FRASEOLOGIA NATO

AGM : Air to Ground Missile

AIAA: Area of Intense Aerial Activity, usually military
Aircraft Captains: The Aircraft Captain is to be responsible for the safety of the
aircraft and occupants over land and water. In any aircraft in
which instruction is being, the flying instructor is the aircraft
captain.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF AIRCRAFT CAPTAINS: Before flight the a/c captain is to
file a flight plan for the a/c and to sign for
responsibility for the a/c frame and
components. After flight the a/c captain is to
record any defect or unserviceability he has
noticed in flight and report this to the officer in
charge.
(From Australian Army Flight manual )
AIM: Air Intercept Missile
AIRBRAKE: Part of the a/c surface which is extended during flight to create extra
drag and therefore reduce airspeed.
AIRSPEED: TAS = True Air Speed IAS = Indicated Air Speed
AIR STRIKE: Air attack against the enemy's Command, Control, Communications
and Intelligence nodes, key production facilities, and transportation
infrastructure - in other words, against his homeland, national
interests, resources and war-making capacity.
The objectives of an Air Strike campaign can range from sustained
attacks to destroy the war potential of an enemy nation, to a single
strike as an expression of political will.
AIR TRAFFIC: Aircraft operating in the air or on an airport surface.
ALPHA: Angle of Attack or AOA
ALT: Abbreviation for Altitude in feet.The device which displays altitude to the pilot
is called the Altimeter.
ALTERNATE: Aerodrome specified on a flight plan to which an aircraft chooses to
divert if a landing at its intended destination is not possible (for
reasons of poor weather for example).
ANGELS: Altitude expressed as 1,000's of feet. e.g. Angels 3 = 3,000 ft
ALTIMETER:
1 - Barometric Altimeter It displays your attitude above sea level (ASL).That is
why is is particularly important to make a note of the runway altitude before
takeoff.
2 - Radar Altimeter / AGL (Above ground Level) lndicator.
AMRAAM: Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile. A fire-and-forget weapon.
Once the missile has been released you are free to manoeuvre.

ANALOGUE: Electronic system in which quantities are represented by variations

in electrical signals (i.e by electrical analogues)
ANGLE OF ATTACK OR AOA: Also known as alpha.The angular difference
between the wing and the direction of the
airflow.Represented on the HUD by the
difference between the FDI and the FPI.
Most important to monitor during landing and
any low speed flight. see HUD.
ANHEDRAL: Downward angle of wing or tailplane e.g. Look at the tailerons on the
F-4G Phantom.
A/P: Airport or Autopilot.
APC: Armoured Personnel Carrier e.g. M-113 .... often seen in base security
detachments at US Air Force and Marine bases.
ASI: AirSpeed Indicator, a flight instrument which measures the speed of an aircraft
through the air. see HUD
ASL: Above Sea Level
ASM: Air to Surface Missile
ASPECT RATIO: Ratio of the wingspan to the wing area, expressed as span
squared divided by wing area
ASR: Air-Sea Rescue. (see SAR) This role is usually fulfilled by helicopters, e.g.
SH-60
ASRAAM: Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile, replacement for the AIM-9
series, underdevelopment
ATC: Air Traffic Control. These guys will give you clearance to take-off and land.
AUTHORIZATION OF FLIGHTS: Every flight is to be authorised by the
commanding officer of the unit concerned
AUTOPILOT: System which takes control of an aircraft, relieving pilot workload
There are many different types of a/p. The Most basic will hold
altitude and heading.If linked to an INS, the a/p can fly the a/c via
preprogrammed altitude, air'speeds and headings to a
predetermined point in space.
AUTOROTATION: Refers to unpowered flight in a helicopter, usually in a
downward direction !
AUXILIARY ROTOR: the rotor (on the tail boom ) of a helicopter which counteracts
the tendency of the main (lifting ) rotor to yaw the a/c.
AUW: All Up Weight.The total loaded weight of an aircraft. Note that the LOAD
ORDNANCE screen will not let tou take off if your AUW exceeds the allowed
figure.
AWACS: Airborne Warning and Control System.
AWARDS: : Flying Badges and Military Symbols
AZIMUTH: Bearing or direction in the horizontal plane

