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| WASHINGTON — If the truth is out there, it certainly is not apparent yet. |
| 华盛顿——如果真相确实存在，那显然还有待发现。 |
| Pentagon and intelligence officials are trying to make sense of three unidentified flying objects over Alaska, Canada and Michigan that U.S. fighter jets shot down with missiles on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. |
| 五角大楼和情报官员正在努力厘清，美国战斗机在周五、周六和周日用导弹在阿拉斯加、加拿大和密歇根上空击落的三个不明飞行物，究竟是什么情况。 |
| The latest turn in the aerial show taking place in the skies above North America comes after a helter-skelter weekend involving what at times seemed like an invasion of unidentified flying objects. |
| 北美上空的空中秀出现这个最新转折之前，是一个充满混乱的周末，有时看起来像是出现了不明飞行物的入侵。 |
| The latest object had first been spotted on Saturday over Montana, initially sparking debate over whether it even existed. On Saturday, military officials detected a radar blip over Montana, which then disappeared, leading them to conclude it was an anomaly. Then a blip appeared Sunday over Montana, then Wisconsin and Michigan. Once military officials obtained visual confirmation, they ordered an F-16 to shoot it down over Lake Huron. |
| 最新的物体于周六在蒙大拿州上空首次被发现，最初还引发了它究竟是否存在的争议。星期六，军方官员在蒙大拿州上空探测到一个雷达信号，信号随后消失，因为，他们认为这是一个异常现象。周日，信号再次出现在蒙大拿州上空，然后是威斯康星州和密歇根州。军方通过视觉确认后，下令一架 F-16在休伦湖上空将其击落。 |
| There are two big questions around the episodes: What were the craft? And why does the United States appear to be seeing more suddenly, and shooting down more? |
| 围绕这几起事件存在两大疑问：这些飞行器究竟是什么东西？为什么美国上空突然冒出来这么多，打下来的也更多了？ |
| There are no answers to the first question yet. American officials do not know what the objects were, much less their purpose or who sent them. |
| 第一个问题现在还没有答案。美国官员也不知道这些物体究竟是什么，更不知道它们的目的，以及是谁派过来的。 |
| For the second, it is not clear if there are suddenly more objects. But what is certain is that in the wake of the recent incursion by a Chinese spy balloon, the U.S. and Canadian militaries are hypervigilant in flagging some objects that might previously have been allowed to pass. |
| 对于第二个问题，目前还不清楚它们是不是突然变多的。但可以肯定的是，在最近发生中国间谍气球入侵事件后，美国和加拿大军方保持高度警惕，对一些以前可能放过的物体进行了跟踪。 |
| After the transit of the spy balloon this month, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, adjusted its radar system to make it more sensitive. As a result, the number of objects it detected increased sharply. In other words, NORAD is picking up more incursions because it is looking for them, spurred on by the heightened awareness caused by the furor over the spy balloon, which floated over the continental United States for a week before an F-22 shot it down on Feb. 4. |
| 本月间谍气球过境后，北美防空司令部(NORAD)对雷达系统做出调整，提高了灵敏度。因而它探测到的物体数量急剧增加。换言之，受到间谍气球引起的骚动所刺激，NORAD提高了警惕，所以它发现了更多的入侵。该气球在在美国大陆上空飘浮了一周时间，随后，一架F-22于2月4日将其击落。 |
| American officials have not completely discounted theories that there could also be more objects, period. Some officials theorize that the objects could be from China, or another foreign power, and may be aimed at testing detection abilities after the spy balloon. |
| 美国官员并没有完全否认可能存在更多目标的说法。一些官员推测，这些物体可能来自中国，也可能来自其他外国势力，它们可能是为了在间谍气球事件发生之后进行侦察能力测试。 |
| The object spotted approaching Luke Huron on Sunday was flying at 20,000 feet and presented a potential threat to civil aviation, so President Biden ordered it shot down, U.S. officials said. It had an octagonal structure with strings hanging off but had no discernible payload, they added. |
| 美国官员表示，周日发现的接近休伦湖的物体飞行高度在6000米，这对民用航空构成了潜在威胁，因此拜登总统下令将其击落。他们还说，它带有一个八角形结构，上面挂着绳子，但没有明显的有效载荷。 |
| U.S. and Canadian officials say the objects shot down on Friday and Saturday were also flying lower than the spy balloon, posing a greater danger to civilian aircraft, which prompted leaders to order them destroyed. Those two objects were flying over parts of Alaska and the Yukon that have few residents, and the third object downed on Sunday was over water, so risks posed by falling debris were minimal, they said. |
| 美国和加拿大官员说，星期五和星期六击落的物体飞行高度也低于之前的那个间谍气球，因而对民用航空的危害更大，这促使领导人下令摧毁这些物体。他们说，这两个物体当时正在阿拉斯加和育空地区人迹罕至的地区上空飞行，周日打下来的第三个物体下方则是水体，因此碎片坠落造成的风险很小。 |
| The spy balloon that drifted across the United States flew much higher, at 60,000 feet, and did not pose a danger to aircraft. But any falling debris could have hit people on the ground, Pentagon officials said. |
