MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ, TYLER HICKS2026年8月18日上月在乌克兰扎波罗热地区，一名乌克兰士兵正在为一架无人机打击俄军目标做准备。 The Russian drone pilots had bedded down for the night. Their white vehicle was parked in the driveway of a small house in occupied southern Ukraine.俄方无人机操作员已经躺下睡觉了。他们那辆白色汽车停在乌克兰南部俄占区一栋小房子的车道上。About 30 miles away, two Ukrainian drone pilots had parked their truck in a tree line at the edge of a field and assembled a medium-size drone loaded with two bombs.约50公里外，两名乌克兰无人机操作员将他们的卡车停在一片田地边缘的林带里，组装了一架中型无人机，上面挂载了两枚炸弹。Their target? The sleeping Russian drone pilots.他们的目标？正在睡觉的俄方无人机操作员。The Ukrainian team had a powerful new battlefield tool that night: high-tech satellite imagery providing near real-time information on troop movements and locations.那天晚上，乌方的行动小组拥有一项强大的战场新工具：高科技卫星影像，可以近乎实时地提供俄军的移动和位置情报。A year ago, it could take days for satellite imagery to get to frontline troops, slowed by less sophisticated technology and layers of command structure. That made it difficult to hit targets that can move locations, like troops in a house, with long-range drone strikes. Now, a support team monitoring the house provided the drone operators a fresh satellite image showing the car in the driveway, an indication the Russians were there.一年前，卫星图像可能需要数天才能传到前线部队手中，因为当时的技术不够先进，而且指挥层级过多。这使得远程无人机打击难以命中那些可能会移动位置的目标——比如藏身于房屋中的部队。而现在，一个负责监视该房屋的后援团队向无人机操作员提供了一张最新的卫星图像，显示车道上停着那辆车，这意味着俄方人员就在里面。“The target is confirmed,” whispered one of the pilots, who identified himself with the call sign Tikhi, in accordance with Ukrainian military protocol.“目标已确认。”其中一名操作员低声说道。按照乌克兰军方规定，他只透露自己的呼号为“季基”。The rapid delivery of high-quality satellite images to frontline troops is one of the key battlefield advancements of the last year, enabling Ukraine to strike quickly against weapons depots, logistical hubs and troop encampments deep within territory held by Russia, and in Russia itself.将高质量卫星图像快速送达前线部队是过去一年战场上的关键技术进步之一。这使得乌克兰能够迅速打击俄占区的纵深腹地乃至俄罗斯本土的武器库、后勤枢纽和部队营地。The truck used by Tikhi and his partner, known by the call sign Teplo, was in fact a mobile command center, loaded with computers that connect to commercial satellites.季基和他代号“捷普洛”的搭档使用的卡车实际上是一个移动指挥中心，配备多台连接商用卫星的电脑设备。In one new tool, developed by the Dutch company Bravo1Alpha, images are beamed to a device that looks like a hand-held video game console, from which pilots can search for targets, plot flight paths and even fire weapons from drones.荷兰公司Bravo1Alpha开发的一项新工具将图像传送到一个看起来像掌上游戏机的设备上，操作人员可以通过它搜索目标、规划飞行路线，甚至控制无人机发射武器。Frontline troops in some cases can control satellites themselves, quickly analyzing the images for targets, and then firing their weapons. Rapid satellite imagery also helps them verify which targets have been hit and fire again if need be.在某些情况下，前线部队甚至可以自行操控卫星，迅速分析卫星图像寻找目标，然后发动攻击。快速获取卫星影像还可以帮助他们确认哪些目标已被击中，并在需要时再次发动攻击。Troops still need approval from more senior commanders to hit targets, reducing the risk of error by less experienced pilots. But the process is now much more streamlined.不过，部队仍然需要得到更高级别指挥官的批准才能打击目标，从而降低经验不足的操作员出错的风险。但整个流程如今已经大为简化。These advances have underpinned Ukraine’s efforts to isolate the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. Recent satellite-aided strikes have destroyed ferry terminals that Russia needs to supply the peninsula, and the logistical routes needed to keep troops fighting in southern Ukraine armed and fed.这些进步为乌克兰孤立俄罗斯占领的克里米亚半岛的努力提供了支撑。近期，乌军借助卫星的打击摧毁了俄罗斯为该半岛提供补给所需的渡轮码头，以及维持俄军在乌克兰南部作战部队的武器和给养后勤路线。