美國(guó)軍方正在美國(guó)中西部6個(gè)州，使用高空氣球，進(jìn)行大范圍監(jiān)控測(cè)試。

據(jù)英國(guó)《衛(wèi)報(bào)》爆料，美國(guó)聯(lián)邦通信委員會(huì)（Federal Communications Commission）的文件顯示，美國(guó)軍方正在中西部的南達(dá)科他、明尼蘇達(dá)、愛(ài)荷華、威斯康星、密蘇里、伊利諾伊6個(gè)州范圍內(nèi)，使用實(shí)驗(yàn)性高海拔氣球進(jìn)行廣域范圍的監(jiān)控測(cè)試。

美墨邊境上的海關(guān)邊境巡邏監(jiān)控氣球（圖 via AFP）

五角大樓從偏遠(yuǎn)的南達(dá)科他州放飛了25個(gè)無(wú)人駕駛太陽(yáng)能氣球，飛行高度達(dá)到65000英尺。它們從南達(dá)科他州升空，漂浮250英里，途經(jīng)明尼蘇達(dá)、愛(ài)荷華、威斯康星和密蘇里州的部分區(qū)域，最后在伊利諾伊州中部降落。

根據(jù)一份代表內(nèi)華達(dá)山脈公司（Sierra Nevada Corporation）（一家航空航天和國(guó)防公司）提交的文件顯示，這些氣球是為了“提供一個(gè)持續(xù)的監(jiān)視系統(tǒng)，來(lái)定位和阻止毒品走私和國(guó)土安全威脅”（provide a persistent surveillance system to locate and deter narcotic trafficking and homeland security threats）。

The balloons are carrying hi-tech radars designed to simultaneously track many individual vehicles day or night, through any kind of weather. The tests, which have not previously been reported, received an FCC license to operate from mid-July until September, following similar flights licensed last year.氣球上裝有高科技雷達(dá)，可以在任何天氣條件下，不分晝夜地同時(shí)跟蹤許多車輛。這些測(cè)試此前從未被報(bào)道過(guò)。這些測(cè)試獲得了聯(lián)邦通訊委員會(huì)的許可，測(cè)試可以從7月中旬一直持續(xù)到9月。去年也有類似的測(cè)試行動(dòng)。Arthur Holland Michel, the co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York, said, “What this new technology proposes is to watch everything at once. Sometimes it’s referred to as ‘combat TiVo’ because when an event happens somewhere in the surveilled area, you can potentially rewind the tape to see exactly what occurred, and rewind even further to see who was involved and where they came from.”紐約巴德學(xué)院無(wú)人機(jī)研究中心的聯(lián)席主任阿瑟·霍蘭德·米歇爾說(shuō)，“這項(xiàng)新技術(shù)的目的是要同時(shí)觀察所有東西。有時(shí)它被稱為“戰(zhàn)斗TiVo”（TiVo是美國(guó)數(shù)字錄象機(jī)設(shè)備，能幫助人們錄下和篩選電視上播放過(guò)的節(jié)目），因?yàn)楫?dāng)一個(gè)事件發(fā)生在被監(jiān)視區(qū)域的某個(gè)地方時(shí)，你可以倒帶，看看到底發(fā)生了什么，甚至可以倒回去，看看誰(shuí)參與其中，他們來(lái)自哪里。”

▲Pentagon testing mass surveillance balloons across the US (via The Guardian)

