Military Aircraft Terminology

Military Aircraft Terminology MILITARY AIRCRAFT TERMINOLOGY

A

AAA: anti-aircraft artillery(more commonly known as "Triple A")
AAR: Air-to-Air Refueling
ABC3: (Airborne Command, Control and Communications) an EC-130 which directs air battles from a distance
ACM: Air combat maneuvering(dogfighting)
ADA: air defense artillery
AGL: Above Ground Level(referring to altitude)
AMRAAM: Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile
angels: refers to altitude measured in 1,000s of feet; angels 35 is equivalent to 35,000 feet
angle of attack(AOA): the angle between the aircraft's mean chord line and the relative wind
ARM: Anti-radiation missile
ASL: Above Sea Level(refers to altitude)
ASM: Air to Surface missile
aspect angle: angle between defender's flight path and attacker's flight path measured from defender's six o'clock, usage: AIM-9L is an all-aspect missile
ATO: Air Tasking Order
AWACS: Airborne Warning and Control System
azimuth: angular measure or direction in the horizontal plane
B

bandit: identified enemy aircraft
BDA: Bomb Damage Assessment(or, alternatively, Battle Damage Assessment)
bearing: the horizontal direction to or from any point, usually measured clockwise in degrees
belly check: a 90 degree roll which enables the pilot to look below his aircraft for possible bandits
BFM: Basic Fighter Maneuvers
"Bingo Fuel": radio call that an aircraft only has enough fuel remaining to return to base
"blind": No Tally on Bandit, no visual on Good Guys, pilot sees nothing
"blow thru": high speed closure with enemy formation indicating no intention of turning to engage
blue on blue loss: shooting down a friendly aircraft
bogey: a radar/visual contact of unknown identity
"break": radio call indicating an immediate high-g turn
burner: afterburner
BVR: Beyond Visual Range
C

CAP: Combat Air Patrol - standard fighter mission; go out and shoot down enemy aircraft within a certain patrol area
CAS: Close Air Support
C3I: Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence(pronounced Cee-Three-Eye)
CBU: Cluster Bomb Unit
cell: Two or more tankers/bombers flying in formation
chaff: active form of electronic countermeasure, usually carried in a pod or dispenser aboard an aircraft and released to disrupt radar tracking and/or acquisition
Check "six": look behind you(always)
"Chicks": friendly aircraft
chord line: a straight line drawn through the cross section of an airfoil(wing) from the leading edge to the trailing edge
closure: relative rate of approaching aircraft
combat spread formation: aircraft flying line abreast(off each other's wings)
conformal: shaped surface which "conforms" to aircraft's exterior
contact: full radar information on target
D

dash: flight profile maximizing speed, usually a very high altitude straight line flight
debriefing fluid: drinks at the local club after a mission
dolly: data link equipment
drag: any impediment to forward movement through the air
DPRK: Democratic People's Republic of Korea(North Korea)
"DWE": (pronounced Dweee), pilot slang for "Damn Wizzo Ejected"
E

"Eagle Keepers": ground crew members charged with taking care of F-15s
"Eagle Meat": F-5s used to outfit "aggressor" squadrons at Nellis AFB
ECM: electronic counter-measure
egress: route of exit from the target area
EW: Electronic Warfare
F

FAC: Forward Air Controller
FAST pack: Fuel and Sensor(Tactical) conformal station
FEBA: Forward Edge of the Battle Area(i.e. the front line)
"Feet Dry": flying over land
"Feet Wet": flying over water
"Fence In": slang for entering enemy-controlled airspace - a mission phase line, not necessarily a political boundary
"Fence Out": leaving enemy territory - opposite of "Fence In"
"Fight's On, Fight's On": call to initiate combat, opposite of "Knock It Off"
flight envelope: performance limits of a particular aircraft
flight level: reference to altitude starting with 19,000 feet(i.e. flight level 350 equals 35,000 feet; flight level 260 equals 26,000 feet)
FLOT: Forward Line of Own Troops(something aircraft have always had trouble discerning)
"flying telephone poles": Vietnam era slang for SA-2 SAMs
"flush": precautionary scramble to avoid being caught on the ground
F-Pole: distance from launching aircraft to the missile at target impact
Fox I: launch of a Sparrow radar-guided missile
Fox II: launch of a Sidewinder heat-seeking missile
Fox III: launch of an AMRAAM radar-guided missile
"FURBALL": multiple aircraft engagement(a dogfight)
G

g-force: measurement of gravity force; two g's would be twice normal gravity
GBU: Glide Bomb Unit
GCI: Ground Control Intercept radar installation
gimble limit: physical stop in the traverse of a mechanism, limiting its field of motion
"Gomer": slang for opposing fighter pilots
"Graveyard Spin": uncontrollable spiral into the ground
H

"Hawk": staying above a dogfight without engaging
HAWK: (Homing All The Way Killer) SAM
hits: sporadic radar returns without getting full information
Homeplate: your Home airfield or base
HOTAS: Hands On Throttle And Stick
HUDWAS: HUD weapon aiming sight
I

ILS: Instrument Landing System
ingress: approach route toward target
IR: Infrared
IIR: Imaging Infrared
J

J-band: electromagnetic radiation, 10-20 GHz
jinking: erratic defensive maneuver designed to make a firing solution difficult
"Joker": fuel limit indicating when it's time to begin disengaging from a fight; limit is set just a bit higher than BINGO fuel
K