一名无人机操作员正在查看卫星图像，以锁定30公里外的俄军目标。In June, soldiers from Ukraine’s 422nd Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment used satellite imagery to target and take out several installations in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region that Russia uses to jam Starlink signals, which many Ukrainian drones use for navigation. The regiment also recently took part in an operation to destroy several expensive Russian air defense systems in Crimea, among other targets.6月，乌克兰第422独立无人系统团的士兵利用卫星影像，锁定并摧毁了俄罗斯在被占领的扎波罗热地区部署的数个用于干扰星链信号的设施。许多乌克兰无人机依靠星链进行导航。该部队最近还参与了一项行动，在克里米亚摧毁了多套造价高昂的俄罗斯防空系统，以及其他一些目标。“This is incredibly helpful support,” said Maj. Mykola Kolesnyk, the commander of the regiment.“这是极为宝贵的支援，”该团指挥官尼古拉·科列斯尼克少校说。With the war in Ukraine largely mired in a bloody stalemate, progress on the battlefield increasingly comes down to a race for new technologies that can give one side an edge. Drones, whether in the air, on land or at sea, have emerged as the most effective way to kill or maim enemies.由于乌克兰战争基本上陷入血腥的僵持状态，战场上的进展越来越取决于谁能率先掌握新技术以获得优势。无人机——无论是空中、陆地还是海上——已成为杀死或重创敌人的最有效手段。But the technology is less efficient when it comes to finding them. Surveillance drones, known as I.S.R.s, can be shot down or their signals jammed. Their ranges are limited, as is the physical area they can cover.但在发现敌人方面，这项技术的效率却没那么高。侦察无人机可能被击落或信号遭到干扰。它们的航程和覆盖范围也有限。Space offers the next frontier.太空是下一个前沿阵地。Ukrainians used satellite imagery, provided by allied governments and commercial enterprises, to aid their fight against Russia even before the invasion of 2022. But until recently it has been a scarce commodity. Only senior commanders were given access to use it in high-level strategic planning.早在2022年俄乌战争全面爆发之前，乌克兰就已经利用盟国政府和商业企业提供的卫星影像来对抗俄罗斯。但直到最近，卫星影像仍然是一种稀缺资源。只有高级指挥官才能获得这类信息，用于高层战略规划。Even that access was limited and vulnerable to disruption. In March 2025, for example, President Trump ordered the Pentagon to stop sharing satellite imagery with Ukraine, though this was eventually restored.即使是这种访问权限也受到限制，而且容易受到干扰。。例如，2025年3月，特朗普总统下令五角大楼停止与乌克兰共享卫星图像，后来才恢复。In the last year or so, access to satellite imagery has expanded greatly, provided by the U.S. government and private companies. Vantor, a commercial company that has worked with Ukraine for years, recently launched six new satellites, bringing the total to 10. Its satellites can now cover up to seven million square kilometers of the planet daily, enough to scan the Ukrainian battlefield many times over, said Will Cocos, the company’s chief transformation officer.过去一年左右，乌克兰获得卫星影像的渠道大为扩展，提供方包括美国政府和私人企业。商业公司Vantor多年来一直与乌克兰合作，最近又发射了六颗新卫星，使其卫星总数达到10颗。公司首席转型官威尔·科科斯表示，这些卫星如今每天最多可以覆盖全球700万平方公里的区域，足以对乌克兰战场进行多次扫描。The satellites can provide images of the same area up to 15 times per day, helping soldiers look for subtle changes in the terrain that might indicate possible Russian targets.这些卫星每天最多可以对同一地区拍摄15次，帮助士兵发现地形中细微的变化，这些变化可能意味着那里可能出现了俄军目标。一名士兵为无人机起飞做准备。More important for Ukraine’s progress on the front, Mr. Cocos said, was the expanded access to battlefield troops.科科斯说，对乌克兰前线战事帮助更大的是，前线部队获取图像的门槛大大降低了。Images can be obtained in as little as 15 minutes, though more often it can take up to a few hours. This is still an enormous improvement over the recent past, when it would sometimes take days.最快只需15分钟就能获得影像，不过更常见的情况是需要几个小时。即便如此，与不久前有时需要数天相比，这仍然是巨大的进步。“We essentially hand the satellite over to them,” Mr. Cocos said. “They tell it what to shoot.”“基本上，我们是把卫星直接交给他们使用，”科科斯说。