（圖 via Getty Images）

此外，這些由美國(guó)國(guó)防部的南方司令部（United States Southern Command）放飛的氣球還搭載了不少設(shè)備。

The balloons also carry small vehicles containing sensors and communications equipment. The loadout includes a synthetic aperture radar designed to be able to detect every single moving car or boat active in a 25-mile field beneath the balloon.這些氣球還攜帶裝有傳感器和通訊設(shè)備的小型運(yùn)載工具。載荷包括一個(gè)合成孔徑雷達(dá)，設(shè)計(jì)用來(lái)探測(cè)氣球下方25英里區(qū)域內(nèi)移動(dòng)著的每一輛汽車或每一艘船只。The craft operate as a network, fitted with advanced mesh networking technologies meaning they can communicate with one another. The balloons can pass information—including video—to each other and to receivers on the ground.這些氣球配備了先進(jìn)的網(wǎng)狀網(wǎng)絡(luò)技術(shù)，運(yùn)作起來(lái)成為一個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)，意味著它們可以彼此通信。氣球可以互相傳遞信息，包括視頻，也可以傳遞給地面上的接收器。The Guardian suggested the balloons may be carrying Sierra Nevada's advanced Gorgon Stare video capture system, which is already in use in U.S. military drones. The Pentagon has also used Gorgon Stare on surveillance blimps in Afghanistan. It consists of nine cameras recording panoramic images, enabling operators to capture activity across an entire city at once.《衛(wèi)報(bào)》表示，氣球可能攜帶內(nèi)華達(dá)山脈公司先進(jìn)的“戈?duì)栘暷暋币曨l捕捉系統(tǒng)，該系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)在美國(guó)軍用無(wú)人機(jī)上使用。在阿富汗，五角大樓還在監(jiān)視飛船上使用“戈?duì)栘暷暋薄Ｋ?個(gè)攝像機(jī)組成，可以記錄全景圖像，使操作者能夠同時(shí)捕捉整個(gè)城市的活動(dòng)。

▲Pentagon Is Testing High Altitude Surveillance Balloons to 'Watch Everything at Once': 'It's Disturbing' (via Newsweek)

（圖 via Alamy）

不過(guò)，這些測(cè)試已經(jīng)引起了民權(quán)活動(dòng)人士的擔(dān)憂，他們認(rèn)為，監(jiān)控行動(dòng)必然會(huì)收集大量有關(guān)公民日常生活的數(shù)據(jù)。

“We do not think that American cities should be subject to wide-area surveillance in which every vehicle could be tracked wherever they go,” Jay Stanley, a policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Guardian. “Even in tests, they’re still collecting a lot of data on Americans: who’s driving to the union house, the church, the mosque, the Alzheimer’s clinic.”美國(guó)公民自由聯(lián)盟政策分析師杰伊斯坦利向《衛(wèi)報(bào)》表示：“我們認(rèn)為，美國(guó)城市不應(yīng)受到廣域監(jiān)控，在這種監(jiān)控下，每輛車，無(wú)論走到哪里，都可以被追蹤。即使處于測(cè)試階段，他們?nèi)栽谑占罅棵绹?guó)人的數(shù)據(jù)：誰(shuí)正開(kāi)著車去學(xué)生會(huì)所、教堂、清真寺、阿爾茨海默癥診所。”We should not go down the road of allowing this to be used in the United States and it’s disturbing to hear that these tests are being carried out, by the military no less.我們不應(yīng)該讓這種東西在美國(guó)使用，聽(tīng)到這些試驗(yàn)是由軍方進(jìn)行的，真令人不安。American whistleblower and former surveillance contractor Edward Snowden, who in 2013 leaked a massive cache of material illicitly obtained from the National Security Agency (NSA), was also critical of the tests.美國(guó)泄密者、前監(jiān)控承包商愛(ài)德華·斯諾登也對(duì)這些測(cè)試提出了批評(píng)。2013年，斯諾登泄露了大量從美國(guó)國(guó)家安全局非法獲得的材料。“They always tell us the tools of mass surveillance are intended for use only against the faraway Other; the foreign enemy, the terrorist, the criminal,” Snowden said in a tweet. “And then, just a few years later, we realize precisely the same system secretly surrounds us at home.”“他們總是告訴我們，大規(guī)模監(jiān)控的工具只針對(duì)遙遠(yuǎn)的其他目標(biāo)；外國(guó)敵人，恐怖分子，罪犯，”斯諾登在推特上說(shuō)道。“然后，僅僅幾年之后，我們就意識(shí)到，同樣的系統(tǒng)恰恰也在我們身邊悄悄存在。”

▲Pentagon testing ‘spy balloons’ across Midwest for ‘persistent’ domestic surveillance (via RT)

愛(ài)荷華州住宅區(qū)（圖 via Alamy）

整合：Du Qiongfang

資料：The Guardian, Newsweek, RT

圖/題圖：AFP, Getty Images, Alamy