据美国科技博客Gizmodo报道，Facebook的无人机无线网络已经不是什么新鲜的概念了，现在美军计划建立自己的无人机WiFi网络。从伊拉克战场上退役下来的无人机可以从仓库里拿出来，用于美国国防先进研究项目局（DARPA）的“移动热点”计划了。

　　在偏远而又需要通讯的地方，有自己的WiFi无人机在天上飞来飞去很不一样。DARPA已经改造过的RA-7无人机比起杀人无数的捕食者无人机要小巧许多。实际上，这款无人机只有3.4米长、84公斤重，因此还不能搭载太重的网络设备。“战争很无聊”网站解释说：

　　窍门是把网络设备装在无人机的上部。DARPA研究人员说他们开发了一种毫米波频段（这是很高的频段）的小型天线，以及特殊的放大器来增强信号，而运行时的噪音只有常规放大器的一半。

　　集成了所有元件的设备重量约为9公斤，无人机则可以一次飞行9个小时。现在就轮到DARPA去组装设备，并且确保发射WiFi的无人机可以在战场上良好运行了。未来，所有无人机武器可能都会配备WiFi设备。

　　译者：林杉

　　百度新闻与新华网国际频道合作稿件，转载请注明出处。

　　The Military Wants to Turn Its Drones into Flying Wi-Fi Hotspots

　　Not to be outdone by Facebook's vision of a drone internet, the military is whipping up unmanned aerial Wi-Fi hotspots of its own. Unused drones from the war in Iraq are getting a second life as part of DARPA's Mobile Hotspots program.

　　In remote areas where communication is critical, having your very own Wi-Fi drone circling overhead makes a big difference. The RA-7 Shadow drones DARPA has been retrofitting are much smaller than the deadlier and more infamous Predator drones. In fact, at just 11 feet long and 185 pounds, you have to be careful not to overload them with heavy internet equipment. War is Boring explains the details:

　　The trick, of course, is to fit the wireless equipment on the drone. DARPA researchers say they have developed small antennas operating on the millimeter wave band—that's extremely high frequency—as well as special amplifiers that can boost the signal while generating just half as much noise as regular amplifiers.

　　The pod with all this equipment comes out to about 20 pounds, and the drone itself can fly for nine hours at a time. Now it's up to DARPA to put it all together and make sure a Wi-Fi equipped drone actually works for troops on the ground. In the future, even drone armies could be Wi-Fi equipped. [War is Boring]