A Various Assortment of Common
U.S. Military terms:
AAA: Anti Aircraft Artillery: Very strong radar-guided
guns on the ground used to shoot aircraft.
AAM: Air-to-Air missile
ACC: Air Combat Command: The division on the air force in charge of combat aircraft
ACM: Air Combat Maneuvering; dogfighting
AEW: Airborne Early Warning
AFB: Air Force Base
AFRES: Air Force REServe
Afterburnning: Injecting large amounts of raw fuel into the engine to temporarily boost thrust.
AGM: Air-to-Ground missile: Any missile that is used in air-to-ground combat. e.g. AGM-88 HARM
AIM: Air Intercept Missile: Any missile that is used in air-to-air combat. e.g. AIM-120 AMRAAM
ALARM: Air-Launched Anti-Radar Missile
ALCM: Air-Launched Cruise Missile
All-aspect: A missile that can home on its target from almost any direction
AMRAAM: Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile: The AIM-120.
ANG: Air National Guard
ANVIS: Aviator's Night Vision System
AN/APG: US designation for airborne radar systems
AoA: Angle of Attack: The angle between an aircraft's nose and its pitch
Archer: A term for a meduim range missile; may be used in the same way as 'Atoll'.
ARM: Anti Radiation Missile
ASM: Air-Surface Missile
AShM: Anti-Shipping Missile
Aspect Ratio: The span of a wing divided by the wing's chord, characterizing the wing's lifting properties
ASW: Anti Submarine Warfare
ATF: Advanced Tactical Fighter
ATGM: Anti-Tank Guided Missile
ATM: Anti-Tank Missile
Atoll: A term for a short range missile. A pilot may call "ATOLL! ATOLL!" when he detects a short range missile approaching him.
AWACS: Airborne Warning And Control System, usually found in an E-3 Sentry aircraft or other large jets. Used to spot planes at far distances and to provide the eyes and ears for other fighters in he air.
Avionics: Aviation electronics
BDA: Bomb Damage Assessment
BFM: Basic Fighter Maneuvers used in dogfighting
Bingo: Word used to signal that the aircraft has just enough fuel to return home.
Bogey: Unidentified enemy aircraft that may be hostile.
Bandit: Identified enemy aircraft.
Bolter: Unsuccessful landing attempt on a carrier.
Break: A quick, high G turn taken to avoid a missile or gun shot.
BVR: Beyond Visual Range; referring to a missile that can be fired before the two planes make visual contact.
C3: Command, control, and communications: what an airforce needs to be successful.
CAG: Carrier Air group Commander
Canards: Horizontal-stabilizer-type surfaces ahead of the main wing
CAP: Combat Air Patrol; a route or position in the air in which fighters fly looking for enemies.
CAS: Close Air Support: Support given by planes to forces on the ground.
CBU: Cluster Bomb Unit: A bomb that contains hundreds of very small explosives that fragment onto its target.
Check six: Lingo for "Watch your back (six o'clock position, or rear of the airplane)"
Chord: The distance from the leading edge of a wing to the trailing edge
Contact: An object on radar
CP/G: Copilot/gunner
CRT: Cathode Ray Tube
CVW: Carrier air Wing
DLIR: Downward Looking InrfaRed
ECM: Electronic CounterMeasures
Elint: Electronic Intellegence
ELF: Extremely Low Frequency, for use with radios
EMP: Electro-Magnetic Pulse generated by a nuclear device
EO: Electro-Optical
EW: Electronic Warfare
EWO: Electronic Warfare Officer
FAC: Forward Air Control
FBW: Fly-by wire-- an aircraft that is controlled by computers and wires, not the conventional gears and hydraulics
FCS: Flight Control System
Fox *: "Fox 1," "Fox 2" or "Fox 3" may be caled by a pilot upon firing a missile. Each pre-determined number stands for a different missile type.
Free-Fall bombs: A conventional bomb that is not guided.
FSD: Full-Scale Development
FWS: Fighter Weapons School, the US Air Force's elitle school for pilots.
G: Acceleration in units of gravity-- A force of gravity exerted on a pilot as it pulls back/forward. If a pilot weighs 200 pounds and pulls 4 Gs, at the time the pilot will weigh 800 pounds. If a pilot pulls too many Gs, blood will rush out of his head and towards his feet, causing him to black out.
