http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/2008-10-20/0744526123.html
美國擬研製新太空戰機 想法緣於抓捕拉登失敗
http://www.sina.com.cn  2008年10月20日 07:44  東方早報

　　美國軍方正在考慮與NASA合作，研製新型軍用“宇宙戰機”。這種戰機的飛行速度幾乎可以與太空梭相媲美，可利用火箭動力推動抵達雷達無法探測的高空，能在4小時之內將10餘名全副武裝的美國海軍陸戰隊士兵運抵世界任何一個角落。

　　而研製這種戰機的想法竟緣於“基地”組織頭目本•拉丹抓捕行動失敗。

　　最初研製目的為抓拉丹

　　就在上周，美國空軍發言人馬克•布朗中校公開證實，美國國防部已經與NASA就研發“宇宙戰機”舉行了一次長達2小時的秘密會議，這種戰機被命名為“熱鷹”(Hot Eagle)。五角大樓希望，到2019年時，“熱鷹”能正式升空。

　　“熱鷹”強大的推動力能飛行至距地球50英里(約合80公里)的太空，按照國際法準則，距離地面80公里以內的空域均屬於一國領空範圍。

　　美國海軍陸戰隊2002年最早提出了研發“熱鷹”飛行器的建議，這主要是因為他們當時在阿富汗山區追捕拉丹屢屢遭遇失敗。建議者稱，由於阿富汗山區的地形比較特殊，當發現拉丹的可疑形蹤時，如果美軍士兵步行前往可能藏有拉丹的山洞，則需要耗費過長的時間。而如果使用直升機前往執行任務，則目標又過於明顯而無法達成效果。軍方於是提出“小部隊太空運輸和突襲”計畫，簡稱“Sustain”。

　　時任海軍陸戰隊“中央司令部”負責人詹姆斯•馬蒂斯提出2019年“宇宙戰機”上天的目標。他不久前升入軍方高層，Sustain計畫隨之成為重點工作之一。

　　以“白騎士”飛船為範本

　　“熱鷹”將會以維珍銀河集團的“白騎士”系列太空飛船作為模版。“白騎士”的主要設計者、現年65歲的布特•魯坦博士上周曾對“熱鷹”的研發表示了祝福。在2004年設計製造的“白騎士”是魯坦的成名之作，這也是人類歷史上第一架抵達太空的私人載人航天器。魯坦預言，基於“白騎士”技術研發的軍用太空梭雖然代價不菲，但“是可行的，是能夠完成的”。這更讓五角大樓的決策者們看到了希望。

　　維珍銀河集團主席維爾•懷特霍恩則預言，“熱鷹”“可能像雷鳥那樣，成為國際援助飛機”。

　　但也有專家對此表示質疑，他們認為將區區13個人空投到衝突地區並不能扭轉局勢。而且，關於“熱鷹”本身的設計原則仍未確定，有人傾向於把它製造成一次性飛行器，突擊隊到達目的地後立即將其摧毀，完成任務後乘直升機返回。也有人贊成研製更複雜的飛行器，可以帶士兵回家。（周晶璐 ）

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4969025.ece
From The Sunday Times
October 19, 2008

Pentagon plans ‘spaceplane’ to reach hotspots fast

John Harlow in Los Angeles

The American military is planning a “spaceplane” designed to fly a crack squad of heavily armed marines to trouble spots anywhere in the world within four hours.

At a recent secret meeting at the Pentagon, engineers working on the craft, codenamed Hot Eagle, were told to draw up blueprints for a prototype which generals want to have in the air within 11 years.

Pentagon planners have been encouraged by technical breakthroughs from Burt Rutan, chief designer on Sir Richard Branson’s White Knight spaceship, which is due to begin test flights next year and to carry tourists on suborbital journeys from 2010.

Last week Rutan, 65, who built the first privately funded craft to reach space and won the $10m X prize for his achievement in 2004, gave his blessing to Hot Eagle, which could be based on White Knight’s technology. Rutan said it would be an expensive way to transport troops “but it could be done. It is feasible”.

Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic, which is funding White Knight, recently predicted that it could be used to airlift emergency supplies into disaster zones.

“It could be like Thunderbirds, like International Rescue,” he said. A passenger version would be capable of flying from London to Sydney in four hours.

The two-stage Hot Eagle would be launched from an aircraft carrier. A large booster rocket would carry a smaller spacecraft containing 13 “space troopers” 50 miles into space, far above hostile radar, before landing in enemy territory.

