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Glossary
— A A-W AgustaWestland AAM
Air-to-air missile. AAAW Advanced
Anti-Armour Weapon (became Brimstone). AAR
Air-to-air refuelling. AB Air
Base. AB
Aktiebolag (Swedish company constitution). ABCCC Airborne
Battlefield Command and Control Centre. absolute
ceiling Greatest altitude attainable by aircraft in level flight. AC
Alternating current. ACC Air Combat Command (US). ACLS
Automatic carrier landing system. ACM Advanced
Cruise Missile (US designation means AGM-129). ACMI Air combat manoeuvring instrumentation. ACN Aircraft classification number. ADC
Air data computer. ADV Air
Defence Variant (of Tornado), RAF designations = Tornado F2/2A or F/3. ADF Medium-frequency Automatic Direction-Finding (equipment). ADI
Attitude/director indicator. aerofoil
Any solid body so shaped that, as a fluid medium (air or hot gas)
moves past it, it experiences a useful force perpendicular to the direction
of relative motion; thus, a wing generates lift, while a turbine blade
generates torque on a shaft. aeroplane (North America, airplane) Heavier-than-air aircraft with
propulsion and a wing that does not rotate in order to generate lift. AEW
Airborne early warning. AEW&C
Airborne Early Warning and Control. AFB
Air Force Base (USAF). AFCS
Automatic flight control system. AFRC Air Force Reserve Command (US). AFRES Air Force REServe. AFRP
Aramid fibre-reinforced plastics. AFSOC Air
Force Special Operations Command. afterburning Temporarily augmenting the thrust of a turbofan or turbojet by burning additional fuel in the jetpipe. AGM
Air-to-ground missile. Ah
Ampere-hours. AH Army
Helicopter (UK designator). AHIP Army
Helicopter Improvement Programme (for US Army OH-58 Kiowa). AHRS
Attitude/heading reference system. airbrake Passive device extended from aircraft to increase drag. The
most common form is hinged flap(s) or plate(s), mounted in locations where
operation causes no significant deterioration in stability and control
at any attainable airspeed. Airbrakes are also mounted on the spine of
an aircraft as on the F-15 and Su-27. AIDC
Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (Taiwan). AIM
Air Interception Missile (used in US designations, such as AIM-9). aircraft
All manmade vehicles for off-surface navigation within the atmosphere,
including helicopters and balloons. Air-cushion vehicles and wing-in-ground-effect
vehicles are excluded from the classification. airship
Power-driven lighter-than-air aircraft. Traditional classes are: blimp,
a small non-rigid; non-rigid, in which envelope is essentially devoid
of rigid members and maintains shape by inflation pressure; semi-rigid,
non-rigid with strong axial keel acting as beam to support load: and rigid,
in which envelope is itself stiff in local bending or supported within
or around rigid framework. airstair Retractable stairway built into
aircraft. Often incorporated into the door. aka
also known as. ALARM Air-launched anti-radiation missile. ALAT
Aviation Legere de l’Armee de Terre. (French army aviation). ALCM Air-launched cruise missile. ALH
Advanced Light Helicopter (HAL Druhvs). Allithium
Aluminium-lithium alloy. ALLTV
All-light level television. AM
Amplitude modulation. AMC Air Mobility Command (US). AMRAAM Advanced Medium-Range AAM. An
Antonov (Russian design bureau). ANG Air National Guard (US). anhedral
Downward slope of wing or tailplane from root to tip. anti-balance tab Hinged surface on trailing-edge
of stabilator and operating in same direction, so as to dampen its movement. ANVIS
Aviator's night vision system. AO Aktsionernoye Obshchestvo (Co Ltd; Russian company constitution). AoA
Angle of attack (see ‘attack’ below). AOOT Aktsionernoye Obshchestvo Oktrytogo Tipa (Russian company constitution). APACHE
Armement Propulsee A Charges Ejectables – French weapons dispenser weapon
from which StormShadow/SCALP EG weapons are derived. APN
Aviation of the People’s Navy (China’s naval air arm). approach noise Measured 1 nautical mile from downwind end of runway
with aircraft passing overhead at 113 m (370 ft). APR
Auxiliary power reserve. APU
Auxiliary power unit (part of aircraft). ARINC
Aeronautical Radio Inc, US company whose electronic box sizes (racking
sizes) are the international standard. ARM
Anti-radiation missile. ArNG Army National Guard (US). AS&C Airborne Surveillance & Control (UK designator). ASARS Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System. ASE
(1) Automatic stabilisation equipment; (2) Aircraft survivability
equipment. AshM
Anti-ship Missile. ASI
Airspeed indicator. ASM
Air-to-surface missile. ASMP Air-Sol-Moyenne
Portee – French nuclear stand-off missile. aspect
ratio Measure of wing (or other aerofoil) slenderness seen in plan
view, usually defined as the square of the span divided by gross area. AST Air Staff Target (UK). ASTOVL
Advanced STOVL. ASUW
Anti-surface unit warfare. ASRAAM
Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile. ASV/AsuV
Anti-surface vessel. ASVW Anti-Surface
Vessel Warfare. ASW
Anti-submarine warfare. ATC
Air traffic control. ATGM Anti-Tank
Guided Missile. ATGW Anti-Tank
Guided Weapon ATM Anti-Tank
Missile. ATR Airline Transport Radio ARINC 404 black box racking standards. attack, angle of (alpha) Angle at which airstream meets aerofoil (angle
between mean chord and free-stream direction). Not to be confused with
angle of incidence (which see). augmented
Boosted by afterburning (turbofan), as in augmented turbofan. autogyro
Rotary-wing aircraft propelled by a propeller (or other thrusting device)
and lifted by a freely running autorotating rotor. AUW
All-up weight (term meaning total weight of aircraft under defined conditions,
or at a specific time during flight). Not to be confused with MTOW (which
see). avionics
Aviation electronics. AVLF Airborne
Very Low Frequency – communications system used to communicate with submersed
USN submarines. AWACS
Airborne warning and control system (aircraft category). The USAF programme
which spawned the E-3 Sentry and often incorrectly used as the aircraft
name itself. axisymmetric intakes Twin, circular engine air intakes mounted astride the spinner of New Piper light aircraft. axisymmetric
nozzle Circular jet-engine nozzle capable of unrestricted vectoring
movement (within a cone specified by mechanical limitation) to enhance
aircraft manoeuvrability. |