“他们告诉卫星要拍什么。”The advent of drone warfare has changed the look of the battlefield since the beginning of this war. Gone are the large concentrations of armor, logistical hubs and groupings of soldiers that could easily be seen and targeted.自战争爆发以来，无人机作战的出现已改变了战场的面貌。过去那种容易被发现和攻击的大规模装甲部队、后勤枢纽和士兵集群已经不复存在。“In our regiment, we haven’t seen a tank in six months,” Major Kolesnyk said. “The ones they have are tucked away in shelters.”“我们团已经六个月没见过坦克了，”科列斯尼克少校说。“他们的坦克都藏在掩体里。”Major Kolesnyk insisted on meeting in a tree line outside Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, rather than in a command post or the city itself, fearful of the drones circling overhead.科列斯尼克少校坚持在乌克兰南部扎波罗热市外的一片林带见面，而不是在指挥所或市区，因为他担心头顶上盘旋的无人机。Commercial satellite companies maintain huge archives of images over time, allowing field commanders to study subtle changes in the environment — tracks in a field, fallen trees, newly cleared land — that might indicate a target being hidden.商业卫星公司长期保存着大量卫星影像档案，因此前线指挥官可以研究环境中细微的变化——比如田地里的车辙、倒下的树木、新近清理过的土地，这些都可能意味着有目标隐藏其中。“Overall, this feels like a revolution in military technology,” said Robert Tollast, a military expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank in London.“总体而言，这感觉就像是一场军事技术革命，”伦敦智库皇家联合军种国防研究所军事专家罗伯特·托拉斯特说。一年前，卫星图像可能需要数天才能送到前线部队手中，使得远程无人机打击难以命中目标。如今，支持团队能以更快的速度向无人机操作员提供最新的卫星图像。In the tree line, the two Ukrainian drone operators monitoring the house with the Russians awaited confirmation of their target. The soldier known as Teplo pulled up video on his phone of a recent strike using satellite assistance. It showed a thicket of trees in the Kherson region with no discernible military targets. But after studying the satellite images over a period of weeks, soldiers discovered tracks leading into the trees that weren’t visible in earlier images. In another video, the same thicket had become a hellscape of burning vehicles.在那片林带里，两名乌克兰无人机操作员一边监视着那栋藏有俄方人员的房子，一边等待目标得到确认。代号捷普洛的士兵在手机上播放了一段近期借助卫星支援实施打击的视频。画面中是赫尔松地区一片茂密的树林，看不出有什么明显的军事目标。但经过数周对卫星图像的研究，士兵们发现了一些通往树林深处的车辙，而它们在更早的影像中并不存在。在另一段视频中，同一片树林已化作车辆燃烧的地狱景象。“It’s an ideal operation,” Teplo said. “Actually, it’s frightening. Nothing can help you.”“这是一次理想的行动，”捷普洛说。“其实，这很可怕。没有什么能帮得了你。”At the edge of the field, it was eerily tranquil, with the sound of crickets only occasionally interrupted by explosive booms in the distance. But the pilots were tense and on alert for enemy drones. Odd sounds made them flinch. The pilot known as Tikhi had a bandaged hand after a recent run-in with a Russian FPV drone.田地边缘一场安静，只有蟋蟀的叫声偶尔被远处传来的爆炸声打断。但两名操作员始终高度紧张，警惕着敌方无人机。任何异常的声响都会让他们神经一紧。季基手上还缠着绷带，那是他最近一次遭遇俄罗斯的一架第一人称视角无人机时留下的伤。The first attempt to take out the house with the Russian pilots was interrupted by a Russian bombardment. Shahed drones and powerful glide bombs streaked through the sky. The electronic warfare equipment Ukraine was using to scramble the Russian weapons’ GPS signals also prevented the Ukrainian team from launching their weapon.第一次试图摧毁那栋藏有俄方无人机操作员的房子的行动被俄军的炮击打断了。沙赫德无人机和威力强大的滑翔炸弹划过天空。乌克兰方面使用电子战设备干扰俄军武器的GPS信号，但这些设备同时也干扰了乌方自己的武器系统，使他们无法发射无人机。Several nights later, it was quieter, and the team could finally strike.几天后的一个夜晚，情况终于平静了一些，行动小组终于能够发动攻击了。A satellite image generated after the attack showed the damage: two large holes through the roof of the house.袭击后生成的一张卫星图像显示了破坏情况：那栋房子的屋顶被炸出了两个大洞。 摄影：Tyler HicksMichael Schwirtz是时报驻伦敦情报记者。Tyler Hicks是时报资深摄影师。2014年，他因报道肯尼亚内罗毕西门购物中心大屠杀事件获得普利策突发新闻摄影奖。翻译：杜然点击查看本文英文版。