BAROMETRIC ALTIMETER: This device controls the alt readouts on your HUD.It
shows altitude above sea level.
BAT TURN: A very tight 180 degree turn (as executed by the Batmobile or F-16)
BATTLEFIELD INTERDICTION: Close Air Support - Suppress, delay or interrupt
the activities of enemy ground forces
BINGO: Fuel State at which Return To Base (RTB) must be initiated.
BIRDSTRIKE: Collision with a feathered friend.
BIT: Built in Test, self testing systems fitted to most modem avionics.
BOB: Battle of Britain, a 6 week period of intense British versus German air activity
during World War 2, at the conclusion of which Hitler's plans for invasion of
Britain were deferred.
BOGEY: Enemy a/c
BOGEY DOPE: Bearing, range, altitude of enemy a/c
BOLTER: Touch and go carrier deck landing, usually executed because of a bad
approach or missing the arrestor wires
BOUNDARY LAYER: Thin layer of slower moving air which tends to cling to the
skin of an aircraft
BRAVO SIERRA: Bull Sh -x - t, opposite of Sierra Hotel
BRG: Bearing, the horizontal direction to or from any point expressed in degrees
of the compass.
BUG OUT: Depart the area
BVR: Beyond Visual Range.Weapons such as AMRAAM and PHOENIX are BVR
missiles.
BYPASS RATIO: Ratio of total volume of air passing through the engine to that
passing through the core section
C 3: Command, Control and Communications.
Disrupting the enemy's C3 network degrades his capacity to wage war.
Typical targets include Command bunkers, radar and communication
installations.
CAISSON DISEASE: Nitrogen narcosis - "the bends".
CANARD: A smaller, forward wing. e.g. EF-2000
CANOPY: The clear acrylic cockpit covering through which the pilot views the
world.For the pilot driving a Per-sonal Computer, this translates to your
monitor screen.Keep it clean and keep those greasy fingertips off! Make
sure to use a soft cloth dampened with a suitable glass cleaning
product.
A dirty canopy is a hanging offense on most airbases!
A clean canopy can be a life or death matter to any pilot, especially in
combat. A MiG-21 coming head-on at 3 miles will be the size of a
raindrop on your canopy. A missile is even smaller.
Moral of the story, don't dogfight in the rain and keer) the canopy clean!

CAP: Combat Air Patrol, . Subspecies are: TARCAP, BARCAP, RESCAP

CARDINAL DIRECTIONS: Are North, South, East and West. see Compass
Headings
CARQUAL : Carrier Qualifications
CAS : Close Air Support
CAS: Calibrated Airspeed -- indicated air-speed corrected for air density and
compressibility.
CAT: Catapult launching system as found on the Eisenhower and Clemencau class
carriers.
CBU: Cluster Bomb Unit, Dispenses hundreds of submunitions. Effective against
soft-skinned targets such as trucks, personnel. Largely ineffective against
armour.
CCA: Carrier Control Approach
CH: Compass Heading.
CHARLIE TIME: Expected time over ramp
CHECK SIX: Visual check of the a/c rear quadrant, specifically for enemy a/c
COMMANDING OFFICER: COCKPIT: insert material relevant to your control
devices:
i.e.
Keyboard
commands,
Joysticks, throttle controls, cockpit panels
COM: Communication(s)
COMPASS HEADINGS: North = 360 or 00, South = 180, East -= 090, West = 270
CIRCUIT: Pattem around which aircraft fly when arriving at an airfield, usual
rectangular and left handed.
CLEARANE: Authorization from air traffic control to proceed as requested or
instructed.Used for ground and air manoeuvring, thus "cleared for
take-ofr', "cleared flight-planned route", "cleared to descend" etc.
CLOCK: An analog with a sweep second hand is preferred.
The INS provides a countdown function to the next waypoint on the HUD.
CNI: Communication - Navigation - Identification
CRT: Cathode Ray Tube cathode ray (television) tube. Used in flight deck displays
of new-generation airliners, business aircraft and military jets instead of
conventional instruments.
CV: Aircraft Carrier
DACT: Dissimilar Air Combat Training
DECISION HEIGHT: The minimum height at which an overshoot must be initiated if
a landing is not assured.

