【火腿快新闻】(⊙o⊙)…127亿美金采购电台装备？| 美国军队真的那么土豪么？（上）
本文作者： Rich Smith编译：BG5WKP 朱轶
来源：http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/13/is-the-us-army-really-spending-127-billion-on-radi.aspx
Is the U.S. Army Really Spending $12.7 Billion on Radios?
美国军队真的花了127亿美金采购电台装备？
The U.S. government spends a lot of money on weapons. So much money, in fact, that sometimes, you see a number and think, "That can't be right. But then again, maybe."
美国政府在武器采购方面一直动用大量的财力。事实上，有时候你看到如此多的金额也就一个数字罢了，你可能会想，有没有搞错啊！但转念一想，矮油！也许也有可能哦！
I had one of those moments last week, when the Department of Defense reported that it had just awarded three contractors a $12.7 billion contract to supply it with radios. That number couldn't be right. And in fact, since the exact dollar figure on the contract read "$12,725,724,536," I thought it was more likely a typo. Someone was data-entering the number for a $12.7 million radio contract, mistyped the "thousands" place, retyped it, and forgot to delete the original entry.
上周，当美国国防部报道说他们刚刚和三个承包商签订了一份价值127亿美元的无线电设备采购合同时，我见证了这个时刻。这个数字不可能错啊。我开始还以为有人输错了，以为是1270万美元，把小数点放错了位置。事实上这份合同上的"$12,725,724,536"这个数字是真真切切的。
But it wasn't a typo.
但这不是一个错误的数字。
And the Pentagon really is spending $12.7 billion on radios.
五角大楼确实在电台装备上花费127亿美元。
$500 toilet seats are so 1980s
500美元的马桶座圈就是发生在19世纪八十年代的军队采购中的。
That's a whole lot of moola to spend on what's likely to work out to about 65,000 radios -- roughly $200,000 per set. Granted, the value of the award also includes the cost of "accessories and related services" relevant to the radios. But even so, let's put that $200,000 number in context.
如此多的花费可以大概计算出可以买大约65000台电台装备——大约每台价格是200000美元。当然，这个价格还包括电台的“配件和相关服务”成本。但即便如此，让我们把这200000美元在下文进行分析。
Each of these man-portable radio sets will cost about as much as a brand new 2016 Mercedes Maybach S600.
这些便携式电台一台将花费相当于一辆2016全新的奔驰迈巴赫S600。
So what will the Pentagon be getting for its $200,000? Awardee Harris Corp (NYSE: HRS) explains that the "Harris AN/PRC-158 multichannel" radio features "two-channel architecture and integrated cross-banding" covering the SRW (Soldier Radio Waveform), SINCGARS (Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System) and the ultra high frequency MUOS (Mobile User Objective System) SATCOM waveform, "while maintaining backward interoperability with legacy waveforms."
那么五角大楼将用200000美元得到什么？ 供应商哈里斯公司(纽交所代码：HRS)解释说,“哈里斯 AN / prc - 158多频道”电台具有“双通道架构和交叉波段集成”，覆盖SRW(士兵无线电波段)，具有SINCGARS(单信道地面和机载无线电系统)和超高频MUOS卫星通信波段(移动用户目标系统)，同时保持和遗留波形的向后互操作性。”
In other words, these radios, each "manpackable" -- or small enough to be carried by one man -- will cover "the full 30-2500 MHz frequency range" utilized by the Army, including frequencies used for "top secret" communications. And they'll do it and "in a form factor 30% smaller than similar products." Harris says this will "provide more warfighting capabilities than previous generations of tactical radios."
换句话说，这些电台，每台“单兵便携”——小到一个人可以携带——将覆盖“完整的30 - 2500 MHz频率范围”，这些频率可以用于军队的“绝密”通信。他们会考虑“小于同类产品30%的因素。”哈里斯公司表示这样的设计将提供比前几代战术无线电系统更强的作战能力。”
That sounds pretty good. Is it Maybach good? Maybe -- but it's still a pretty high price.
那听起来很好。这个价格可以买迈巴赫是好事吗?也许，但这仍然是一个很高的价格。