The marines first called for a spaceplane in 2002 after the US military failed to capture Osama Bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan. The project was known as the Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion programme (Sustain). Its advocates said it took too long on foot to reach the caves where Bin Laden was said to be hiding and helicopters were too visible.

General James Mattis, leading the marines’ Central Command at the time, said he wanted the spaceplane in the air by 2019. He was recently promoted to be one of the most senior officers in the US military establishment and Sustain has since become a priority.

Last week Lieutenant Colonel Mark Brown, a US air force spokesman, confirmed that Nasa and Pentagon officers had met for two days of talks to draw up plans for Hot Eagle.

Invitations to the meeting said participants would be discussing a “potential revolutionary step in getting combat power to any point in the world in a time frame unbelievable today”.

Although aided by Rutan’s breakthroughs in ever-lighter composite materials, there are many technological hurdles ahead for Hot Eagle.

Designers have not yet decided whether to build a relatively simple disposable craft, which the space troopers would destroy before being picked up by helicopter, or a vastly more complex vehicle which could fly them home.

Some critics dismiss Hot Eagle as Hollywood-inspired science fiction or an expensive toy. Others question how effective a fighting force of just 13 soldiers could be on the ground.

“That is, if they get there,” said Ivan Oelrich, of the Federation of American Scientists. “It would be wildly vulnerable as you cannot armoura rocket ship.”

Roosevelt Lafontrant, a former marine colonel now employed by the Schafer Corporation, a technology company, said the technology was advancing rapidly. “If we had had the Sustain programme in operation in 2002, Bin Laden would have been captured and history fundamentally changed,” he said recently.

http://news.chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-News/2007Cti-News-Content/0,4521,110504+112008102000220,00.html
美軍研發快速太空運輸機
2008-10-20 中國時報 【潘勛／綜合報導】

　美國計畫研發於地球次軌道飛行的「太空飛機」，以便把編制一班的重武裝陸戰隊員，在四個小時內便運送到地球任何爆發衝突的「熱點」；而美軍希望到二○一九年能落實這項構想。

　構思中的太空飛機代號為「熱鷹」（Hot Eagle）。美國空軍發言人布朗證實，「國家航空暨太空總署」及五角大廈十月中旬曾召開兩天的閉門會議，工程師奉令勾勒出「熱鷹」的藍圖。

　美國航太工業設計師魯坦設計出「白騎士二號」全碳纖複合材質飛機，打算自二○一○年起進行載送旅客到地球次軌道的商業太空旅行；這項材質科技的突破令五角大廈相關官員大為振奮，認為以此為基礎可研發出「熱鷹」。

　而魯坦雖然認為，要用那種科技運輸部隊成本昂貴，但能夠做到。按構想，兩節式的「熱鷹」將由運載母機發射，再藉由大型助升火箭把較小、載有十三名「太空部隊」的太空戰機推升到地球軌道約八十公里上空，如此可避開敵方雷達的偵測，再降落於目標區。

　英國《周日泰晤士報》十九日報導，雖然有魯坦的新科技相助，但想研發出「熱鷹」，未來還有許多障礙必須突破。設計人員尚未決定應該把「熱鷹」造成操作相對較簡易單而可拋棄的戰機，太空部隊抵達目的地後馬上摧毀，不讓敵人直升機找到，還是製造成較大型、複雜的載具，可讓太空部隊在達成任務後駕返。

http://udn.com/NEWS/WORLD/WOR4/4564930.shtml
太空飛機 4小時到全球各地

【聯合報╱編譯高國珍／報導】 2008.10.20 02:37 am

美國軍方正在設計一種太空飛機，可在4小時內抵達全球任何一個發生戰事的地點。

泰晤士報19日報導，美國國防部最近舉行的一次秘密會議上，美國軍方工程師透露，此代號為「熱鷹」的飛行工具，其藍圖正在規畫中，軍方希望能在11年內正式啟用。

現年65歲、主持製造維京集團總裁布蘭森的白騎士太空船的魯坦博士，看好「熱鷹」的研發。白騎士將在明年測試飛行，預計2010年起載人。魯坦2004年曾因此項首架私人太空船的研發，獲得100萬美元的獎勵。魯坦表示，「要載送一隊軍隊比較難，但還是有可能執行。」

熱鷹的科技，與白騎士相似。將火箭置入航空母艦，火箭內裝有13名士兵，可由航空母艦發射至距地球約80公里的高空中，到達戰事衝突地區再突然降落。

由於80公里的高空超過任何敵國的雷達監控範圍，因此可發揮突襲效果。

美軍最早是在2002年發想出「熱鷹」，主因當時在阿富汗山區追捕賓拉丹時屢嘗敗跡。建議者稱，由於阿富汗山區地形特殊，當發現賓拉登可疑形蹤時，美軍若步行前往則耗時過長，若用直升機前往，目標又過於明顯。於是美軍制定了此「小型太空運輸工具及載人計畫」。

【2008/10/20 聯合報】

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081001/pl_afp/usmilitarychinaspace_081001151051
US urged to bolster missile, space defenses against China: paper

Wed Oct 1, 11:10 AM ET

WASHINGTON, (AFP) - A draft report recommends that the United States build new missile, sea-based and space-based defenses to deal with China's growing nuclear and conventional forces, a newspaper said Tuesday.
 