DEEP PENETRATION BOMBING: Oil refineries, supply depots, command and

communication entres, munition factories,
military bases. These missions usually follow
a
high-low-high
profile.
High altitude - to conserve fuel, possible airrefuelling
Low attitude - to avoid detection and
interception
High altitude - egress
DEPARTURE: The point at which an a/c goes out of control (Departure from
controlled flight)
DIGITAL ALTITUDE: This readout shows your altitude above sea level in feet. see
HUD.
DME: Distance Measuring Equipment
DOPPLER: Radar mode using Doppler Shift to determine range information
DOPPLER: Doppler effect (or shift) is the change in frequency of light, radio or
sound waves when source and receiver are in relative motion.
DR: Dead (deduced) Reckoning.Plotting position by calculating the effect of speed,
cour'se, time and wind against last known position.
DUAL CONTROLLED AIRCRAFT: The captain of an a/c is to arrange before
takeoff a clear and easily understood drill for
handing over control of the a/c.
EAT: Estimated Approach Time, see Charlie Time
ECM: Electronic Counter-Measures
ECCM: Electronic Counter-Counter-Measuses
EFATO: Engine Failure After Take-Off refer to FLAME OUT checklist
EGO DRIVERS: Fl 5 pilots
ELECTRIC JET: F16 Falcon (also known as the "lawn dart')
EMCON: Emission Control, Refers to a flight during which the a/c emits no
radiation. e.g. VHF or UHF transmissions, Radar, ECM
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival
FAC: Forward Air Control
FAM: Familiarisation (as in FAM Flight), Fangs Out: Going all-out for aerial victory
FBW: Fly-By-Wire (Computer flight control system)
FEBA: Forward Edge of the Battle Area
FINALS: Final approach.That part of the Landing procedure in which the aircraft
has made its final turn and is inbound to the active runway.system.
FLAPERON: Control surface doubling as flap and aileron

FLIGHT PLANS: Before flight the a/c captain is to file a flight plan for the a/c and to
sign for responsibility for the a/c frame and components
After flight the a/c captain is to record any defect or
unserviceability he has noticed in flight and report this to the
officer in charge.
FLIR: Forward Looking lnfra Red
FM: Frequency Modulated
FOD: Foreign Object Damage to turbine blades through iingestion of runway debris
etc.
FOX ONE: Pilot call on launching a Radar Guided AIM
FOX TWO: Pilot call on launching an lnfra Red Guided AIM
FOX THREE: Pilot call on launching a Phoenix AIM
FPM: feet per minute, a measure of an aircraft's rate of climb or descent.
FURBALL: A mufti a/c engagement, often confused
G (OR G): Gravity - the acceleration force due togravity.Use as a measure of the
accelerative vectors a pilot can experience during manoeuvering an
a/c. We may define three main areas of g-force:
0 - 3 G: G experienced by pilots during standard turns in most combat jets.
NEGATIVE 3G will induce a "red-out" due to bursting capillaries in the eyeballs.
4 G: Experienced during break turns, e.g. on a fast jet circuit pattern.
An average pilot will lose consciousness (Black-out) after 10 seconds at 4 g. The
onset of blackout can be delayed by 'hunching', bracing the stomach muscles and
grunting.This is known as the L-1 Manoeuver.
5 - 9 G: For emergency use only, e.g. during ACM.
More than a few seconds will induce g-locG loadings of 5 - 9 g should be reserved
for emergency manoeuvers such as break turns
G-LOC: g-induced loss of consciousness. Pilot blackoutsused by excessive g or by
too-rapid onset of g-forces.
GATE: Maximum Power
GCA: Ground Controlled Approach
GCI: Ground Controlled Intercept
GLINT: Apparent movement of the radar Centre of a target
GOLDEN BB: A lucky hit
GUT CHECK: Rolling the a/c to check for attacks from the belly side
HARM: High-Speed-Anti-Radiation-Missile