GPS: Global Positioning System; A satellite networked navigation system
Hardpoint: A space on an aircraft for carrying stores
HARM: High speed Anti Radiation Missile: A missile used to take out radar-emitting enemy sites such as SAM sites and AAA.
HOTAS: Hands On Throttle And Stick; when a pilot has all his necissary controls on the throttle and stick.
HUD: Head Up Display: The small digital screen on top of the dashboard in front of the pilot that feeds the pilot information on speed, angle of attack, altitude, and other neccissary information.
IAS: Indicated Air Speed
ICBM: Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile
IFF: Identify Friend or Foe; electronic system used to distinguish enemies from friendlies.
IFR: Instrument Flight Rules, form use in conditions with no visiblity
IIR: Imaging InfraRed
INS: Inertial Navigation System
IP: Instructor Pilot; an Air Force pilot that has become so skilled with his aircraft that he is suited to teach others.
IRF: In-Flight Refueling
IR: InfraRed
IRST: InfraRed Search and Track
Jink: Erratic maneuvering in the horizontal and vertical planes to present as unpredictable a target as possible.
J-STARS: Joint Survaillance Target Attack Radar System
Knot: One nautical mile per hour
KIAS: Knots Indicated AirSpeed, the speed of the air flowing around the aircraft in knots
LANTIRN: Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting InfraRed for Night
LGB: Laser Guided Bomb: An extremely accurate bomb that is guided by laser to its target.
Loran: Long Range Navigation
LSO: Landing Signal Officer; An ex-pilot that was a skilled carrier lander on the deck instructing incoming pilots what nto do to make a successful landing.
Mach: The speed of sound (Mach 1=772mph at sea level)
MFD: Multi-Function Display
NAS: Naval Air Station
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NOE: Nap-Of-the-Earth; low-level flying
Nugget: Term for a junior aviator fresh out of training.
NVG: Night Vision Goggles
O'club: Officer's club
Pickle: Dropping bombs
Pipper: The point on the gunsight put on the target in order for the bullets to hit.
PGM: Precision Guided Munitions
POW: Prisoner Of War
Punching out: Ejecting from an aircraft.
Radius (Turning): The mimimum radius that a plane can fly a circle in
Radius (Range): The maximum distance a plane can fly before having to turn back to base
Radome: Dome covering a radar
RCS: Radar Cross Section
RIO: Radar Intercept Officer, the 'backseater' in a plane like the F-14. The RIO is in charge of radar while the pilot flies the plane.
ROE: Rules Of Engagement; predetermined by headquarters to govern pilots in hostile encounters.
RWR: Radar Warning Reciever; alerts pilots of radar threats
SA: Situational Awareness; knowing and reaccting to everything that it is going on around you, very important to fighter pilots.
SAM: Surface to Air Missile: A missile fired from the ground used to destroy aircraft.
SAR: Search And Rescue
SDI: Strategic Defense Intiative: A self-defense system of the US to thwart off attacks by missiles and aircraft.
SEAD: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses: The destroying of units like SAM and AAA to protect aircraft
SRAM: Short Range Attack Missile
STOVL: Short TakeOff and Vertical Landing
Store: Any object carried on the plane, like bombs, missiles, or fuel tanks.
TACAN: TACtical Air Navigation: A computerized navigational system used on aircraft to guide the planes automatically or manually by the pilot.
Tally Ho: "Tally Ho!" May be called by a pilot when he first reaches visual contact with a bandit.
TOW: An American anti-tank missiles; Tube-launch Optically-tracked Wire-guided.
Trap: Landing on a carrier
UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehical
UHF: Ultra High Frequency, for use with radios.
USAF: US Air Force
USMC: US Marine Corps
USN: US Navy
VID: Visual IDentification
VFR: Visual Flight Rules that apply in clear daytime conditions
V/STOVL: Vertical/Short TakeOff and Vertical Landing: An aircraft like the Harrier which can take off and land vertically or with a short distance.
Winchester: When an aircraft is out of ammo.
Wing Loading: The aircraft weight divided by wing area, the amount of wingspace available to lift the weight of the aircraft
WSO: Weapons System Officer; the 'backseater' of an a aircraft that controls the weapons while the pilot flies the plane.
XO: Executive Officer; the second in command of a unit.
Zero-Zero seat: An ejection seat designed to be usable at zero speed and zero altitude
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