The draft by a State Department advisory board said China aims to build forces that are not just capable of retaking Taiwan but also of projecting power beyond east Asia, The Washington Times reported.

China's "major objective is to counter US presence and US military capabilities in East Asia through the acquisition of offensive capacities in critical functional areas that systematically exploit US vulnerabilities," it quoted the report as saying.

China is developing capabilities for "asymmetric warfare," such as space and computer weapons, that could help it defeat stronger US armed forces, according to a copy of the draft the daily said it had obtained.

The report warned of gaps in US missile defenses, dependence on space for communications, reliance on aircraft carriers to project power to China's shores, and "fragile electronics and the Internet," the newspaper said.

The draft recommends that the United States obtain new offensive space and cyber warfare capabilities and missile defenses as well as "more robust sea- and space-based capabilities" to deter any crisis over Taiwan, the daily said.

The ISAB report said China was headed for expansion after centuries as a regional power.

"In China's view, Taiwan is the key to breakout: If China is to become a global power, the first step must include control of this island," the report was quoted as saying.

Once it controls the island of Taiwan, China would then be able to control the neighboring seas and to project power eastward, according to the report.

The draft by the Secretary of State's International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) is significant, it added, because US government and private-sector analyses have until now not seen China as a US security challenge.

The Washington Times said the report has not been officially released, but could be released in a few weeks.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/01/new-us-defenses-sought-to-counter-beijing-buildup/
China report urges missile shield
Urges development of counterweapons
Bill Gertz (Contact)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

EXCLUSIVE:

The United States needs new weapon systems, including missile defenses and other advanced military capabilities, to deter and counter China's steady buildup of nuclear and conventional arms, according to a draft internal report by a State Department advisory board.

U.S. defense policy has stressed missile defenses against Iran and North Korea. The report, by the Secretary of State's International Security Advisory Board (ISAB), is the first to recommend such defenses against China, including technology in space.

The draft, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, said Chinese strategy goes beyond building forces capable of retaking the island of Taiwan. China seeks to "break out" by projecting power beyond its region including sea lanes that carry energy resources for its modernization, the document said.

"Using superior U.S. military technical capacities, the United States should undertake the development of new weapons, sensors, communications, and other programs and tactics to convince China that it will not be able to overcome the U.S. militarily," the report said.

The draft report presents a tough assessment of Chinese strategic modernization that goes beyond many current government and private-sector analyses that say that China's military modernization does not pose a major challenge to U.S. security interests.

For example, in an interview with The Washington Times in March, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden expressed professional "admiration" for China's rapid and sophisticated buildup and said it is "not inevitable that they will be an enemy." The report said that to reduce the chance of a miscalculation by China that could lead to a crisis or conflict, the United States "must take seriously China's challenge to U.S. military superiority in the Asia-Pacific region. ... China's military modernization is proceeding at a rate ... to be of concern even with the most benign interpretation of China's motivation."

Chinese Embassy spokesman Wang Baodong said in a statement that China is "naturally becoming stronger and more influential in world affairs" after 30 years of reform, but remains committed to peaceful development and a "foreign policy of peace."

"China will not harm anyone or pose a threat to anyone. China's development is opportunity, not threat. Any versions of China threat will continue to be proved fallacious," he said.

Mr. Wang also said his government is "committed to the peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question and the peaceful reunification" of the island with the mainland.

The draft by the 17-member advisory board has not been officially released. A State Department official familiar with the report said it is in the late stages and could be completed in the next several weeks.

The official said the report's stark assessment of China's strategy and forces was in line with the board's mandate to provide frank advice to the secretary of state from analysts outside government.

Brandon A. Buttrick, the ISAB executive director, said his office did not know when members would complete their review. "If the report is an unclassified report, it will be made available for public distribution as we have done with the previous ISAB reports when they are approved by the ISAB," he said.