| 飘过美国的间谍气球飞得更高，在约1.8万米的高空，不对飞机构成危险。但五角大楼官员表示，任何坠落残骸都可能击中地面人员。 |
| Throughout the weekend, officials said they were still trying to determine what the three objects were. The first, a Defense Department official said, is most likely not a balloon — and it broke into pieces after it was shot down on Friday. Saturday’s object was described by Canadian authorities as cylindrical, and American officials say it is more likely it was a balloon of some kind. Sunday’s object appeared unlikely to be a balloon, one official said. |
| 官员称，整个周末他们都在试图确定这三个飞行物到底是什么。国防部一名官员表示，第一个很可能不是气球，它在周五被击落后已经解体。加拿大当局称周六发现的飞行物为圆柱形，美国官员说它更有可能是某种气球。一名官员说，周日击落的飞行物不太可能是气球。 |
| NORAD radar tracked the first two objects for at least 12 hours before they were shot down. But Defense Department officials have never said whether they picked the objects up on radar before they neared American airspace. |
| 在前两个飞行物被击落前，北美防空司令部的雷达曾对其进行至少12个小时的追踪。但国防部官员从未透露是否在这些飞行物接近美国领空之前就通过雷达发现了它们。 |
| U.S. officials said they are reviewing video and other sensor readings collected by the American pilots who observed the objects before their destruction. But the exact nature of the objects, where they are from and what they were intended for will not be confirmed until the F.B.I. and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have the chance to thoroughly examine the debris, officials said. |
| 美国官员称正在审查录像和其他传感器读数，这些数据是在飞行物被摧毁前由美国飞行员观测到的。但官员们表示，在联邦调查局和皇家加拿大骑警彻查残骸之前，这些飞行物的确切性质、它们来自哪里及其用途何在还无法得到证实。 |
| While the incidents involved unidentified flying objects in the literal sense of the words, national security officials have discounted any thoughts that what the Air Force shot out of the sky represents any sort of extraterrestrial visitors. No one, one senior official said, thinks these things are anything other than devices fashioned here on Earth. |
| 虽然这些事件中的不明飞行物确实来源不明，但国家安全官员否认这些被空军击落的物体有可能代表外星访客。一位高级官员说，没有人认为这些东西不是地球上制造的设备。 |
| Luis Elizondo, the military intelligence officer who ran the Pentagon’s U.F.O. program until 2017, said that the Biden administration must find a way to balance vigilance over what is going on in the skies above America against “chasing our tail” whenever something unknown shows up — a tough task, he said. |
| 在2017年以前负责五角大楼不明飞行物研究项目的军事情报官员路易斯·埃利桑多表示，拜登政府必须设法平衡对美国空域事件的警惕，而不是让未知物体“牵着我们的鼻子走”。他说，这是一项艰巨的任务。 |
| For years, adversaries have sent low-tech gadgets into the skies above the United States, Mr. Elizondo said. |
| 埃利桑多说，多年来，对手一直在向美国领空发射技术含量低的设备。 |
| “What’s happening now is you have low-end technology being used to harass America,” he said in an interview. “It is a high-impact, low-cost way for China to do this, and the more you look up in the sky, the more you will see.” |
| “现在的情况是，美国正受到低端技术的骚扰，”他在接受采访时表示。“对中国来说，这是一种影响力大而成本低廉的办法，你越是仰望天空，看到的就越多。” |
| At the urging of Congress, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies have intensified their study of unexplained incidents near military bases in recent years. The studies on what the intelligence community calls unidentified aerial phenomena have identified previously undetected efforts to conduct surveillance on American military exercises and bases. Many of those unexplained incidents have been balloons, and some of them are now believed to be attempted surveillance activity by China or other powers, both using balloons and surveillance drones. |
| 在国会敦促下，五角大楼和情报机构近年来加强了对军事基地附近不明事件的研究。对情报界所称的不明空中现象的研究，发现了此前未知的针对美国军事演习和基地的监视活动。这些不明原因事件中，有很多都是气球，其中一些如今被认为是中国或其他大国企图使用气球和无人侦察机进行的监视活动。 |
| In a public report released last month, the intelligence community said that of 366 unexplained incidents, 163 were later identified as balloons. A related classified document whose findings were reported this month by The New York Times said at least two incidents at U.S. military bases could be examples of advanced aerial technology, possibly developed by China. |
| 情报界在上个月发布的公开报告中表示，在366起不明原因事件中，有163起后来被确定为气球。《纽约时报》本月报道了一份相关机密文件，其调查结果称，美国军事基地发生的至少两起事件应该都涉及到可能由中国研发的先进航空技术。 |
| “We can now assess flight patterns and trajectory in a much more scientific way,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat who wrote the recent legislation mandating greater internal military reporting and analysis of aerial phenomena, leading to more documentation of sightings. “You need to know who’s using the technology and what it is.” |