HOLDING PATTERN: A racetrack-shaped manoeuvre which keeps aircraft within a

specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from air
traffic control.
HASSLING: Mock dogfight
HEAD MOUNTED COMPUTER: The pilot's brain
HOTAS: Hands On Throttle and Stick.
A concept of allowing the pilot to control most of the a/c systems without
having to take his hands off the throttle and stick.First saw major
development in the F-15 Eagle.
HUD: Head-Up-Display.
Information relevant to the pilot which is projected onto a glass lens in the
pilot's field of view.
HUD BRIGHTNESS CONTROL: Control for adjusting the brightness of the
HUD.This is particularly useful when flying at
night or in bad weather.
HUD DISCRETE: A text abbreviation on the HUD displaying status of a particular
aircraft system.Examples are WEAPON DISCRETES,
TARGETING DISCRETES.
HURRI: Hurricane, c;assic World War 2 British fighter plane.
HVAA: High Value Airborne Assets or "High Value Assets" refers to any important
bird that must be protected. AWACS is the the number one guy there
because without it, a lot of the airwar is blinded. But HVAA can refer to a lot
of birds to include tankers."
HYPOXIA: Oxygen-deprivation, usually or-cur's at over 10,000 ft altitude.
IAS: Indicated Air Speed
IFF: Identification Friend or Foe
IFR: Instrument Flight Rules, flying purely by reference to instruments.
ILS: Instrument Landing System
INS: Inertial Navigation System.
An onboar'd system which uses gyroscopes, (either mechanical or laser) to sense
acceleration and deceleration and compute current position.The system needs a
known starting point to be entered prior to flight.
IP: Initial Point, The location chosen to set up an attack run on a ground target
IR: lnfra Red
JP: Jet Petroleum
JUDY: Have radar contact and am taking over intercept
KNOT: One nautical mile per hour hour, the standard unit of aviation speed
measurement.One knot equals 1. 1 515 mph; one nautical mile equals
6,080 feet.
KNIFE FIGHT: An intense aerial engagement

KTS: Knots (Nautical mile)

L-1 MANOEUVER: Tensing the body and grunting to counter G- force
LDHD: While HVAA is not not an out of date term, it's been largely replaced by the
term Low Density High Demand (LDHD). This refers to the fact that there
aren't a lot of them to go around, but they are in great demand for whatever
situations develop. It's a good reminder to those putting the battle together
to plan wisely.
When it was first developed during the Cold War, the E-3 was not very
advanced, and was thusly sent out to warn and control fighters in on
Soviets coming over the North Pole. As the jet evolved, it has now taken on
the role of managing the air battlefield, where Command would actually be
a better term. Nevertheless, the Control part of the word will remain with the
title."

LETHAL CONE: Imaginary cone-shaped area centered on the a/c exhaust, from
which most IR missile and gun attacks are launched
LEX: Leading Edge Extension of the wing root
LGB: Laser Guided Bomb
LOCK ON: Radar concentrating on target in the attack mode.
LSO: Landing Signals Officer
MACH NUMBER: Speed stated as a function of the local speed of sound
MACH: Speed of sound, or abbreviation of Mach Number
MAYDAY: International radio distress call (from the French, m'aidez -- help me).
MEATBALL: Mirror Landing system as seen from glidesiope
MER: Multiple Ejection Rack
MERGED PLOT: The point where two radar blips merge
MET: Meteorology, weather.
MFD: Multi Function Display
MIL: Full military power
MRE: Meals Ready to Eat (or Meals Rejected by Everybody)
MTBF: Mean Time Between Failures
MUD MOVERS: Air-to-surface attack specialists
NAV MODE: Navigation Mode, A setting which displays navigation information to
the pilot.
NAS: Naval Air Station
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
Nm: nautical mile.