 
Chinese police march in Tiananmen Square. Associated Press

The board is headed by former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. The task force that produced the report was led by Robert Joseph, a former undersecretary of state and specialist on nonproliferation. The task force included former Sen. Charles S. Robb, Virginia Democrat; Allison B. Fortier, a vice president for missile defense at Lockheed Martin; and William Van Cleave, emeritus professor for defense and security studies at Missouri State University.

Mr. Robb said he initially took part but dropped out because of time constraints "notwithstanding my interest in the topic." He declined to comment further.

Mr. Wolfowitz declined to be interviewed. Once the Bush administration's chief theorist on the war on terror and a major policymaker on the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Wolfowitz previously held numerous senior posts dealing with Asian affairs at both the State Department and Pentagon. He stepped down as World Bank president amid ethics inquiries in June.

The draft report said China's "major objective is to counter U.S. presence and U.S. military capabilities in East Asia through the acquisition of offensive capacities in critical functional areas that systematically exploit U.S. vulnerabilities." It said the buildup involves capabilities for "asymmetric warfare," such as space and computer weapons, that could help Chinese forces defeat a stronger U.S. military.

Among the areas of U.S. strategic vulnerability identified in the report are gaps in U.S. missile defenses; dependence on space for communications; the U.S. inability to use force against China except through aircraft carrier groups; and "fragile electronics and the Internet." The report recommends that the United States acquire new offensive space and cyber warfare capabilities and missile defenses as well as "more robust sea- and space-based capabilities" to deter any crisis over Taiwan.

China currently has about 20 missiles capable of reaching the United States but is projected to have more than 100 nuclear missiles, some likely with multiple warheads, by 2015, the report said.

Among the key findings:

• Continued rapid economic growth of 10 percent a year is "vital" for China to continue to compete with the United States and achieve its main goals of regime survival and regional dominance.

• China's industrial and defense espionage is aimed at obtaining advanced technology for economic and military modernization.

• The scale, scope and speed of China's rise fundamentally impacts U.S. national security, yet the U.S. "possesses only a limited understanding of Chinese intentions, and how Beijing's economic and military expansion affects these interests."

• China's military and civilian leaders are not always on the same page and that separation is a potential "focal point" for mitigating hostility. China's civilian leaders understand Americans but the Chinese military suffers from "clear paranoia and misperceptions" about U.S. intentions.

• To avoid an "emerging creep" by China toward strategic nuclear coercion, "the United States will need to pursue new missile defense capabilities, including taking full advantage of space," the report said.

On China's expansion after centuries as a regional power, the ISAB report stated that: "In China's view, Taiwan is the key to breakout: If China is to become a global power, the first step must include control of this island." Taking over the island would allow China to control the seas near its coasts and to project power eastward, the report said.

China views Taiwan, where nationalist forces fled from the mainland in 1949, as central to "the legitimacy of the regime and key to power projection," the report said. Taiwan also is seen by China as a way to deny the United States a key ally in "a highly strategic location" of the western Pacific, the report said.

Chinese authorities have said they desire peaceful reunification with Taiwan but will not allow it to declare formal independence and have not ruled out the use of force.

The advisory panel report also recommended that the U.S. increase sales of advanced conventional forces to allies in Asia and improve counterintelligence efforts.

Larry M. Wortzel, chairman of the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said he has not seen the report but that blocking Taiwan independence and gaining control of the island "is one of the highest priorities set for the People's Liberation Army by the Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee and the Central Military Commission." "If China accomplishes this, its military can concentrate on missions to expand China's presence, influence, and even control, in wider areas of the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Mr. Wang, the Chinese Embassy spokesman, said China's budget for 2007 was $45 billion, or 1.4 percent of gross domestic product. He said this year's defense budget is $57.2 billion, an increase of 17.6 percent.

The United States spends about 4 percent of GDP on defense, according to the CIA World Factbook.

However, the Pentagon's latest annual report on China's military stated that China's military spending figures do not include spending on China's space program, strategic forces, foreign acquisitions, military-related research and development and paramilitary forces.