| “我们现在可以用更科学的办法评估飞行模式和轨迹，”参议员陆天娜(Kirsten Gillibrand)表示，这位纽约州民主党人最近起草了一项法案，要求军方内部加强对空中现象的报告和分析，从而记录更多目击事件。“要搞清楚是谁在使用什么技术。” |
| The most alarming theory under consideration by some U.S. officials is that the objects are sent by China or another power in an attempt to learn more about American radar or early warning systems. |
| 一些美国官员考虑的最令人担忧的理论是，这些飞行物由中国大陆或其他大国发射，目的是为了更多地了解美国雷达或早期预警系统。 |
| A senior administration official said one theory — and the person stressed that it is just a theory — is that China or Russia sent the objects to test American intelligence-gathering capabilities. They could be sent to learn both how quickly the United States becomes aware of an intrusion and how quickly the military can respond to such an incursion, the official said. |
| 一位高级政府官员表示，有一种理论是——他强调这只是一种理论——中国或俄罗斯发送这些物体来测试美国的情报收集能力。这位官员说，这些物体可能会被派去了解美国能多快意识到入侵，以及军方能多快对这种入侵做出反应。 |
| American officials are united in their belief that the spy balloon that transited the United States was a Chinese machine meant to conduct surveillance on American military bases. Officials said it was unclear if China had complete control of the balloon during its whole journey. But officials said China did have at least a limited ability to steer it, and the balloon maneuvered on Feb. 3 before it was shot down the next day. |
| 美国官员一致认为，飞越美国的间谍气球是一台旨在监视美国军事基地的中国机器。官员们表示，尚不清楚中国是否在全程中完全控制了气球。但官员们表示，中国至少具备有限的操纵气球行动的能力，该气球在2月3日受到了操控，次日被击落。 |
| Another American official said the Chinese spy balloon was equipped with a self-destruct mechanism, but Beijing did not use it, a potential sign that Chinese officials wanted to continue to collect intelligence, even after it was discovered. |
| 另一名美国官员表示，中国间谍气球配备了自毁装置，但北京没有启动它，这可能表明中国官员想要继续收集情报，即使在气球被发现之后。 |
| The disclosure of the balloon by the Pentagon on Feb. 2 led to a public diplomatic crisis between China and the United States. Beijing said it had the right to respond further. On Sunday, a Chinese newspaper reported that local maritime authorities in Shandong Province on the east coast had spotted an “unidentified flying object” in waters by the city of Rizhao and were preparing to shoot it down. State-run news organizations reposted the information. |
| 2月2日，五角大楼披露气球事件，引发了中美之间的公开外交危机。北京表示有权进一步回应。周日，一家中国报纸报道称，位于东部海岸的山东省地方海事部门在日照市附近海域发现了一个“不明飞行物”，并准备将其击落。官方新闻机构转载了这一信息。 |
| If any of the devices destroyed in North America over the past three days were Chinese, it would amount to a major provocation on the heels of the spy balloon, one reason some officials said not to jump to the conclusion that the objects are surveillance devices sent from Beijing. |
| 如果过去三天在北美击落的任何物体属于中国，那将构成继间谍气球之后的一次重大挑衅，因此一些官员表示，不要妄下结论，认为这些物体是北京派出的监控设备。 |
| Officials in Beijing seem to want to limit tensions over the spy balloon, suggesting to some U.S. officials that the latest objects are less likely to be deliberate Chinese provocations or tests. |
| 北京的官员似乎想克制间谍气球造成的紧张局势，向一些美国官员暗示，最近的几个物体不太可能是中国蓄意的挑衅或考验。 |
| Pentagon officials have been raising flags about deficiencies in North America’s aging warning systems, radar and sensors. |
| 五角大楼官员一直就北美陈旧的预警系统、雷达和传感器的缺陷提出警告。 |
| Speaking last year at the Aspen Security Conference in Colorado, Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the commander of the Air Force’s Northern Command, said that the United States had struggled to detect certain intrusions, what he called “domain awareness challenges.” General VanHerck said the NORAD radars could not adequately detect hypersonics and other threats. |
| 空军北方司令部司令格伦·范赫克将军去年在科罗拉多州的阿斯彭安全会议上发表讲话说，美国在发现某些入侵方面存在困难，他称之为“领域意识挑战”。范赫克将军表示，NORAD雷达无法充分探测到超音速和其他威胁。 |
| But, he also said, the United States and Canada were investing in new over-the-horizon radar to better identify potential threats, as well as artificial intelligence systems to help pick out possible intrusions. |
| 但是，他还表示，美国和加拿大正在投资新的超视距雷达，以便更好地识别潜在威胁，并投资人工智能系统以帮助识别可能的入侵。 |
| “I’m very encouraged with where we’re going,” General VanHerck said last July, “but we still have some challenges to work on.” |
| 范赫克将军去年7月表示：“我对我们的发展方向感到十分鼓舞，但我们仍然面临一些挑战。” |
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