KIAS: Knots-indicated air speed
"Knock It Off": terminate fighting maneuvers immediately; normally used only in training
knot: one nautical mile per hour, equal to 1.15 statute miles
L

lawn dart: refers to the F-16 because of the high accident rate
load factor: sum of forces, both static and centrifugal, acting on an aircraft's structure, measured in g's(units of gravity)
LRMTS: Laser Ranger And Marked Target Seeker
lufberry: a circular track flown by opponents who cannot close with one another to achieve a firing solution
M

MAPLE FLAG: USAF training exercises held at Cold Lake CFB, Alberta, Canada; equivalent to RED FLAG, but staged over European-like terrain
marking: leaving contrails or otherwise making aerial detection easy for opposing aircraft(for example, the F-4 Phantom was nicknamed the "Smokin' Thunderhog")
MiG: Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau(Russia)
MSA: Minimum Safe Altitude
MSL: Mean Sea Level
mud: refers to anything having to do with the ground(i.e. Air-to-Mud Ordnance)
"Mud Launch": urgent call that an enemy SAM has been launched at you
"Music": enemy aircraft is jamming your radar
N

"Naked": no RWR or information on enemy
nautical mile(nm): equal to 1.15 statute miles or 6,076 feet; approximately equal to one minute of latitude
negative: unable to comply
No Joy: opposite of Tally; no visual contact with opposing aircrew
"Nordo": term meaning the aircraft has lost radio communications; signaled by rocking wings
"Nose high- Goes high": pilot dictum when approaching another aircraft head-on; used to avoid collisions
O

Ooops: what you say to your wingman after letting a MiG-29 get into his "six"
OPFOR: opposing forces; usually used in training to describe "aggressor squadrons"
overshoot: potentially dangerous position of being forced out in front of an opposing aircraft
P

package: group of different aircraft combined to perform a single mission
padlocked: crew cannot take eyes off of target without losing it
passive: a non-emitting, undetectable system
payload: the useful load of an aircraft, including ordnance, fuel, etc.
pickle button: control for releasing ordnance
picture: asking AWACS for an overview of the battle
pilotage: navigating using visual landmarks on the ground
pipper: small dot in the center of the target reticle; represents the line of sight
pit: slang for the rear cockpit, the WSO's seat in the aircraft
pitch: movement of the aircraft around its lateral axis
Pk: probability of kill
PRF: Pulse-Repetition Frequencies
"Press": keep doing what you're doing; keep up the pressure on the enemy
Pucker Factor: method of rating particularly hazardous missions
PW: Pratt and Whitney, engine manufacturers
R

radar: (Radio Detection And Ranging) a pulsed beam of energy used to scan for, detect, and return information about a target
Red Baron: Manfred von Richtofen; WWI German flying ace and patron saint of fighter jocks everywhere
RED FLAG: Air Force training exercises held over the Nevada desert and staged from Nellis AFB
relative wind: direction of oncoming wind, usually refers to wind forced past an aircraft by its forward motion
"Rejoin": return to close formation flying(3 ft. wing clearance)
ROE: Rules Of Engagement
"Roger": an affirmative response
ROK: Republic of Korea(South Korea)
rotation speed: speed at which the nose of the aircraft is lifted for take-off
RTB: Return To Base
RWR: Radar Warning Receiver
S

"saddle up": attacking aircraft has established a position behind a target and all relative motion between the two has ceased
SAM: Surface-To-Air Missile
SAR: Search And Rescue; alternate usage - synthetic aperature radar
SARH: Semi-Active Radar Homing
scramble: quick take-off
SCUD: East Bloc SSM made famous during the Gulf War
section: a pair of aircraft acting in unison
semi-active: homing guidance provided to a weapon by an outside source which is illuminating the target
"Shack": direct hit on target
shooter: aircraft that is designated to release ordnance
slick: the aircraft is flying with no external equipment to create drag; alternatively used to describe a low-drag bomb
"SNAP": command for immediate and direct heading to objective
Snap Shot: high angle gun shot
SNIFF: the stand-by mode for the radar which does not emit radiation
sortie: one flight mission by one aircraft
"Spike": a threat warning of enemy air radar with "lock-on"
"Spike Mud": a threat warning of enemy ground radar with "lock-on"
splash: air to air kill or weapons impact on ground target
squawk: sending a specific code, mode, or function giving information on your aircraft
stall: a function of the aircraft's angle of attack, the maximum lift capability for that airfoil is exceeded, resulting in an abrupt loss of lift
"Straight lines-little hooks": how to maneuver in combat at high speed
"Stripped": attack will cause pilot to leave formation
Su: Sukhoi design bureau(Russia)
T

tactical: engaged in battle; usage - "I'm completely tactical."
Tally-Ho: sighting of a confirmed target; opposite of "No Joy"
Target Rich Environment: area of operations has many eligible targets
TFR: Terrain Following Radar; TF mode
TLAR: (That Looks About Right) method of bombing using unguided munitions
"Tracking": achieved a firing solution and attacking target with guns
trailer: last aircraft in a formation
Tumbleweed: a request for information, no Tally, no contact
Two-shipper: standard flight of two aircraft, lead and wingman
V

V: velocity(speed)
Vmax: maximum possible velocity
Vortices: spinning air currents produced by wing surface edges
W

"winchester": no ordnance remaining; essentially unarmed
Z

zoom climb: converting excess forward energy into an extended climb

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