• Read the report by the ISAB Task Force on China's Strategic Modernization (downloads PDF)
http://video1.washingtontimes.com/video/ChinaStrategicPlan.pdf

http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-10/02/content_10141488.htm
美國機構建議研制新武器遏制中國軍事力量 
2008年10月02日 11:31:37 　來源：環球時報 

    美國國務院國際安全顧問委員會(ISAB)近日向美國政府提交了一份新的報告草案，該草案大肆渲染中國軍力威脅，建議美國研發包括導彈防禦係統在內的新型武器係統，以遏制和應對中國穩步發展的核力量和常規軍事力量。

    美國《華盛頓時報》網站10月1日文章稱，該報獲得了ISAB的這份報告草案。報道援引該草案的內容稱，中國不止要統一臺灣，而且還要“突破”這一戰略，構築超出海上能源運輸線等地域范圍的力量。因此，該報告建議，“美國應依托自身超強的軍事技術能力研發新型武器、探測係統、通訊係統及其它項目和戰術，以此來告誡中國，它沒有實力同美軍抗衡。”

    《華盛頓時報》稱，美國以往的防禦政策是著重將反導係統對準伊朗和朝鮮，該報告草案是首次建議將這類武器係統對準中國。

    報道說，這項報告具有重要意義，因為美國政府和私營部門進行的分析迄今還沒有把中國視為對美國安全的威脅。

    《華盛頓時報》稱這項報告還沒有正式發表，有可能在幾周後發表。

    國務院國際安全顧問委員會負責向美國國務卿匯報，其職責包括就美國政府面臨的許多棘手問題發表看法，包括朝核問題、與伊朗談判等。

    《華盛頓時報》還提到了該報今年3月對美國中央情報局(CIA)局長邁克爾·海登的採訪。海登在採訪中對中國軍隊取得的成就表達了“職業性的稱讚”，他同時表示，中國將“不可避免地成為美國的敵人”。該報告說，為了避免中國誤判，美國“必須認真對待中國對美軍在亞太地區地位的挑戰”，“中國正在加緊進行軍事現代化，對此，即使是對中國動機的最友好的詮釋，美國也應予以警惕”。

    海登所言“對中國動機的最友好的詮釋”是指中國政府對自身政策的解讀。《華盛頓時報》援引中國使館發言人王保東的話說，中國在進行完30年的改革之後，“自然而然地變得更為強大，在世界上也更有影響力”，但是中國仍將信守和平發展的承諾，並繼續採取“和平的外交政策”。王保東說，“中國不會傷害和威脅任何人。中國的發展是機遇不是挑戰。任何中國威脅論的說法都將被證明是錯誤的”。

    《華盛頓時報》是美國著名的右翼報紙。該報曾屢次炮制“中國軍事威脅論”等右翼言論及有關中國的假新聞，並得到了美國五角大樓和一些國會人士的支持。

http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2008/new/oct/2/today-int4.htm
自由時報2008年10月2日

抗中擴軍 美應強化太空、飛彈防禦
〔編譯胡立宗／綜合報導〕華盛頓時報一日刊出獨家報導，指美國國務院「國際安全顧問委員會」（ＩＳＡＢ）在一份內部報告初稿中指出，鑒於中國企圖建立區域外軍事投射能力，美國應發展包括飛彈防禦系統、太空防禦在內的新型武器、偵測裝置、通訊系統及其他計畫與戰術，以建立制衡中國的能力。這是迄今第一份建議以飛彈防禦系統，甚至太空技術反制中國的官方報告。

國務院內部報告曝光

報告指出，中國近年來發展軍備的企圖，已遠超過奪取台灣的需要，而更著眼於建立超越亞太區域的戰力投射能力，其中一項目標即在確保能源運輸的海上航路。華時的報導也強調，這份報告與其他官方或民間報告的最大不同就在於，明確指出中國的軍備發展可能威脅美國利益。

報告指出，為避免中國誤判情勢引發危機或衝突，美國必須正視中國對美國軍事優勢的挑戰；而且中國軍事發展的速度，「就算是以最善意的角度評估其背後目的，（這樣的速度）都值得擔憂」。

ＩＳＡＢ是由前國防部副部長、前世界銀行總裁沃佛維茲負責。熟知報告提出程序的國務院官員表示，報告的撰寫已到最後階段，但還需要數週才能完稿。官員指出，報告對於中國戰略及軍力的評估，只是基於對國務卿坦白建言的職責。ＩＳＡＢ認為美國的弱點在於飛彈防禦網出現漏洞、過於依賴太空通訊、必須藉航空母艦戰鬥群才能對中國動武，以及脆弱的電子及網路設施。報告建議，美國必須提升太空及網路攻擊能力，以對抗中國的「不對稱作戰」。

中國要成強權 勢必拿下台灣

報告還指出，台灣是中國在西太平洋擴張軍力的關鍵，除非拿下台灣，否則中國無法真正成為全球強權。中國的二砲戰力與日俱增，現在已有至少二十顆射程涵蓋美國本土的長程飛彈，在二○一五年前可能增加到一百枚以上，某些還可能裝載多個核彈頭，美國必須強化飛彈防禦及海空軍，才能避免台海出現危機。