Orca" in only two years. This indicates that China has solved the problems plaguing large unmanned vessel development including large-scale platforms, modular functions, specialized payloads, diversified power sources and operational method coordination. It also demonstrates that China's unmanned vessel design capability is approaching the "realm of freedom".

從2022年的首次試航，到2024年的公開亮相，2年時間里就能打造出“虎鯨”號，表明中國已經(jīng)解決平臺大型化、功能模塊化、載荷專用化、動力來源多樣化及作戰(zhàn)方式協(xié)同等大型無人艇研制方面的難題，中國無人艇的設(shè)計能力正在靠近“自由王國”。

Getting rid of the human physiological limitations, the "Orca" can continue high-intensity operations and sail on the high seas for a long time, thereby effectively releasing the burden on personnel, freeing manpower from heavy, dangerous or boring tasks and concentrating resources on more critical strategic missions. Such platforms can regularly carry out non-military and military operations of low to medium intensity, such as patrol and guard around strategic points, base ports, islands and reefs, and key waterways.

由于不受人員生理的限制，“虎鯨”號可在高強度作業(yè)中持續(xù)運轉(zhuǎn)，長期在公海上航行，有效緩解人力負擔，將人員從繁重、危險或枯燥的任務(wù)中解放出來，集中資源于更加關(guān)鍵的戰(zhàn)略任務(wù)。此類平臺可在海上戰(zhàn)略要地、基地港口、島礁和關(guān)鍵航道周邊常態(tài)化執(zhí)行巡邏警戒等非軍事和中低等強度的軍事作戰(zhàn)等任務(wù)。

The unmanned vessel has the following three prominent features:

該無人艇有以下三個最為顯著的特征。

The first feature is the large tonnage. The "Orca" is a large unmanned vessel with a displacement of 500 tonnes, which means that it has excellent self-sustaining capability and outstanding performance in endurance, sailing stability and resistance to waves. At the same time, the large tonnage allows it to install more combat modules, incorporating the anti-ship, air defense, anti-submarine and other tactical capabilities of large surface vessels. Furthermore, relevant modules can be added and removed according to different needs.

首先是噸位大?！盎ⅥL”號是大型無人艇。該艇排水量在500噸級，這意味著它具有出色的自持能力，能夠在續(xù)航能力、航行操穩(wěn)性和抗浪性上表現(xiàn)優(yōu)異。同時，大噸位使得其能夠加裝多個戰(zhàn)斗模塊，兼具大型水面艦艇所具有的反艦、防空、反潛等戰(zhàn)術(shù)任務(wù)能力，并且可以按照需求進行相關(guān)模塊的增減。

It can be seen that the "Orca" is equipped with four phased array radars and a general-purpose vertical launching system. It can carry rockets, anti-ship missiles, air defense missiles and remote-control weapon stations, and can conduct coordinated operations with the Z-5B/G unmanned helicopter onboard it to achieve powerful firepower integration on the small platform. There is also a small docking bay at the stern, which can be used to launch and recover small underwater devices or various detection and reconnaissance sensors, such as sonobuoys or radar buoys.

可以看到，“虎鯨”號裝有4面相控陣雷達和通用垂直發(fā)射系統(tǒng)，可搭載火箭彈、反艦導(dǎo)彈、防空導(dǎo)彈和遙控武器站，并能與搭載的Z-5B/G型無人直升機協(xié)同作戰(zhàn)，實現(xiàn)小型平臺的強大火力集成。該艇的尾部甚至還配有小型塢艙，可用于布放和回收小型水下設(shè)備，或各類探測和偵察傳感器，如聲吶浮標或雷達浮標等。

The second feature is the stealth capability. Large vessels and anti-submarine patrol aircraft pose main detection threats to unmanned vessels like "Orca". The high-level radar-wave stealth design provides such unmanned vessels with detection advantages over large ships under long-range conditions, whether beyond visual range or not, and concealment advantages over detection radars of anti-submarine patrol aircraft under certain support conditions.

第二是能隱身。像“虎鯨”號這類無人艇主要面臨的探測威脅主要來自大型艦艇、反潛巡邏機，在經(jīng)過高度雷達波隱身設(shè)計后，該類艇可在視距外、視距內(nèi)遠距離條件下取得對抗大型艦艇的探測優(yōu)勢，而對于反潛巡邏機探測雷達則可在一定支援條件下建立隱蔽性優(yōu)勢。

The third feature is the excellent dynamical structure. Seen from the design, the "Orca" adopts a unique trimaran structure, giving it excellent stability and enabling it to sail steadily under harsh sea conditions. Moreover, it is equipped with a diesel-electric dual-mode propulsion system that provides enough power and stability to ensure not only fast response but also operation in low noise mode, making the enemy more difficult to detect it.

第三是結(jié)構(gòu)動力優(yōu)異。從設(shè)計角度來看，“虎鯨”號無人艇采用了獨特的三體船體結(jié)構(gòu)，賦予其卓越的穩(wěn)定性，使得“虎鯨”號能夠在惡劣海況下穩(wěn)健航行。同時，該艇配備了柴電雙模推進系統(tǒng)，既能提供足夠的動力、穩(wěn)定性，確?？焖俜磻?yīng)，又能在低噪音模式下運行，降低敵方探測難度。

Electronic equipment such as phased array radars and photoelectric detection devices are integrated into the mast of "Orca".

桅桿集成了相控陣雷達和光電探測設(shè)備等電子設(shè)備。

The helicopter deck of "Orca" can carry an unmanned helicopter.

直升機甲板可搭載一架無人直升機。

Relevant equipment can be placed in the stern cabin of "Orca" according to different needs.

尾艙可根據(jù)需求搭載相關(guān)設(shè)備。