NOE: nap of earth, Low flying, usually by the military, using contour-flying
techniques and terrain-masking to avoid being seen.
NOTAM: Notices To Airmen
These are notices issued by the authorities.Pilots should check the
NOTAM board before EACH flight.
The NOTAMs wil cover:
a. Information relative to maps and charts
b. Information on restricted and prohibited areas
c. Information of general value to aircrew and ATC officer's
Format of NOTAMS:
A) Location, NOTAM number, subject area (AD= aerodromes, PRD=
prohibited, restricted, danger areas, DOC= documents)
B) Commencent date/ time
C) Completion date/ time
D) Hour's of Activation
E) Message
F) Lower limit
G) Upper Limit
NYLON LETDOWN: Ejection
ODD RODS: NATO designation for a type of Soviet IFF aerial system
OODA LOOP: Sequence of pilot's observational processes :
Observation - Orientation - Decision - Action
OVERTAKE: Closing speed irrespective of relative headings
PASSIVE: Non- emitting
PAVE TACK: An all-weather laser designating weapons delivery system
PERIOD OF OPERATION OF AN AIRCRAFT
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Stationary
Taxying/ Hovering
Take-off
in Flight
Landing

PETICHIASIS: Rupture of capillaries during high-G manoeuver-s, also known as

"Fighter Pilot Measles"
PHYSICS OF FLIGHT: The 4 main forces acting on an a/c in flight are
1 - LIFT
Lift (Bernoulli's Principle) As an aircraft wing moves through the air, the air must
flow around the wing. Due to the different shape of the upper and lower surface of
the wing, the air above the wing has to travel a further distance than the air below
the wing. This results in lower air pressure above the wing. Nature moves quickly
to equalise the pressures, with the result being an upward vector of force. If the
total lift generated by the aircraft wings is greater than the total a/c weight, then the
a/c will climb. DRAG
2 types - Parasitic and Induced THRUST
Action = Reaction WEIGHT
All mass exerts an attractive force to all other mass. Since the earth has a great
mass, it draws smaller masses, such as aircraft, towards it. We call this attraction
of Gravity. The measure of that we call Weight.

From the pilot's perspective it means Gravity is pulling his aircraft in downwards
direction.If the Lift is Greater than the Weight, the aircra will stay aloft.
PIO: Pilot-induced Oscillation, An undulating flight pathbrought about by overcontrolling.
PIONEER MODE: Navigation system failure
PITCH: Vertical movement or angle of a/c longitudinal a)Cis
PLAFFORM: 20 miles and 5,000 ft alt from Landing on carrier
PRF: Pulse Repetition Frequency
PTT: Part Task Trainer
PUCKER FACTOR: Anxiety increase
PUNCH OUT: Ejec.
QFI: Qualified Flying Instructor
QRA: Quick Reaction Alert
RAAF: Royal Australian Air Force
RAF: Royal Air Force
RADAR: Radar Detection and Ranging
RATE 1 TURN: A turn of 3 degrees per second.
The a/c will therefore turn 1 80 degrees in 60 seconds and 90
degrees in 30 seconds.This is the standard rate of turn.
Standard Turn 3 degrees per second = 180 deg in 60 secs
90 deg in 30 secs
360 deg in 120 sees
Use a stopwatch or the sweep hand on a wrist watch to time your
turns
RED FLAG: Tactical exercises held at Nellis AFB, near Las Vegas
RESCAP: Rescue Air Patrol
RDO: Radio
RF: Radio Frequency
RIO: Radar Intercept Officer
RMK: Remark(s).
RNAV: Area navigation.
A system of radio navigation which permits direct point-to-point off- airways
navigation by means of an on-boar'd computer creating phantom VOR/DME
transmitter's termed waypoints.
RPV: Remotely Piloted Vehicle
RTFM: Read the F###### Manual

RUNWAY DENIAL: A strike mission with the objective of reducing enemy air
activities. A/c are usually dispersed in hardened shelters,
neccesitating multiple attacks to destroy.Even the most severe
runway cratering can usually be fixed within hours.Add to this
the fact that anti-air defenses are at their most dense around
airbases.
As British Tomado pilots found during the Gulf War, airfield
attacks are at best a risky business!
Rwy: Runway
RWR: Radar Warning Receiver
RX: Receiver
SAC: Strategic Air Command
SAM: Surface to Air Missile
SAR: Search and Rescue
SARSAT: SAR satellite.
SARH: Semi-Active Radar Homing
SIERRA HOTEL: Sh - t Hot, an laudatory apellation
SID: Standard Instrument Departure.
A standard IFR departure route enabling air traffic controllers to issue
abbreviated clearances and thus speed the flow of traffic.
SOCKED IN: An airport closed to air traffic by bad weather.
SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
STABILATORS: All- moving one piece tailplane
STANDARD CLIMB: 10 degree climb.
TECHNIQUE: Momentarily pull the stick about 1/3 to indicate 2 1/2 degrees AOA
and then relax pressure on the stick until the FDI and the FPI settle
on the 1 0 degrees PITCH BAR.
STOL: Short Take-Off and Landing.
Also VTOL, vertical take-off and landing; V/STOL, verbcal/short take-off and
landing;
STOVL: Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing.
STT: Single Target Track (air combat radar mode)
SUPER CRUISE: The capability of sustaining supersonic flight without the use of
afterburner.

SUPPLY ROUTE INTERDICTION: Modem mechanised armies are very dependent

on POL Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants)
supplies. Most common supply routes are
Railways, Roads, Shipping and Air
transport. "Choke Points" should be
targeted.
TAILERON: Tail planes with differential movement to provide roll control
TACAN: Tactical Air Navigation
TAS: True Air Speed
TASKING OF AIR ASSETS: Air Combat is not an end in itself. The role of Air
Power is to support surface forces in their military
objectives and prevent the enemy from disrupting
friendly operations.This sometimes requires engaging
enemy air forces but these encounter's should be
seen in context and not regarded as an end in
themself.
TDY: Temporary Duty
TER: Triple Ejection Rack
TFS: Tactical Fighter Squadron
TFW: Tactical Fighter Wing
TO: Take-off
TOW: Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided. An anti-tank missile used by
helicopter and ground forces.
TRAP: Arrested Landing
UFC: Up- Front Controller
UHF: Ultra High Frequency
U/S: Unserviceable ( not working)
OVERSPEED: The pilot of an a/c is to declare it u/s as soon as possible after any
incident involving overspeed.
USAF: United States Air Force
VERTIGO: loss of balance
VDU: Visual Display Unit
VFR: Visual Flight Rules.
Defined as five miles visibility or more and 1,000 feet vertical and one
nautical mile horizontal clearance from cloud.
VHF: Very High Frequency
VID: Visual Identification, also called a VIZ
VIZ: Visual Identification
VTOL: Vertical Take-Off and Landing

V1: Decision speed, at which it must be decided whether or not to continue the
takeoff.
WAKE: Disturbed air left behind a moving a/c.

WAVEOFF: The LSO wants you to abort the landing attempt due to a bad
approach or fouled deck.
WAYPOINTS: Navigation points - A predefined navigation point entered into the a/c
nav computer
WHISKEY DELTA: A derogatory appellation, opposite of "Shxt Hot"
WP: WayPoint
WSO: Weapons System Operador
XMIT: Transmit
YAW: Movement of the fuselage in the horizontal plane
ZULU OR Z: Formerly Greenwich Mean Time, now Coordinated Universal Time